zero ceiling is committed to ending youth homelessness, and as part of that mission, wants to address important issues like mental health that can contribute to homelessness—particularly during a time of isolation.
That's why the Whistler-based non-profit has teamed up with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) and the Kelty Patrick Dennehy Foundation to launch Youth Connections, a weekly peer support group for Sea to Sky youth aged 16 to 24.
Rhianna Russell, caseworker for Zero Ceiling, said the concept came from the organization's Work 2 Live participants as they were managing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"A lot of our participants have accessed some kind of mental health support before coming to our program. It may be like counselling or peer support groups in Vancouver, which was what some of the individuals educated me on," she explained. "It was really the participants that brought it to the table for me ... and they were saying how much they got out of it."
The idea of the program is simple: a small number of youth meet weekly to share their experiences, and although facilitated by a VCH peer support worker, a clinical counsellor, and Russell, they guide the focus of the sessions. The group remains open for the first two weeks, before being closed to newcomers to help participants "build relationships and trust with each other," Russell said. After six weeks, the program opens up again to new youth, and current participants can choose to continue on with the program if they wish.
The goal is for it to be as accessible as possible, and is not solely intended for youth experiencing acute mental health symptoms such as anxiety and depression—although those experiences can add important insights to the group, too.
"I believe peer groups are valuable because they create dedicated spaces for people to find meaningful connection through lived experience," said Laurel Ward, VCH peer support worker, in an emailed statement.
While applauding the support programs that do exist locally, including Whistler Community Services Society's six-day-a-week Outreach Services, Russell said much of what is available is geared more towards individuals in crisis.
"There's not much support when some of those mental-health presentations maybe start, or just generally coping when you might not be looking at a counsellor at that point or going to VCH and seeing a psychiatrist," she added. "But really, if you are just struggling in day-to-day life and don't feel like you can take that step to [counselling], there isn't much."
Zero Ceiling has expanded both its staffing levels and mandate in the past year or so. It is already looking at growing its Work 2 Live program, which provides at-risk youth with supportive employment, housing and wraparound services for a calendar year, from eight participants to 12.
But the organization has also recognized that ending youth homelessness means tackling the bigger issues as well, and has ramped up its advocacy efforts at the provincial level, including consulting on a business-to-business guide developing in conjunction with WorkBC and the Ministry of Social Development aimed at achieving more inclusive hiring practices.
Youth Connections is just another example of this broadened focus, Russell said.
"We're really trying to make some big moves. We feel that we want youth homelessness to end. So in order for us to be an active part of that, we have to be involved in community policies and be a voice in the community for some of these issues," she noted. "I think every single one of us looks to jump on the bigger things going on, because we know anything we do to help reduce youth homelessness will impact our participants."
Youth Connections runs every Thursday from 2 to 3 p.m. until July 9. For more information, or to register, contact Alanna Ray at [email protected] or 604-848-8393.
To donate to Zero Ceiling, visit zeroceiling.org/donate.
