An organization for homeless youth plans to expand its services and open a retail space for youth-created art when it moves to Centretown in February.
Operation Come Home, an organization that reunites runaways with their families and offers other services to homeless and at-risk youth, will be selling items created by young clients in its jewelry design program.
“(It’s) a way for them to make money but also a way for them to develop, not only in terms of their artistic talent, but in terms of increasing their self-esteem and feeling that they’re worth something more than they might have in the past,” says Operation Come Home’s executive director Elspeth McKay.
The BeadWorks program currently sells items through fairs, private parties and consignment shops. Because of this, it doesn’t provide a steady income for youth, says Ayan Bihi, a BeadWorks staff member.
The planned retail space at 150 Gloucester St., which includes a gallery and a studio, means more youth should be drawn to the program, says McKay.
The organization, which is funded by the City of Ottawa, the government of Ontario and others, is currently located in a red-brick house at 179 Murray St.
“Right now, we’re in a very cramped space, so they’re all very cushy with one another,” says Melanie Savage, a support worker at Operation Come Home’s Job Action Centre.
“We’re not being as effective as we could . . . because we simply don’t have the spatial resource to be able to sit down and talk to them in a private, quiet place,” adds McKay.
“We could be standing out in the parking lot, we might be sitting in someone’s car, we could be in a corner in the hallway somewhere, or in a bathroom.”
The new building is 10,000 square feet, compared to the current building of about 3,000 square feet. Operation Come Home chose the location for the nearby services and the proximity to downtown as well as the extra space.
“It’s beneficial for (the youth) because they’re not in an area where they can be triggered to engage in different activities,” says Savage, who adds that it will still be easy for the youth to get there. It is near the 1, 2, 4 and 7 bus routes.
The area is filled with businesses and McKay says she hopes to work with the business community in Centretown to promote the BeadWorks program.
“I would consider helping them out for sure,” says Pat Traill, who has been a manager of the Sassy Bead Company for 16 years. “(It’s) an amazing idea.”
“Now that we are in neutral territory with a lot of different businesses around, I do expect there to be new curriculum created so that [the youth] can get out more and talk to different business owners,” says Savage about possible work experiences for youth.
Though all the plans are not yet finalized, both Bihi and McKay say they may also be looking to bring in artists for workshops and to work with other art forms such as textiles, paining and possibly pottery.
These other art forms may run as programs alongside BeadWorks, says Bihi who is interested in including any art as a form of expression for the clients.
“They all have a unique story to tell.”