By Gemma Villanueva
Over the past 19 years, Youville Centre has seen 500 young single mothers come through its doors. Of those, more than 300 have graduated from the centre’s alternative high school and about 140 are now off social assistance.
The non-profit agency helps teenage mothers with education, housing, child care and support services. United Way Ottawa funding provides almost $37,000 for the alumnae support program for former students, whether or not they graduate.
There is a demand for continued support, because many of the young single parents still want help as they make the transition to post-secondary education or paid employment, says Youville Centre’s executive director Judith Sarginson.
Ottawa’s United Way 2005 fundraising campaign raised $21.5 million to invest in more than 175 community programs and services this year. The current campaign ends Nov. 28 and has a goal of raising $27.2 million.
“The only funding [Youville Centre] receives for former students is from the United Way,” says Sarginson.
The program was previously funded by other donors such as the Ontario Trillium Foundation, which provided $62,700 over two years. The United Way stepped in when the grant ended in 2004.
While money is too tight to create an alumnae co-ordinator position, Sarginson says United Way’s funding “is enough to creatively find a way to support these women.”
Former students can seek guidance from Youville Centre’s support staff about issues such as housing, career counselling and post-secondary education. Social outings for alumnae, such as family picnics and information booth nights, are organized three times a year.
“[The program] gives them information about the community,” Sarginson says. “Because the reality is, Youville cannot be everything for them forever.”
The Ottawa Mission is another agency supported by the United Way’s fundraising efforts. It received about $141,000 from the United Way in 2006 for its addictions treatment program for men who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
LifeHouse is a six-month drug and alcohol rehabilitation program with aftercare support for graduates while they make the transition back into the larger community. About 300 people enter the program each year.
The program is unique, because it offers graduates ongoing group and individual counselling for up to two years after completing their stay at the Mission, says program manager Jay Fox.
“We’re fortunate that we’re funded by the United Way and by private donations, in that we can offer a longer program,” he says, adding that it is difficult to solve problems faced by longtime addicts in brief treatment programs.
Fox says the drug and alcohol addictions treatment programs funded by the provincial Ministry of Health often last only 21 or 28 days, because they follow ministry guidelines.
LifeHouse was launched in 2001 and more than 65 per cent of its graduates are sober in the community today, says Fox.
Twenty-four beds at the Mission are available for the program’s clients, who stay in a separate house connected to the shelter through its dining room.
“It gives them a chance to live as a community,” says Fox. “To grow and interact with other guys who are going through the same struggles they are, sharing the same successes they are.”
LifeHouse offers stabilization, a 12-step treatment program, individual counselling, group therapy and training in skills for daily living and jobs.
Upgrading their education and volunteerism are also parts of the program.
After completing six months with LifeHouse, the men live with other graduates in transitional housing and receive ongoing support.
Ottawa police Chief Vince Bevan, who is chairing the United Way 2006 campaign, says the city’s fast-growing population is being closely followed by “big city problems and challenges.
United Way plays a vital role in supporting community groups, says Bevan.
“There is no possible way that only government, church agencies or other social support agencies can meet the need in our community.”