Our philosophy is based on a Chinese proverb:
give a child a fish; he’ll eat for a day.
Teach her how to fish and she’ll eat forever.
It has become evident through Eva’s Initiatives’ experience with homeless and at risk youth that a two pronged approach is necessary to provide them with the skills they require to live productive and financially independent lives. Eva’s Phoenix is part of Eva’s Initiatives, which also manages Eva’s Place, a 32 bed emergency shelter and Eva’s Satellite, a 40 bed alternative emergency shelter for youth.
Eva’s Phoenix provides employment opportunities and a supportive living environment to homeless and at risk youth. Staff will offer support on a range of issues from how to open a bank account to how to resolve an issue at work. Lessons most of us learned in a caring family environment that we often take for granted.
We research the job marketplace to identify areas in industry that are suffering from a shortage of employees to fill positions. We are looking for opportunities that lead to careers and decent incomes, not dead end, minimum wage jobs. The youth will be involved in career assessment, to identify their individual skills and how those skills can be upgraded and utilized in the marketplace. We are creating partnerships with corporations, labour unions, learning institutions and private enterprise, to train and employ of our participants.
Youth living at Eva’s Phoenix are required to participate in a training or employment program while living in an environment that provides all the necessary social supports to help them succeed. One of the objectives of the program is to provide a housing situation that, as much as possible mirrors the real world and provides youth with opportunities to develop the skills to find and maintain their own accommodation. Youth are able to live at Eva’s Phoenix for up to one year in a co-operative living environment with a private bedroom and shared use of a kitchen, living room, dining room and bathroom. Ten groups of five youth share these townhouse-type units and are responsible for their own cooking and cleaning. Staff supports the efforts of the youth to learn life skills in an environment, which was designed to reflect their typical living situation outside the shelter system.
Target Client Group
The profile of the homeless or at risk youth is different from the general population, as
64 % are male while 36% are female according to The Shout Clinic Report on Homeless Youth and Employment / Central Toronto Community Health Centres - 1999. They also reported the birth place of the youth were as follows: 30% of the youth were from Toronto, 28% from Ontario excluding Toronto, 24% were from Canada excluding Ontario and 18% were from outside Canada. The youth residing at Eva’s Phoenix are between the ages of 16 to 24.
These young people have usually been disenfranchised from having a safe, secure environment through circumstances like family breakdown. The stereotype of a homeless youth may be that of a mouthy, lazy kid who chooses to live in the street. The reality is that these young people usually have no choice but to head for the street. To quote one of our journeymen from the construction-training program “These kids just needed a chance and when you give them one, they do a great job. They are here at 6:30 am, ready for work at 7:00 am.” To survive on the street takes ingenuity, courage, resourcefulness, flexibility and initiative and it is these same attributes, which are in demand in the workplace today.
The youth are from all socio-economic backgrounds, from all cultures, with different levels of education and when one gives them an opportunity, the majority of them achieve success.
Rationale
Eva’s Phoenix is a new model, which is being developed for adaptation and replication. Our National Initiative Program focuses on taking what we have learned at Eva’s Phoenix to help other agencies in Canada develop similar models of employment and housing support for homeless youth in their own communities.
Most of the existing facilities for housing homeless and at risk youth are emergency shelters where typically youth may only reside for up to three months. The alternative is Ontario Works for youth over 18 years old. One of the reasons young people do not usually survive living on Ontario Works is because of the inadequacy of the shelter allowance in Toronto and that a youth can only afford to pay for a room in substandard accommodation. They have no disposable income and the sense of isolation becomes overwhelming. Our experience shows that after a couple of months in these circumstances they are back in the shelter system.
Strategic Goal
The goal of Eva’s Initiatives is to create opportunities for homeless youth to become self-sufficient and help them out of the shelter system permanently. Eva’s Initiatives has recognized that providing safe shelter and three meals a day is just part of the work that is required to help homeless youth get off the streets. It has become evident that without any additional support, the youth served by Eva’s will often return to the shelter system. Eva’s Initiatives has focused its efforts on helping homeless youth secure training and employment opportunities that will lead to real careers with decent incomes. By achieving economic stability, homeless youth will have the means to secure and maintain permanent housing, which will effectively stop the revolving door in the shelter system.
Detailed Action Plan
Recruitment for Eva’s Phoenix training programs is mainly through referrals from other youth agencies serving homeless or at risk youth throughout the GTA. Youth do not have to reside at Eva’s Phoenix to access the employment programs. The youth are interviewed to ascertain their interest in participating in one of the training programs and to discern whether the program is suitable for them. This is the third year that Human Resources Skills Development Canada has provided funding for employment supports for the youth and wage subsidies for employers. Youth entering the employment program at Eva’s Phoenix proceed through the following steps:
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Employment counselling to determine their inventory of skills and an action plan geared to their career of choice.
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A pre-employment life skills program of a minimum of three weeks that will include interview skills, resume writing, job search, punctuality, attitude, conflict resolution, communication, problem solving and employer/employee relations etc. Youth are paid a weekly stipend of $200 for attending this life skills programming, and must attend if they wish to be placed in a work experience.
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A work experience placement that will lead to full-time employment. Youth are paid minimum wage for a 40-hour week for up to 26-weeks with one of our partner employers. A Job Coach monitors the youth during the work placement phase, as often as necessary according to the needs identified by youth or the employer. The Job Coach is responsible for negotiating a work experience plan with the employer and for assisting to maintain the relationship between the employer and the new employee including resolving any issues if and when they arise.
Learning life and work skills is an integral part of our work experience program. Counsellors are present to assist with addressing the barriers that often prevent youth from concentrating on their training and employment. Some of those barriers are obtaining ID, assisting with court appearances, family breakdown and inadequate housing. Individual counselling is also available to deal with psychological or emotional issues when necessary.
Work Experience Programs
Eva’s Phoenix offers a range of employment programs for up to 100 youth each year, as well as individualized placements based on the specific career interests of the youth. In the last six years we have worked with over 200 private sector and labour employers. Current employment programs include:
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Printing Industry and Graphic Communications in Eva’s Phoenix’s on-site Print Shop, a Social Enterprise (see below)
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An Office Administration program funded by Raising the Roof
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Individualized placements in culinary arts, fundraising, child and youth work, pet grooming and other careers
Phoenix Print Shop
Launched in 2002, the Phoenix Print Shop is a training facility and commercial print shop, providing homeless and at-risk youth with excellent opportunities for long-term self-sufficiency. The Phoenix Print Shop runs with a double bottom line: financial outcomes and social outcomes. The Phoenix Print Shop has a range of partners that contribute in various ways to its long-term sustainability: the Rotary Club of Willowdale, Heidelberg Canada, the United Way of Greater Toronto’s Enterprise Fund, the RBC Foundation, St. Stephen's Job Connect, and Scotia Capital Global Trading.
On-the-job training provides trainees with basic, relevant experience required by most commercial print operations. Print Shop staff are committed and seasoned print professionals who deliver instruction in three main areas: pre-press - MAC and PC platforms; small offset press - one and two colour; and finishing processes - including cutting and folding. Trainees produce a wide range of projects, including commercial work for customers. Participants are accountable for duties and responsibilities that mirror most printing operations. Trainees then work closely with an Eva’s Phoenix Job Developer to connect with a career-oriented position in the graphic communications industry.
Mentorship Program
Mentorship has become a critical foundation of support for youth participating at Eva’s Phoenix. Low self-esteem is one of the greatest barriers our youth face. The assumption being, that a mentor through interaction with our youth, will have a positive impact on the youth’s self worth and view of the world. Increased self worth allows the young person to progress towards their goals whether they are personal or career related.
The environment of living in the shelter system can difficult. One of our youth describes the benefits of his relationship with his mentors -
“Soon after our first few meetings, I came to realize that my mentors saw something in me. They saw many of the virtues that I always hoped but at times doubted that I had. They saw opportunities ahead of me. They saw potential in me for things that I had long stopped allowing myself to even dream about.” Written by a former resident of Eva’s Phoenix, currently living independently and employed in a profession of his choice.
There are 3 main components of the mentorship program—Workplace Mentorship, Peer Mentorship and One to One mentorship.
Workplace Mentorship: - The workplace mentor provides support to youth in their work experience placement. The employer, in consultation with the Job Developer, selects the workplace mentor. The individual is a peer, not a supervisor, who helps the youth get acclimatized to his/her new work environment.
Peer Mentorship: - The purpose of this mentorship component is to connect youth living at Eva’s Phoenix with past residents and participants who faced similar life experiences. Some of the areas where the Peer Mentors provide leadership and support to youth include our in-house resident-run Governance Committee, housekeeping, staffing our Resource Room, Outreach to youth in the community, Art Classes, Cooking Classes, and assistance with housing search and moving. The Peer Mentors receive extensive training in group dynamics, communication, conflict mediation, diversity and leadership.
One to One Mentorship: - One to One Mentorship matches adult individuals with our youth. The commitment is for three months, although it often develops into a longer relationship. A mentor listens, supports, and offers friendship, perspective and guidance. A match with a Mentor can be based on personal skill development, career/educational support, social/recreational interests or be culturally based.
The Result
Having the stability of living at Eva’s Phoenix for up to one year allows the youth to focus on their work experience, and Eva’s counselling team can assist with solving new and old challenges as they arise.
Innovative partnerships with industry, corporations, unions, colleges and apprenticeship programs are proving to be the solution. The rewards are not only experienced by the youth but also by all the institutions and individuals who are involved in changing their lives.
Once these young people have found a career path with an income that allows them to be financially independent and have acquired the life skills to allow them to live independently, the cycle of homeless will be broken. In one short year at Eva’s Phoenix, youth have the opportunity to transform their lives from living in the shelter system or on the street, to living their dreams with a job and a place of their own.
