A Way Home

By Adam Donnelly

Young Adults Housing Support

Aurora Rotarians support A Way Home Kamloops with large donation

Nov 12, 2019 | 4:13 PM

KAMLOOPS — Buying groceries. Making a budget. Paying bills on time. They are activities many of us take for granted. However, for youth who experience homelessness, learning important life skills isn’t always a given.

It is why one local Rotary club has partnered with A Way Home Kamloops to create a position that can help young adults learn basic “adulting” skills.

It was smiles and laughter this morning at A Way Home Kamloops. That’s because the Aurora Rotary Club of Kamloops held a morning meeting there, accompanied by a sizeable cheque presentation.

“We’re supporting [A Way Home’s] youth housing initiatives in Kamloops,” Club President Mike Dedels tells CFJC Today. “We’re very proud to be able to do this with the funds we raise from things like Spaghetti Western and the Musical Ride that we’ve done over the last few years.”

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The amount — $10,000. With that sum, A Way Home Kamloops has created a new position to teach youth the necessary life skills that may seem common-place for many.

“We had Katherine (McParland) come in and talk to [the Aurora Rotary Club] about the challenges of youth who have aged out of foster care,” Dedels explains. “The skills that they need, they haven’t necessarily developed over time.”

“When you come from living on the streets, or couch surfing, not really having a place of your own, you don’t have those skills,” Marlo Hodge says.

Hodge is the first Aurora Rotary Youth Housing First Support Worker. The skills she helps the youth learn are applicable in many aspects of their lives.

The Aurora Rotary Youth Housing First Support Worker works in conjunction with other support A Way Home Kamloops provides. After a year of help from Marlo, it’s hoped the youth will be in a position to use their learnings to strike out on their own and become responsible for their own homes and employment or education.

“Something as simple as running a vacuum or doing dishes is something they’ve maybe never encountered,” Hodge says. “[Learning these skills] really sets them up for success in the future.”

According to A Way Home Executive Director Katherine McParland, the organization has helped around 24 youth get off the streets and into safe housing. However, there are still approximately 75 youths remaining on a waiting list.

“They are able to achieve that next step and achieve developmental milestones, such as education and employment,” McParland explains. “This year we have three youth in our housing that are attending Thompson Rivers University to follow their dreams. It all begins with housing first.”

This means every penny that comes into the organization can have an impact on a young person waiting for a home.