What is Host Homes?
A community-driven program designed to provide supportive, practical, and effective solutions to homelessness among youth and young adults.
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Host Homes Cowichan provides a safe, consistent, home-like environment for youth and young adults who are experiencing homelessness or are precariously housed. The program operates by matching a young person with a host family, with whom they live for an extended period of time, while receiving a private room and access to food for three meals a day. This process is entirely at the direction of the youth/young adult, who chooses whether to participate in the program, who they would like to live with, and what supplemental supports they would like to receive. Once the match is accepted by both the youth/young adult and the host(s), the two parties come together to create a shared living agreement that can be terminated at any point by either party. This agreement covers such things as culture, boundaries, quiet hours, chores, guests, and more. The youth/young adult will also work with Host Homes Cowichan's Care Coordinator to establish a set of goals, ranging from smaller ones like coming home at night to larger ambitions like school attendance or finding employment. This is all based on where the youth is at and what they would like to work toward during
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their stay, all with the ultimate goal of inspiring self-sufficiency. The program can also support a process of family reunification between the youth and their biological family, if appropriate and chosen by the youth/young adult. The program will ideally last for six months, with the possibility to extend the living agreement even further if desired. During this time, the youth/young adult will work closely with the Care Coordinator and a variety of community support services, as required on an individual basis. In providing a safe and caring home, this program hopes to prevent further homelessness in the youth/young adult's life by preparing them for future independent living. The program also offers a valuable opportunity for community members to directly be a part of the solution, whether by hosting a youth/young adult directly, supporting the program financially, or in a number of other meaningful ways.
Follow the the links below to learn more about the Host Homes program or to get involved. |
Why Host Homes?
A Proven Model
- Host Homes allow youth/young adults to be in control of all decisions, offering them unparalleled autonomy in choosing with whom they live, all while still providing a safe home and access to resources
- Existing models show Host Homes to be a cost-effective and successful intervention for homelessness prevention
- Youth and young adults are able to stay in their community and maintain existing natural supports
- Aging out of care is one of the primary reasons youth and young adults experience homelessness, as they often are not preferred tenants and can struggle to find housing
- A person's youth is the best time to implement policy interventions, as it has the potential for the most life-altering and lasting effects
- Host Homes allows community members to be a direct part of the solution, either as hosts, by offering supports, volunteering time, or financing a youth/young adult
Host Homes: A Global ProjectThe model for Host Homes comes from the United Kingdom, where a single-night-stay program was developed to address youth homelessness. This program was then built upon and brought to Canada as Host Homes by the Toronto based organizations Raising the Roof and Bridging the Gap. Tailored to suit the social needs and legal requirements of Canada, Host Homes has successfully launched and operated programs in both urban and rural communities, while spreading to Alberta, British Columbia, and the United States. Due to this success, Bridging the Gap has created a toolkit designed to help organizations all across Canada implement their own Host Homes program. To learn more about the Host Homes program, visit the Host Homes Canada website below.
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