FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2006
OTTAWA - Today, members of the Youth Services Bureau (YSB), along with dignitaries, guests, residents and community supporters, cut the ribbon to officially open the Evelyn Horne residence in Ottawa. This newly constructed 30-bed emergency and transitional housing facility will help teens and young women at risk of homelessness make the transition to more stable accommodation.
This project received more than $3.6 million in capital funding from the Government of Canada's Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative. In 2006/2007, the Province of Ontario will provide a total of $4.9 million for YSB's children and youth programs. Of that amount, $290,000 will be used to operate the Evelyn Horne Residence. Funding for the shelter's ongoing operational costs is provided by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services, the City of Ottawa, and the United Way of Ottawa.
"The model that has been developed here at the Evelyn Horne Residence is to be commended. It is community-driven and flexible, and will provide excellent support for young people," said Lynne Yelich, M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development. "Through partnerships with all levels of government, and the public and private sectors, Canada's new government is working hard to help our most vulnerable citizens, in particular young women, leave the streets and start a new life in a stable and safe facility."
"We are giving our youth more opportunities to succeed," said the Honourable Mary Anne Chambers, Ontario Minister of Children and Youth Services. "The Evelyn Horne Emergency and Transitional Housing Residence will provide young women with much-needed supports and enable them to be successful in their communities."
"I am pleased that our local homelessness service system now includes such a marvelous facility to provide emergency shelter, transitional housing and support for young women who have nowhere else to turn," said Ottawa City Councillor Georges Bédard.
The project will serve low-income women 16 years and older who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. In addition to safe, affordable housing, the YSB will provide crisis and short-term counselling, support programs, and referrals to relevant community resources.
New residents began moving into the residence in March of this year. The residence was named in honour of Evelyn Horne, a past president of the YSB and active member of the local Ottawa community, to recognize her ongoing generosity to the young women the agency serves. She earned many awards for her volunteer service in the Ottawa community, the last being the Governor General's Caring Canadian Award in 2004.
"The new 30-bed Evelyn Horne residence will be an important and much-needed addition to services for youth in the City of Ottawa," said Dr. Kathy Nathan, President of the YSB. "It will allow courageous, resilient, and hopeful young women facing numerous barriers in their lives to begin accomplishing their goals. The stability, safety, change, and empowerment that the Evelyn Horne Housing Program offers will lead these young women to become vital and valuable members of the community."
The Government of Canada launched the National Homelessness Initiative (NHI) in December 1999 to support communities' efforts to help at-risk Canadians out of homelessness. As part of the NHI, the Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative component, administered by partner municipalities, continues to make a difference by encouraging the development of flexible, community-driven solutions to help alleviate homelessness and support those who are at risk of homelessness.
For further information please contact:
Catherine Kaye
Government of Canada
(416) 954-7302
James Ip
Ministry of Children and Youth Services
Minister's Office
(416) 212-7157
City of Ottawa
Corporate Communications
(613) 580-2450
Dan Paré
Executive Director
Youth Services Bureau
(613) 729-1000
Disponible en français
For more information visit
http://www.homelessness.gc.ca
http://www.ysb.on.ca
