After 20 years of street outreach work, Thrive's demand is bigger than ever
People struggle with housing, poverty, says executive director
St. John's-based youth support organization Thrive is marking 20 years of its street outreach program and celebrated the milestone with a fundraiser Saturday.
The event was part of the annual Ride for Refuge, which raises funds for charities across the country with a bike ride or walk.
With over $12,000 raised, Thrive had achieved more than half of its $20,000-fundraising goal by Sunday. That money is crucial for the organization's Street Reach program, says executive director Angela Crockwell.
"Particularly this year, as we've seen our numbers increase substantially. So, our costs are going up, particularly our food cost is more than doubling," she said.
"This money will really make sure we have the resources to be able to help the volumes of people that are coming for support."
Street Reach supports about 1,500 people each year, and provides drop-in services for people with access to food, clothes and harm reduction supplies, as well as street outreach services and one-on-one support regarding housing, food security and mental health.
When the program was started in 2004, said Crockwell, it had one staff member and a budget of $7,000, and street outreach was only offered on a part-time basis. While the program has grown to four staff members and over 40 volunteers since then, it has also seen a significant increase in demand for its services — by 116 per cent from the first quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024 alone.
"Since the pandemic, the volume of people has really dramatically increased," she said. "We're seeing people now that we've never seen before, which, given the fact that we've been doing this for 20 years, you kind of feel like we would know everybody."
Crockwell believes a decline in people's mental and physical health since the beginning of the pandemic are factors in this trend, but so is the ongoing housing crisis in the province.
"The depth of poverty, people who maybe could have managed prior now are really struggling just to meet their basic needs," she said.
"We've also seen families who would have been making it, maybe low-wage earners. All of a sudden, the cost of rent, the cost of power, the cost of groceries, now they're not able to make it."
Street Reach, said Crockwell, offers an "incredibly important" service to vulnerable people in the city — something she often hears from participants.
"The thing that Street Reach really has done ... is create a safe space and a bit of a community for people who may have felt a little bit left out or forgotten about," she said.
"They can come every day and they feel safe, they feel connected. And they know somebody there genuinely cares for them and is going to do everything they can to help them."
That's what Jacintha Penney hears, too.
"People appreciate that Street Reach, Thrive, is a really safe place to go where they will be supported and helped no matter what. And that's crucial at various points in their lives," said Penney.
"They are treated with respect and with a great welcome. And everybody's doing their utmost to help them live life to the fullest extent."
Penney, one of about 40 volunteers in the Street Reach program, became involved in January, after seeing the positive impact of Thrive first-hand in her job in health care, and being approached about volunteering by a friend. Since then, Penney has been putting together harm reduction kits and helping in the dining room.
"The employees and the volunteers are so dedicated and committed. And again, that just solidifies my respect for the important work that this organization does," she said.
"I'm here on a Saturday. I got up early to come ... and I hit my family and friends up for some donations. So, that's just a testament to how much I believe in this cause."
A cause that Crockwell hopes will see a decline in demand again soon. Over the next five years, she wants to see new ideas to address poverty and the housing crisis.
"If I was to make a wish, it would be that we wouldn't need a street outreach program," said Crockwell.
"We're really committed to working with our partners to try to come up with those creative solutions because there are just way too many people who are hurting. And we, as service providers and government and community, I think we have to work collaboratively and really be innovative to figure this out."
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