Services for youth step up to fill gap left by Sudbury Action Centre for Youth

An organization that offers peer support for youth in Sudbury, Ont. says it's looking to grow after a similar service had to shut its doors.

On March 18 the Sudbury Action Centre for Youth (SACY) closed its doors due to insolvency. SACY provided several harm reduction and support services for vulnerable people in the community, including the city's only drop-in shelter specifically for youth.

After it closed, other organizations have offered services to fill the gap left by SACY. The Samaritan Centre in downtown Sudbury opened a temporary overnight warming centre

And the Sudbury Youth Wellness Hub, located in the YMCA of Northeastern Ontario, was already helping many of the same young people who attended SACY every day.

"They would go to SACY at night and then come to our space during the day," said Amanda Gates, the Youth Wellness Hub's co-ordinator.

"We had a lot of youth come in asking for help, trying to find another place to go."

The Youth Wellness Hub offers peer support services and a safe space for young people between the ages of 12 and 25 to hang out during the day.

Gates said SACY clients who have come to the hub were "devastated" when the organization had to close its doors.

"A lot of them felt very displaced and not knowing where to go caused a lot of panic," she said.

"I know when they came in, when they found out they were asking our staff, 'Like what do we do, where do we go?'"

The hub is still relatively new, and Gates said one priority is getting the word out that they're an option for youth to access mental health services, or a safe, warm space during the day.

Gates addedthey're constantly looking to grow and add services that meet young people's needs.

"My role as co-ordinator is constantly bringing in more services for youth into the space," she said.

"We're limited to the space we have right now, but I'm pretty creative and figuring out how we can get people to add their services to our current service."

Limited funding available

But another youth-focused organization in Sudbury is struggling to keep its doors open past the summer.

Future North, a Sudbury-based charity focused on education and employment opportunities for youth, is losing its funding from the federal government on March 31.

Kamilah Francis, Future North's executive director, said the organization had a four-year funding agreement with the federal government that won't be renewed after this month.

"We are currently going to be continuing our services just on some of the reserve funds that we've been able to build up from some of the contracts that we've obtained over the years," Francis said.

Those reserve funds are expected to last until June 30, at which point Future North will need a more long-term source of funding to stay open.

Francis said a lot of youth-focused charities are in the same situation.

"It's not just SACY, it's not just Future North," she said.

"I know of many other youth-serving organizations or structures that are feeling the financial pressures, that are looking for additional funding."