The Wagner Green YMCA: Investing in hope, happiness and the future
The Wagner Green YMCA in Toronto’s Queen Street West and Spadina Avenue community provides an emergency shelter for youth experiencing homelessness. supplied
Support from the community builds connections and gives the centre’s youth a sense of belonging
The Wagner Green YMCA in Toronto is an emergency shelter and drop-in centre that provides youth experiencing homelessness with a hot meal and a safe place to sleep. But it does more than that, says Nelson Borges, the shelter’s director of youth outreach and intervention – it provides hope.
“We see a lot of our young people in very dark places. With the services we offer here at The Wagner Green YMCA, and with philanthropy and donations through initiatives like GivingTuesday, it provides that moment of light – that there is hope, a goal, and that things will change, and their life will get better,” he says.
Established in 2015 in Toronto’s Queen Street West and Spadina Avenue community, the 11,400-square-foot facility offers youth-in-need a range of programs including access to housing supports and substance use counselling.
Mr. Borges says on average about 40 youth from 16 to 24 years of age call the centre home. And last year, 4,700 visits were made to the drop-in centre.
Youth who rely on The Wagner Green YMCA come from different circumstances and have often experienced trauma, leaving their family home for reasons such as a breakdown in relationships, a lack of acceptance, and abuse.
“The rug has been pulled from under them,” says Mr. Borges.
“We are an emergency homeless shelter, but we’re more than that. We cultivate a sense of belonging, respect and dignity. When you have those [values] established as the foundation, what you’re building on then is trust. ”
“These are young people who typically don’t know where to turn, but when they see the Y symbol on the door of the building, they are drawn to it. They know that it is a place where they can get help,” he adds.
The team at the shelter works hard to build trust with individuals, understanding that when they first arrive, the staff are strangers.
Mr. Borges says he has seen first-hand the adage ‘change happens at the speed of trust.’
“We are an emergency homeless shelter, but we’re more than that,” he says. “We cultivate a sense of belonging, respect and dignity. When you have those [values] established as the foundation, what you’re building on then is trust.
“Once they have a roof over their head and access to a warm bed and healthy food, they can then work on their goals. For some people it’s housing, for others it’s finding a job or going back to school and graduating,” adds Mr. Borges. “It’s hard to look for a job or work on your resumé if you don’t know where your next meal is coming from or where you’re going to lay your head at night.”
While an emergency shelter is often viewed as only offering a brief respite, Mr. Borges says because the objective is to use The Wagner Green YMCA as a launchpad for success, many youth stay for several months, some for a year or longer.
“While they are here, we have employment services, newcomer services and an in-house substance use program that offers support. And so the young people are not only getting their housing needs met but they’re also getting many of their other needs met,” he says.
Mr. Borges says The Wagner Green YMCA is proud of the young people who have benefited from their time at the centre and reached their goals. Many have graduated, others have found employment, and some have started their own businesses.
The need to support youth experiencing homelessness is also a community issue, says Mr. Borges.
While the YMCA of Greater Toronto receives funding from various sources including all three levels of government, the centre relies on donations to make many supports for youth possible.
Support from the community builds connections and gives the centre’s youth a sense of belonging, he adds. In addition to donations of items like clothing, people who give their time – like a barber who volunteers to cut hair at the centre – also have a major impact.
“When people do that, it doesn’t just have a ripple effect, it has the impact of a great wave,” says Mr. Borges, adding these gestures become part of the youths’ life story and journey.
“It has a lasting impression on the young people, and on the community. So, it’s actually an investment in hope, happiness and the future,” he says.
All funds raised as part of the YMCA of Greater Toronto’s GivingTuesday campaign will be directed to The Wagner Green YMCA emergency shelter and drop-in centre.
Donate now at: ymcagta.org/GivingTuesday
To view this report on The Globe's website, visit globeandmail.com
To view the full report as it appeared in The Globe's print edition GivingTuesday