7 - Peel Youth Village
Peel Youth Village is a four storey building that will serve as a housing, recreation, training and education centre for up to 48 youth in transition 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Peel Youth Village is an exciting and innovative mixed-use development incorporating both housing and a community centre. The housing component will be for youth in Peel that are in transition to find permanent housing and the community centre will service residents and the surrounding neighborhood. Peel Youth Village will provide recreation opportunities including a basketball half-court, as well as social services such as employment and life-skills counselling. Combined, the many opportunities Peel Youth Village will offer will help disadvantaged but motivated youth get their lives on track.
Special effort has been taken to involve the youth in the process of designing the Village, so the architecture of the Village is an important element of how it works. The programs will be run for Peel by the YMCA of Greater Toronto.
Number of Units
Peel Youth Village will house 48 rooms. 32 of the rooms will be organized into four-bedroom apartment pods with a shared kitchen and lounge. These will be intended for mid-term or long term stay. The remaining 16 rooms will have either one or two beds and will be intended for short term stay. Shared kitchen/living room in each pod designed to maximize support and social interaction.
Target Participants
Youth between the ages of 16 to 30 will reside at Peel Youth Village. The objective of the Village is to provide youth with the supports required to secure employment, housing and independence within the community.
The surrounding Acorn community, one of the highest density non-profit housing communities in Peel will also have access to the services provided by Peel Youth Village. The residents of the Acorn community face complex and multifaceted issues which significantly impact on their employment, family, education, wellness, health and housing status. The Acorn community will also have an opportunity to access supports and resources from Peel Youth Village in order to assist in acquiring the necessary skills that will lead them towards independence.
Design Features
The following services will be made available to residents of Peel Youth Village
Local leadership
One of the notable aspects of the development of the Peel Youth Village has been the leadership of Peel Region in this process. Regional council took a strong position that they wanted to eradicate homelessness in the Region (dating back to a 1999 task force on homelessness), which provided strong political support for this work. Peel Region played a lead role, contributing the land and working with 45-50 youth-serving agencies in the development of the Village who provided considerable input into the design and philosophy of the organization. There was also considerable input from local youth. Funding has come from a combination of sources including Peel Region, HRSDC, and SCPI (capital funds).
Current status
The community centre opened its doors to the community in the summer of 2005, and the housing became operational in the fall. The employment and social enterprise component are being developed. Some of the challenges the organization is facing now relate to getting established and known in the local community, and building successful relationships with local youth and the broader community.
For more information contact:
Tracy Arias
Director, Residential Component,
Peel Youth Village
Email: Tracy.Arias@YMCA.NET
www.region.peel.on.ca/housing/peelbuilds/centres/peelyouth.htm (OPENS NEW WINDOW)
