{"id":3618,"date":"2021-04-19T11:22:24","date_gmt":"2021-04-19T15:22:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluedoor.ca\/?p=3618"},"modified":"2023-08-03T16:10:06","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T20:10:06","slug":"finding-their-way-home-first-lgbtq2s-youth-housing-comes-to-newmarket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluedoor.ca\/finding-their-way-home-first-lgbtq2s-youth-housing-comes-to-newmarket\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding their way home: First LGBTQ2S youth housing comes to Newmarket"},"content":{"rendered":"

INNclusion is a transitional home that helps at-risk youth avoid homelessness<\/p>\n

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When Jacob Gal\u2019s parents told him to \u201cget out,\u201d he had no idea where he was going.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It had been months of conflict as the teenaged Gal stumbled through the painful process of growing up gay in the suburbs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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His first partner was a substance user \u2014 scary for any parent \u2014 and Gal was struggling with his identity, religion, arguments at home until finally, he was shown the door.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Back then, Gal did not know about Blue Door Support Services, or any other assistance that might have been available.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cNot everyone feels comfortable telling their guidance counsellor \u2018I just got kicked out.\u2019\u00a0 It\u2019s a very personal thing,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He pushed himself through summer school, bouncing from one friend\u2019s house to another, until he got lucky. He met someone who was volunteering with York Pride and began helping out there too, eventually moving into the person\u2019s house, paying rent, beginning the hard work of growing up.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI was very lucky to have that option. Many of us don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Until now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Blue Door<\/a>, where Gal now works as the social programming adviser, has a new initiative that promises to help.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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INNclusion is the first of its kind in York Region, a transitional program which opened mid-March. It can provide stable housing for four youth aged 16 to 26 who identify as 2SLGBTQ+ and are at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Studies suggest<\/a>\u00a0Canadian LGBTQ+ youth make up between 25 and 40 per cent of all homeless youth and face financial hardship, employment barriers, family breakdown, mental illness \u2014 and importantly, safety concerns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In a\u00a02020 CAMH study<\/a>\u00a0researcher Alex Abramovich found 77 per cent of youth surveyed have been verbally abused.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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These are the needs INNclusion hopes to address, says Alex Cheng, Blue Door\u2019s director of community programs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re providing a transitional space for youth looking for assistance building skills to live independently in the community \u2014 what better way to approach that than to do it from the community itself?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Blue Door’s Alex Cheng stands in the kitchen of their new home for LGBTQ youth in Newmarket.<\/p>\n

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Located in Newmarket for its accessibility, the home was designed with help from Manina Murphy, from About Space Designs, who shared her \u201ctrauma-informed\u201d expertise.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Murphy\u2019s goal was to ensure there were no psychological triggers and create a restorative, supportive environment, making use of natural material to help reduce anxiety, wall art chosen for inspirational value and reading selections recommended by Glad Day Bookshop, the first queer-focused Canadian book store.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Instead of a formal dining space, a quiet reading\/study room is softly lit by filtered light through sheer curtains. There\u2019s a cosy family room fireplace and four bedrooms with single beds in shades of calming grey, delicate flowers and colourful art that says \u201cwe love you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe kept things simple to allow lots of opportunities to personalize and make it their own,\u201d Murphy says.<\/p>\n

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Manina Murphy of About Space Designs designed the interior of the home. This is what is known as the “chill” room for relaxing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cFor the most part, a youth\u2019s first housing experience is going to be sharing with a roommate or with a couple of housemates, so we wanted to replicate that that,\u201d Cheng says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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INNclusion is staffed with people who have lived experience, who can provide mentorship and assist with each client\u2019s needs, whether it\u2019s education, employment, or health.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cYouth can stay up to a year or more, giving them time to navigate some of those complex issues and work on a career path,\u201d Cheng says. \u201cIf there are issues with family, we can explore that and seek a path for reunification if they\u2019re interested.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Clients pay a monthly $400 occupancy fee to help prepare for the real world where they have to make rent payments, he says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Shelters can be intimidating for LBGTQ2 youth, Gal says, and with the pandemic, social connections are almost impossible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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At INNclusion they can find that sense of belonging with games nights, or growing a backyard, vegetable garden, learning life skills along the way, he says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Social Programming Advisor Jacob Gal sits in one of four bedrooms in Blue Door’s new home for LGBTQ youth in Newmarket.<\/p>\n

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\u201cGetting someone off the streets and back into society takes making sure they have a place, they have clothes, can take a shower, they have food and ultimately, a foundation to build a life.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For information, email\u00a0INNclusion@bluedoor.ca<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

INNclusion is a transitional home that helps at-risk youth avoid homelessness April 19, 2021 By: Kim Zarzour at YorkRegion.com, Original Article When Jacob Gal\u2019s parents told him to \u201cget out,\u201d he had no idea where he was going. It had been months of conflict as the teenaged Gal stumbled through the painful process of growing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t