When it comes to helping homeless and at-risk youth, centres like the Directions Youth Services Drop-In serve as a first point of contact—a safe haven where young people can find the support they desperately need. Among the most essential services we offer is the Food Program. It’s something that gets youth in the door, helps us build relationships with the youth, and, when they’re ready, connect them to other services. Among the most overlooked entry points are specialized programming, like our 2SLGBTQIA+ program and art program. Because these programs aren’t offer services that are, strictly speaking, essential, it’s easy for folks who aren’t in frontline work to forget about the ways these programs can open the same doors as the ones meeting youth’s basic needs. Our 2SLGBTQIA+ program gives queer and trans youth a safe space, one where they can build community and find safe adults to trust, which leads to a chance at connecting them with long-term help. Entry point programs give youth access to support and relief for immediate needs and foster the relationships, trust, and safety necessary to pursue more long-term goals.
The Food Program: More Than Just a Hot Meal
For many homeless youth and those who are precariously housed, hunger is a daily struggle. That’s why our Food Program is so crucial. Offering a hot, nutritious dinner does more than fill an empty stomach; it provides comfort and a sense of normalcy. At the DYS Drop-In Centre, we serve up hot dinners every single day of the year, at 8 PM. For some, this can be the only routine and structure to their days. These meals are often the first step in building trust between the youth and staff at Directions. It’s consistency in showing up for them. It’s familiar faces, asking about their day, how they liked the meal, and giving them a listening ear.
Food is culture, it’s intimately tied to memories, and opens doors for getting to know each other. Once trust is established, it becomes easier for staff at Directions to recommend and connect youth to other services they might need, like counselling, job training, or housing assistance.
Our Food Program can’t run on good intentions and food donations alone. They need consistent funding to ensure that none of our young, often overlooked, neighbours go hungry or are forgotten about. Consistent support, like monthly gifts, helps us create a welcoming, responsive space where youth feel valued and cared for, making them feel supported and safe enough to take their next steps toward a better future.
2SLGBTQIA+ Support: Making Sure Pride Isn’t Just a Holiday
Youth who are part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community are disproportionately facing homelessness and other challenges. It’s easy to forget, living in a pretty progressive and accepting city, that there are still youth who face rejection and discrimination at home (as well as in public) for their identities. The 2SLGBTQIA+ Program at Directions Drop-In is a place where we are countering toxic, queer- and transphobic rhetoric. We give youth not only a safe space, but a space to celebrate who they are, to build community with each other, and to be with peers and role models who can show a real path forward. Each week, our 2SLGBTQIA+ program hosts activities: movie and game nights, clothing markets, safe sex and relationship workshops, drag performances, and more.
By tuning in to the unique needs of 2SLGBTQIA+ youth, our program helps them build confidence, find community, and access resources that can make all the difference in their lives. But, like our Food Program, this programming requires adequate funding to stay open, expand, and offer these youth the full range of support they deserve.
Entry Points Open Doors
The Food Program and 2SLGBTQIA+ Program are essential to our Drop-In Centre’s offerings, but they’re often at risk of scaling back or ending due to funding shortages. The cost of food has increased a staggering amount over the last few years. Funding for the 2SLGBTQIA+ program is often one-time and for specific offerings. Without ongoing and adequate funding, these programs can’t reach their full potential.
Investing in entry point programs like these is about more than just providing basic needs and making safe spaces—it’s about opening the door and giving young people the chance to build a brighter future. When they come to a movie night with the 2SLGBTQIA+ Program, staff can mention medical and mental health supports, housing supports opportunities, and pre-employment services. When youth come in for dinner, they also have the chance to shower, do laundry, access a storage locker, and we might get the chance to see if they’re interested in counselling or an ID clinic. To keep doors like this open for the youth who need them, we need your support. These youth are our neighbours and investing in their future is an investment in the future of our community.
Please consider donating today.