New facility to offer affordable housing to 46 at-risk Calgary youth

After a successful one-year pilot that provided supportive living accommodations for 12 housing-insecure youth in Calgary, the Trellis Society is expanding its programming.

At a press conference on Monday, the organization revealed that its new facility in the Beltline, located at 1118 16th Ave. S.W., will provide affordable housing and social support to 46 youth who have experienced or are at-risk of homelessness. 

"Because of the collaboration and dedication of many, 46 youth are safe here in their own home tonight," said Jeff Dyer, CEO of the Trellis Society. 

"As we celebrate today, it's essential to acknowledge the profound challenges faced by these youth, challenges stemming from trauma, adversity, and the realities of homelessness." 

Dyer said the youth living in the building will be provided with 24/7 access to support workers, as well as mental health services, cultural programs, and employment and education supports. They will also be able to stay in the accommodations past their 18th birthdays, if needed. 

"We try to follow the lead of the young people that are living here so that they can signal to us what their interest is next, what's the help that they need most … so it looks like an apartment, but there's a lot of secret sauce happening here as well." 

The housing units have been provided to the Trellis Society by HomeSpace, a charity that works to provide affordable housing for vulnerable Calgarians. The 12 youth who were a part of the society's initial pilot program in Forest Lawn have been relocated to the new space. 

The Calgary Homeless Foundation, the Ministry of Children and Family Services, and the Ministry of Seniors, Community and Social Services, also contributed funding to the program. 

"Now more than ever, Calgarians are struggling to find the housing they can afford, and it's the most vulnerable, like youth, seniors and people with disabilities, that feel the impacts first," said Bernadette Majdell, CEO of HomeSpace. 

"It's only by force of luck and timing that HomeSpace had this building available for Trellis to expand the programming, [as] there's just not enough housing to meet the current need."

Dyer said the pilot program was initially provided to youth who had "fallen through the cracks" of Calgary's available public services, and were repeat users of the Trellis Society's emergency youth shelter. 

Through that program, Dyer said the youth "saw a boost to their overall health," and "greatly reduced interactions with law enforcement, gangs, and harmful behaviours."