Vancouver

Watari Counselling and Support Services Society offers two main programs for youth, 1) youth outreach and 2)YEAH!

Watari’s Eastside Integrated Youth Outreach Team responds to, and provides street youths’ immediate needs for food, clothing, shelter, and medical care right within the core of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Aside from street outreach, the outreach team facilitates a youth drop-in at Vancouver Native Health Clinic which runs every Wednesday. This drop-in is run in conjunction with the clinic, UBC medical students, as well as other outreach providers to provide youth with a hot meal, groceries to go, support, and easy to access medical care.

The Youth Excelling and Attaining Housing (YEAH!) program is an 18-month housing subsidy program intended to support youth who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, have other identified risk factors, are in financial need, and feel ready, with support, to live independently. The YEAH! Program works in the community to support youth with finding and maintaining safe, affordable, market housing, while encouraging their continued commitment to their goals around mental wellness, physical wellness, life-skills, education, and employment. The YEAH! Program offers support with housing searches, viewing places to rent, communicating with landlords, outreach support, individualized wellness planning, learning life-skills, group sessions focusing on psychoeducational and life-skills topics, connecting with education and employment support and opportunities, access to Food Bank, start-up supplies, and a rental supplement of up to $450 per month. More information about the program and eligibility is available online.

The YEAH! Parenting Program (formerly known as TTIPII) follows the same guidelines and principles of the YEAH! program. However, this program targets homeless pregnant or parenting youth between the ages of 16-24. The YEAH! Parenting Program is also an 18 month program that is designed to providing housing support and subsidy to pregnant or parenting youth working on their substance use, mental health and parenting issues.