Helping youth

ROC helps County youth access services

Navigating the myriad services available to youth can sometimes be overwhelming, and a pilot program that has been operating over the past four months at the ROC is making it a bit easier for County youth to find the supports they need. The Youth Support Navigation Service (YSNS) is intended to help youth access community services that are relevant to their needs. Whether it’s assistance with housing needs, mental health support, education or employment services, transportation, or even just someone to talk to, YSNS will provide immediate one on one support. The program is being run by Claudia Bernardino and Lindsay Ferguson at the Prince Edward County Youth Centre in Picton. “The program is designed for vulnerable youth in Prince Edward County, between the ages of 12 and 18, and who could be experiencing emotional, social or any mental health needs that they are hoping to get additional support for,” says Bernardino, a registered social worker who has been with the ROC since 2019. “One of the benefits of this program is that it’s an immediate response. If we get a call or a text or someone walks in, we’re accessible. We try to respond within 24 to 48 hours, which in a social services world is a pretty rapid response. There are no referrals, so that makes it barrier-free, and it’s zero cost.”

The program was developed after Bernardino and Ferguson noticed a need in the community while doing the doing the neighbourhood outreach response, which was intended to engage youth who would normally be taking part in ROC events, but could not do so because of the COVID- 19 pandemic. “We noticed when we started going to these houses and dropping off the care kits, that there was additional supports that were needed,” says Ferguson. “We were getting lots of individuals asking us ‘Hey, I need these items’, or ‘I’m really lacking food in the house’, or ‘I need educational support’.

(L-R): Claudia Bernardino and Lindsay Ferguson are available to respond to youth needs in the Youth Support Navigation Service at the ROC.

There were youth who needed mental health and emotional support, youth who were experiencing homelessness.” Many of these young people did not know what supports were available, and even when they did, it was difficult to navigate through the process. “So we helped them navigating to services like Ontario Works, Children’s Aid, Children’s Mental Health, or if they needed support with their landlord, making sure they’re aware of their rights as a tenant,” adds Bernardino.

The program has been well received by County youth, with many taking advantage of the help being offered. “I had a youth that was experiencing homelessness at the end of January. We supported them through getting Ontario Works, we helped them in school, we helped them secure housing, we helped them with food items,” says Bernardino. “Now they are in school, they’re doing well and they are on the right track to graduate.” The program had been supported by the Emergency Community Support Fund, which covered the cost of the pilot, but now the ROC is seeking additional funds to keep the program going. This is just one of a number of programs that the ROC offers. The Youth Inclusion Program offers longterm service for youth in need, and this may include working with those individuals several times per week providing counselling and other help as required. There were also a couple of on-site programs that had been operating prior to the latest lockdown. Covid restrictions and the space available meant only a limited number of people could participate in the Teen Dating Violence Prevention program, which has been operating since October, 2020. There was also a Youth Advisory Committee that worked on civic engagement, while promoting change or advocacy within the community.

The workload on Bernardino and Ferguson from YSNS can sometimes be intense, and they look to each other for support while working on these front line cases, helping these vulnerable youth meet their needs. They have noticed a difference in the type of support that these young school-age youth need as the pandemic has remained in force. “There’s a definite increase in how their mental health has been affected, and the isolation piece has been so hard. That’s been a challenge for youth, and it’s been a challenge for us. We have to be creative, but we’re so limited in being able to offer our space,” says Bernardino. She adds that the warmer weather will help, as it will more readily allow for outdoor meetings to directly engage with youth. “That’s the great thing about YSNS, and what makes it unique, is that we can go to them,” says Ferguson. “We are able to travel to them wherever they need us to meet them. We can go for a walk with them, to have a little chat, so that makes YSNS a little more accessible. We meet them where they are and where they feel comfortable.”

Working with youth has been a rewarding experience for Ferguson and Bernardino. “Being able to create trusting relationships where young people are able to be vulnerable with you and share pieces of their life that are hard to share, and being given the opportunity to just sit with them and have a place where they can be comfortable and safe is rewarding,” says Bernardino. For Ferguson, the satisfaction comes from seeing the progress that is being made. “It’s the little things, when you see a youth feel differently in a positive way, or when they overcome an obstacle that we’ve been working on for months, and they are really proud of themselves, and that really makes me happy. They need to be really proud of themselves and keep motivated and build their self-esteem,” she says. “We’ll always be here to support them. Whenever they are ready, we are ready. Nothing is too big or too small. We can help navigate a way through it, whether it’s one time or a hundred times that we meet. We want to help with whatever we can.”

Claudia can be reached at 613.408.7624, or by email claudia@theroc.ca. Lindsay can be reached at 613.408.6204, or by email lindsay@theroc.ca. To donate or for more information about the ROC, please visit theroc.ca.