Coming of Age – Report Launch Presentation Presented by – Erika Morton Feb 24 th,

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 Addressing the needs of street-involved and homeless youth, who are also: ◦ Pregnant and parenting ◦ Aboriginal ◦ LGBTQ ◦ Newcomer ◦ From a range of geographic communities 3

 How we are doing Community Development work, Systems Integration and Systems Level Planning work in Hamilton ◦ Which is to say that we are building the resilience and enhancing the capacity of the community to address the unique and complex needs of youth 4

 Directors from street-involved youth agencies have a long history of ad-hoc communication  Over ten years ago, a group of service providers began meeting formally in order to address community gaps  Separated the directors and front line staff to enhance communication 5

 The directors table partnered with the SPRC in 2004 to develop a community plan that would address the needs of street-involved and homeless youth  In October 2005, the Addressing the Needs document was released  The subsequent recommendation implementation phase helped us understand how the three stakeholder groups would work together 6

 Mission Statement: The SYPC strives to advocate for, support and facilitate an enhanced, seamless system of services for street-involved and homeless youth. Directors Committee Front Line Advisory Committee Youth Leaders Committee 7

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 Addressing the Needs of Street-Involved and Homeless Youth in Hamilton (October 2005) and Evaluation (August 2009)  Strategic Planning Sessions  Monthly Planning Meetings  Dedicated Community Development Support 9

 The collaboration model-3 stakeholder groups  Commitment to systems planning; systems level perspective  Documentation of community conversations and use of research in work  Community development support  Increase of the profile and community awareness around street-involved youth issues  Enhance communication between service providers-address barriers  Share resources, projects, programs  Joint planning and program development 10

 Youth Housing Support Project  Youth Outreach Workers of Hamilton project  Angela’s Place and Wesley Youth Housing transitional housing projects  Living Rock’s Weekend Open Access Support  The Addressing the Needs report and subsequent Interim Project Check-In  Increased capacity and training for front-line staff  Increased mental health services, including clinical services 11

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 Time  Balancing inclusiveness and getting work done  Working with diverse agencies  A funding climate that expects collaboration but does not foster it  Meaningfully valuing the perspective of front line staff and youth 13

 Thank you to the Government of Canada for their generous support 14

 For more information about the SYPC or YHSP please contact me at:   ext 303  Follow us on Twitter 15

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