Youth Reconnect: Cultivating Connections to School
The RAFT began its mission to shelter Teens from homelessness in St. Catharines and the surrounding area in 1994, and in the decades since it has had a direct and crucial impact on the high school dropout rate. We credit these positives results to our focus on Attachment: That is, the forging and maintenance of strong relationships between our Youth and their family, friends, schools, and community. When human beings are Attached to one another, they can battle homelessness in schools and related issues together.
Having worked with thousands of Teens through the years, we’ve seen exactly how our methods prevent Kids from ending up on the streets. One of the strongest tools we have in our arsenal is the Youth Reconnect program, a Teen engagement technique that’s so successful, other communities throughout Canada have reached out to RAFT to find out just how it works.
Youth Reconnect: Establishing youth connections & homelessness prevention
The RAFT employs a multi-faceted approach to helping Youth avoid dropping out of school, becoming homeless and lacking employment skills. The RAFT is well-known for providing shelter to Teens in times of need, but not everyone is aware of the outreach RAFT performs within schools, before Kids become homeless. This, we believe, has been one of the most productive decisions our organisation has ever made. Preventing Kids from leaving school puts them at a much lower risk of future homelessness.
How does it work? Teens and Kids are referred to us through Ontario Works, schools and other social services, at which point we reach out and try to strengthen and improve existing family, school, mentor and peer networks. While still in school, we have found that most Youth are still part of one or more social networks, which means there is still something to work with! People are the key to every individual’s success, whether that comes from primary family members or not.
Staff at the RAFT have seen the results firsthand
Molly Sutton:
School has been a major foundation for the youth I work with. A foundation that creates long lasting connections with friends, peers, and teachers. These connections provide youth with a sense of belonging, and care. Teachers help youth reach their academic goals and encourage post-secondary schooling as well…Highschool makes a difference in youths’ day to day lives by providing routine and structure. As well, many schools have breakfast and lunch programs, that provide youth with meals they may miss out on.
Summer MacDonald:
In my work, I have seen school give youth hope by providing something to look forward to each day. Even if they are thrown into a new environment where the world may feel like it is crumbling, the youth can attend school to escape their problems and immerse themselves in the structure and community that is the education system.
With teachers and peers being by their side, they can distract themselves even if it is just for a few hours. There is a team of supports for them cheering them on, even if they do not realize it. This is why school makes such a difference in the work I do; not only does it give hope for a better future, but it creates structure and community as well as a small distraction in a world of chaos.
Via the Youth Reconnect program, we work with Teens and Teachers to make it possible for Teens to continue their education in the face of a variety of challenges. Launched in December of 2007, this program works with Niagara schools to help identify at-risk students before they become homeless. In providing support in terms of specialised lesson preparation, scheduling, mentorship, housing, etc., we’ve seen a 75-80 percent drop in Youth drop-ins at the shelter. That number went from nearly 500 drop-ins in 2008, to current annual rates between 100 and 120.
Combating Youth Homelessness in Canada
We know from decades of experience that homeless Youth and education problems go hand-in-hand, and that’s why we put so much effort into keeping Kids in school and reconnecting them with their existing support network. It has worked so well that we have been asked to mentor other youth agencies in Canada, such as the Teen Resource Centre in Saint John, N.B., and Durham Youth Services in Ajax, Ontario. This communal resource is called Common Ground, and the resources we offer to fellow shelters and Teen outreach workers include job shadowing, coaching, training, support, and troubleshooting.
Can school really prevent homelessness in our Youth?
According to our experience, it sure can! Though it’s incredibly common for Kids who lack strong personal attachments to fall behind in school and eventually drop out completely in favour of finding work and moving away from home, school can provide the motivation a Teen needs to keep their head above water. Even if the subject matter doesn’t provide that motivation, a teacher, classmate, or extracurricular program could. Every person might respond differently to various reconnection attempts, so it is essential to find what works for each individual.
Attachment is The Answer!