VIEWPOINT: Homeless youth at risk of overdose don’t have the time to be waitlisted

By Alicia Wachon 

Beneath a foundation of faith, there lies hope — literally.

Located in the basement of the First Baptist Church at the intersection of Laurier Avenue and Elgin Street, the Restoring Hope Ministries shelter has become a safe haven of sorts for local homeless youth aged 15 to 18.

But recent events have exposed a gap in the city’s social safety net, one that Restoring Hope Ministries is struggling to repair. It’s a waitlist that puts some of the capital’s most vulnerable people on hold for help that could be needed to save their lives.

Since opening its doors in 2013, the shelter has grown significantly. It offers more beds, has increased the days per week they are available, and has even secured a second location at the Fourth Avenue Baptist Church in the Glebe.

A recent CBC story reported that Restoring Hope Ministries has made yet another decision to enhance the shelter. It plans to launch a pilot program that will temporarily provide informal addiction and substance-abuse counselling for youth while they remain on a waitlist for professional counselling.

The initiative comes after the RHM coordinators learned that one of the shelter’s regular visitors, a young man, had died from an opioid overdose on a night when the First Baptist site was closed.

Director Jason Pino said the man would come in to secure a warm bed almost every night the shelter was open, and many in the community were deeply saddened by the news of his death. Staff members and clients realized they had lost a friend to unfortunate circumstances.

As part of the shelter’s services, Pino says, they try to direct their clients to seek addiction counselling and other professional help. He estimates that about 90 per cent of their 20 to 30 clients are battling drug problems.

Despite the best efforts of shelter staff to try to help as many youths as possible, there is an important underlying issue highlighted by this heart-felt initiative.

Youth facing extreme overdose risks are being waitlisted at a time when they need immediate professional help, not stop-gap counselling from well-intentioned volunteers.

If homeless youth with addictions are being told they must wait for professional counselling, local health officials should quickly probe service levels in the city and recommend ways to eliminate delays for addicts seeking help. Lives are at stake here.

At the very least, we should be mindful that those needing help may also require exceptional efforts to get connected to counsellors; to stay updated on a waitlist status, telephone or Internet access may be needed — and it can be insensitive to assume all youth are easily reached or that all shelters can provide technological support.

Even transportation issues can discourage homeless youth from arriving on time in preparation for professional counselling.

Luckily, there are three counselling centres within walking distance of Restoring Hope Ministries. One of these is the Centretown Community Health Centre on Cooper Street.

Some addiction centres, such as CCHC, offer walk-in information sessions. But some homeless youth may be emotionally unstable and too anxious to walk in and speak to random counsellors about their addiction.

“There’s a medical component to it, for a youth with addictions, but there is also the spiritual, emotional piece,” Pino told the CBC.

For certain private addiction-counselling services, the cost of getting help can strain an individual’s ability to pay.

Homeless youth can have their hope renewed by the generous shelters that provide relief and safety for their clients. But anyone facing both homelessness and a potential overdose tragedy shouldn’t have to wait for the full range of help needed to survive.