Human Resources, Labour and Employment
March 30, 2010Support for a New
Approach to Helping Vulnerable Youth
An innovative new approach to providing homeless and
at-risk youth with the opportunities they need to
develop life skills, build careers and live
independently has received a major boost from the
Provincial Government. The Honourable Susan Sullivan,
Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment,
Minister Responsible for Youth Engagement, and lead
minister for the Poverty Reduction Strategy, today
announced $550,000 in operational funding for Choices
for Youth's new Lilly Building Facility.
"The funding announced today will allow Choices for
Youth to provide a wide range of supports in a safe
haven where resilient youth can discover their full
potential," said Minister Sullivan. "This funding was
made available through the Williams Government's
Supportive Living Community Partnership Program (SLCPP),
which provides operating grants to community-based
agencies so that they can deliver supportive living
services. I'm pleased to note that the province doubled
SLCPP funding in Budget 2010 to $2.4 million. I hope
that by increasing this funding source we will see many
more community-based organizations come forward with
exciting new projects like the Lilly Building in the
coming years."
Choices for Youth is a nonprofit, charitable,
community-based agency that has been providing housing
and lifestyle development supports to youth in the St.
John's metro area for 20 years. Its latest initiative,
the Lilly Building project, involved converting a former
warehouse space in downtown St. John's into a modern
complex with independent living accommodations for 14
youth, as well as programming space for literacy and
employment services. While living in the Lilly Building,
its 14 residents will be able to avail of counselling,
educational support, job placement assistance, housing
search support, mentorship opportunities, and a range of
other services.
"Today we are seeing more and more youth with complex
service needs who need consistent, ongoing, integrated
supports in order to make healthy choices and sustain
progress in their personal development," said Sheldon
Pollett, Executive Director of Choices for Youth. "The
Lilly Building provides a great solution to this growing
challenge, and funding from the Department of Human
Resources, Labour and Employment was key to making it
all possible. I appreciate the support of the Provincial
Government, and I look forward to continued partnership
that produces more forms of support for youth in the
future."
The Supportive Living Community Partnership Program (SLCPP)
that provided the operational funds for this project is
an initiative of the Poverty Reduction Strategy, which
was created to reduce, alleviate and prevent poverty
throughout the province. The goal of the strategy is to
make Newfoundland and Labrador the province with the
lowest level of poverty in Canada within a 10-year
period. $134 million was allocated in Budget 2010:
The Right Investments — For Our Children and Our Future to assist with poverty reduction
efforts.
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