Salvation Army Youth Shelter Celebrates Residents’ Recent Accomplishments

The Salvation Army Sutton, Ontario, youth shelter for homeless and in-crisis youth has something to celebrate. Four residents from its transitional housing program are pursuing post secondary education at various Ontario colleges. In addition, five other residents have been successful in receiving their General Education Diploma (GED) through the shelter’s program, obtaining extremely high marks.

Says one former resident: “Thank you guys so much for guiding me on the right path. I’ve been through a lot while here, but there was always someone on staff that was there to lend a helping hand. Good Luck with everything and I promise to keep in touch.”

This particular young man moved out of the shelter just last week to attend Community College in his home town. He came to stay at the shelter just over a year ago and then accessed our Transition Program. He rented a room at rent geared to his income. He found a job and with the help of the shelter’s Youth Tutor, researched his options and worked towards his goal of going back to school.

Says Rochelle Saunders, Director: “The success of our youth would not happen without the support of many different levels of Government, The Salvation Army, Community Organizations, local businesses, volunteers and neighbours as we come together to support them.

“We see many youth struggle to find themselves here at our shelter, and we don’t always witness their success. They face many barriers as they seek employment, further education, and housing. We celebrate small victories everyday, but in our hearts, this past celebration of these four residents was huge. Our residents are our future and we need to love, nurture, mentor and support them in any way we can.”