We’re focused in this conversation on a collective approach being taken in Halton to support young people as they transition from the care of CAS, at age 18-24. Halton Region identified this as a priority area, creating a Community Safety and Wellbeing table, and it truly is a community effort.
With the Oakville Community Foundation holding the backbone or coordinator role, leveraging support from the Halton Granters Table, many local youth serving organizations have come together to support youth transitioning from care to support their goals in education, employment and training.
We hear from Steve Levac, Manager of Youth Services, and Jennifer McKnight, Transitional Youth Worker with Halton Children’s Aid Society, about the history and journey of this collective, the results, and their hope that this is a model for systems change to be further leveraged in Halton and many other communities.
Resources
Halton CAS: http://haltoncas.ca/
Oakville Community Foundation: https://www.theocf.org/
Halton Youth Collective Program Report : https://www.theocf.org/initiative/halton-cas-youth-initiative/
Halton Community Safety & Wellbeing Plan: https://www.halton.ca/The-Region/Projects-and-Initiatives/Community-Safety-and-Well-Being-in-Halton
Some of the participating youth-serving organizations
ADAPT: https://haltonadapt.org/
Centre for Skills Development: https://www.centreforskills.ca/
CMHA Halton: https://halton.cmha.ca/
Halton Region Housing: https://www.halton.ca/For-Residents/Housing-Supports-and-Services
HCDSB: https://www.hcdsb.org/
HDSB: https://www.hdsb.ca/Pages/Home.aspx
HIEC (Halton Industry Education Council): https://www.hiec.on.ca/
ROCK (Reach Out Centre for Kids): https://rockonline.ca/
Sheridan College: https://www.sheridancollege.ca/
STRIDE: https://stride.on.ca/
Town of Oakville: https://www.oakville.ca/
YMCA Oakville: https://ymcaofoakville.org/
Laidlaw’s YouthCI: https://laidlawfdn.org/yci-projects.html