Wood’s Homes reaching out for public support

By Toyin Obatusin - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on November 2, 2024.

Herald photo by Toyin Obatusin The Lethbridge Opportunity Hub is one extension of Wood's Homes requiring funding.

Wood’s Homes, an agency where youth can find help through a variety of funded programs and subsidized support, is currently reaching out to the community to help keep their services running and complimentary for disadvantaged youths and young adults.

The foundation, a mental health centre, is requesting funding for the purpose of covering the costs for current initiatives, adding new facilities, staffing and developing newer programs that will aid clients in being able to sustain the resources obtained.

These programs also assist clients in receiving materials required for jobs, clothing for interviews, hygiene items, toques, gloves and hand warmers, etc.

Sarah Shaw, Program Supervisor for the Youth Emergency Shelter, has been on staff for over 10 years and speaks passionately about the needs of the foundation.

She spoke on the recent opening of the Opportunity Hub, located at 816 4 Avenue South in downtown Lethbridge. This location houses two programs: The Youth Employment Connections program and the Youth Support Navigation program.

The Opportunity Hub is a “safe and welcoming space for young adults ages 16 to 24 who are interested in fostering their own personal growth and development through a variety of resources and service themes including personal development, interpersonal development, life-skills building, systems navigation for mental health, employment readiness, employment training, employment matching, peer mentorship. There is also conversation about creating a business that clients can work in to gain employment skills,” says Shaw.

There are mental health clinicians at the Opportunity Hub that clients can access free of charge, and will remain complimentary with the help of the community. People can also request assistance acquiring subsidized counselling through the City of Lethbridge.

Funding will also be used to employ these clinicians as it will allow for new hires, extension of hours of care at the homeless shelter so clients can extend their stay there. The goal is to make sure that the programs remain free, and that stability in offering them is there.

Becoming a client is as seamless as picking up a phone and sending a text.

Self referral can be done by calling the foundation and meeting with coordinators to discuss your needs and concerns. They will use the information collected during the interview to create a plan for the client, from mental health support, to housing and employment support.

“We do self referrals for the majority of our programs so young people can just call and chat with somebody usually that day and get the support that they need. We try to make it as low barrier as much as possible for young people to access, says Shaw.”

“We meet with them and talk about what’s going on in their lives and see where those gaps are and try to fill it. Right now we’re seeing those complex mental health needs and asking questions like, do they need treatment? Access to different sorts of counselling? Access to primary healthcare? Access to primary healthcare is something that is coming up more frequently”.

Shaw encourages people to visit the website at https://www.woodshomes.ca to read more about the services that they provide for the youth and all of their many initiatives and successes.