Six months after the launch of the Safe Couch program for homeless youth in Cochrane, organizers say the initiative has been a learning process.
“I think it’s gone really well,” said David Smith, Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane and Area youth housing liaison. “We now have two safe place homes and two [short-term] homes – people have been very open to the Safe Couch concept and the fact that we are doing something positive for the youth.”
With an estimated 25 to 30 homeless youth in Cochrane at any given time, Safe Couch organizers are seeking more providers as well as looking at alternative living situations to suit the needs of more mature youth.
The program launched in April and is run through the Boys and Girls Club with currently 15 homeless youth in need of a place to stay and only three of the youth placed in homes.
“The youth aren’t just leaving because they don’t want to follow the rules, we are finding kids leaving because there is a serious (situation) – there is a substantial breakdown they are going through,” said Jeff Gray, manager of youth programs for the Cochrane Boys and Girls Club.
Working with the program since the initial stages, Smith said they are finding that not all youth want to live in another person’s house.
“There are kids we have to find an alternative solution for; we are looking at more semi-independent living situations – we didn’t know that was going to be an issue for homeless youth, but we are learning as we go,” Smith said.
In the next six months, organizers said they are expecting to have an alternative semi-independent housing situation on the go. While Smith said they are not certain what that housing situations would look like, organizers are pulling ideas from Calgary programs.
“There are some (older youth) who are ready to be in a supportive independent place, turning away from being just a kid in a family situation (and) the option just isn’t there for them until we get the program ready to supply it for them,” Gray explained.
Since Safe Couch launched, organizers have paired up with Family and Community Support Services (FCSS), Addictions and Mental Health, equine therapy and non-profit Steps for Secondary. Gray said it is not enough just to give the youth a bed, but they need to focus on their overall wellbeing. Youth entering the program are also expected to follow curfew and rules, as well as work towards creating a life plan or moving forward plan, organizers explained.
There are two reasons youth might leave home; one being the family dynamic is not OK or there is disruption; the second is there is some form of abuse, emotion, physical or sexual, Gray explained.
“If we don’t have the programs here in Cochrane to meet the needs of these kids, they are hugely at risk, if not just staying here in Cochrane, then going somewhere else where there is more severe and intense dangers there,” Gray said.
“One of the risks if we don’t find a solution for the (youth) is they are going to seek and have the potential to be exploited or manipulated in order to just have their basic needs provided.”
When the Boys and Girls Club first started discussing an option for homeless youth, organizers sent out a survey to investigate the potential for a need for an emergency shelter. The result showed the homeless youth would utilize the shelter, but there was feedback from the community in denial of the issue.
“It is not the Hollywood-ized picture of ragged-clothed kids in a gutter – it is a kid who just doesn’t feel safe at home or stays at friends or is away during the week and trying not to be home as much as possible or just wants to leave because it is just such a bad place to be,” Gray said.
“I think the biggest thing is we are trying to build a program that is made for Cochrane as much as possible because if it isn’t tailored or designed for Cochrane, then the public and the community and the businesses don’t support it – so we have to take models from other communities like Calgary and such places and really tailor to make it for Cochrane, because we are a really unique community and we have to recognize that.”
For more information on the Safe Couch program or to become a Safe Couch provider, visit the center at 111 5th Ave. W or call 403-932-4747 to get in touch with one of the organizers.
“Homeless youth are really a hidden issue in Cochrane,” Smith said.
“We are not only raising the Safe Couch program awareness, but really raising the awareness that there are homeless youth in Cochrane.”
