The COVID-19 pandemic has upended normal life and threatened the lives and livelihoods of millions of Canadians. This is disproportionately true for one of the most vulnerable groups in our community: homeless youth. During the pandemic, Ontario’s homeless population has been more at-risk of contracting COVID-19, given their inability to isolate at home. And when those experiencing homelessness are infected, their likelihood of getting seriously ill is meaningfully higher than the general population, at any age.[1] The pandemic is also expected to exacerbate homelessness in Canada because of the impact of economic pressures, like job losses, or social crises, like domestic violence aggravated by the stay-at-home order.[2] [3] [4]
Furthermore, the pandemic has created new challenges for shelter providers to operate and support their residents. The COVID-19 crisis has required shelters to reduce their capacity to promote physical distancing between residents. The sanitation supplies and personal protective equipment that keep frontline workers and residents safe are costly. Also, the need to minimize in-person interactions has required shelters to turn away volunteers, who help keep costs down.
Luckily, Horizons for Youth’s amazing supporters have risen to the occasion and helped us meet our increased needs and new costs. They have discovered innovative ways to support our residents, even when stuck at home. For those looking to help, here are five ways that we’d welcome your support that are both COVID-19 safe and help us to shelter and care for homeless youth in Toronto. Thanks for thinking of us!
1.Donate
Horizons for Youth (HFY) relies on gifts from our donors to provide shelter for our youth, fulfil their basic needs, and offer them the support that they need to leave the streets behind. While all donations are appreciated, financial gifts offer HFY the flexibility to respond to what our residents need the most in the moment and to cover all of our operating expenses so we can continue to offer life-changing support. We also greatly appreciate when donors decide to join our monthly donor program, which provides us with consistent, dependable income to plan ahead and pilot new, innovative services that provide our residents with the highest quality of care possible.
2. Donate groceries or meals
At HFY, we provide our residents with nutritious meals and snacks every day. Food donations help us do so! We accept needed groceries like eggs, cheese, tomato sauce, and spices. You can see the full list of the staples that we need the most here.
We also accept prepared meals. Our residents love when they get treated to special dishes that are donated by community members and businesses. Please note that during the pandemic, HFY is only accepting meals from local restaurants that have passed Toronto Public Health’s food inspection standards. If you would like to donate a meal to our residents, please email us to schedule a delivery.
3. Organize a fundraiser to support Horizons for Youth
For many, the word ‘fundraiser’ conjures up images of people packed together at the starting line of a race or rubbing elbows at a gala. During the pandemic, these in-person events have been paused, but that doesn’t mean that fundraising has to stop altogether! Many community members have organized creative, new types of fundraisers that are COVID-19 safe and support causes they care about. For example, individuals have hosted online classes where they teach participants skills like yoga or cooking in exchange for donations. Others have planned virtual runs or walks to raise funds. Another easy fundraising idea is asking friends and family to donate to a non-profit in lieu of birthday or holiday gifts.
Many companies also raised funds for non-profits during the pandemic. Some companies organized virtual auctions to solicit donations, featuring prizes like bonus vacation days. Companies also organized employee giving campaigns and matched many of their associates’ gifts. If you are looking to host your own fundraiser, but need a little guidance and support, check out our fundraising toolkit!
4. Donate needed items
Making sure that our residents have what they need to be comfortable is one of our top priorities. This means that we have a rotating list of items that we kindly ask our community to donate. Our full Wishlist is posted here, but items that we’re often looking for include bedding, underwear, and toiletries like body wash and body lotion. Donations can be dropped off at HFY.
HFY also accepts donations of unused gift certificates, which we can use to purchase items from our Wishlist. Gift certificates from stores like Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart, Amazon, or Tim Hortons can go a long way to meet our residents’ needs and give us the flexibility to purchase the items we need when we need them.
5. Help us raise awareness about youth homelessness
Join us in raising awareness of youth homelessness by learning more about the issue and spreading the word. Our blog and Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are great resources to learn about various topics related to youth homelessness. Here, we post information and news on the topic, as well as share the stories of our frontline workers and residents. We appreciate when our community shares our posts and blog articles with their networks. Our blog also links to various other sources of credible information if you want to deepen your understanding and be more equipped to challenge the pervasive stereotypes associated with youth homelessness.
Thank you for lending a hand during these trying times – your support means the world to all of us at Horizons for Youth.
Written by Gillian Moir, Development & Communications Volunteer
References:
[1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-s-homeless-5-times-more-likely-to-die-of-covid-19-study-finds-1.5869024
[2] https://www.unitedway.ca/blog/covid-19-will-absolutely-exacerbate-homelessness-in-canada-say-advocates/
[3] https://globalnews.ca/news/7110357/homelessness-covid-19-study/
[4] cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-oct-12-2020-1.5757769/pandemic-is-creating-a-new-type-of-homelessness-says-outreach-worker-1.5757770