About Homelessness

Peel Youth Village

Participating Departments and External Partners

• The Region of Peel owns and operates Peel Youth Village and contracts with the YMCA for program administration.
• Region of Peel, Human Services (program management & Ontario Works caseworkers)
• Region of Peel, Housing and Property (property management)
• Region of Peel, Public Health (public health nurse)

Objective of the Program

• Peel Youth Village provides housing for youth in transition as well as a community centre that offers employment support, recreation and education programs.
• The goal is to provide safe, secure, short-term housing for a maximum of one year, for up to 48 youth between the ages of 16-30, who do not have appropriate shelter.
• Motivated youth have the opportunity to obtain resources and develop skills that will enable them to:
• integrate into the community
• overcome barriers that limit their capacity and
• sustain independence in the community
• Youth, families and residents from the Acorn community are also able to access available services.

Background

• In May 1999, the Final Report from the Peel Regional Task Force on Homelessness was released. Its underlying theme was to support people experiencing homelessness and to enable them to integrate in the community.
• The Task Force found that the resources in the community and the number of shelter beds available for youth in Peel were insufficient to meet the current demand.
• Following through on the recommendations of the Task Force resulted in the collaboration between the Region of Peel and the Peel Homeless Youth Network.
• This partnership led to the development of Peel Youth Village, which opened in October 2005 for community programming and started accepting referrals to the residential program in February 2006.

Implementation

• By providing the opportunity to learn and grow through life management programs and one-on-one supports, staff are committed to empowering youth in transition to improve their quality of life. Youth must be motivated and accepting of assistance.
• Supports include:
• employment services
• education training
• housing mobility
• residential life skills counsellors
• health services
• community development
• recreational programs and
• community resource co-ordination.

Contact

Gary Faris, Region of Peel, Social Services 905-793-9200 ext. 8489
Peel Youth Village, 99 Acorn Place, Mississauga ON L4Z 4E2, 905-791-5576