Youth Voices: The Impact of oneROOF Youth Services
In a world of first impressions and snap judgements, the voices of marginalized groups often go unheard and stigma prevails. Whispered stories of hardship and victory are so rarely heard above the noise.
Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of knowing and walking alongside so many young people as they navigate the challenges of this world. Often hard to share, their stories motivate and inspire us long past the limited time we share with them.
There is great strength in the ability to share your moments of weakness.
The impact of oneROOF Youth Services is best reflected in the lives of those we serve. We're #BreakingTheSilence to share stories of brave individuals who formerly utilized our services in a segment we like to call, Youth Voices.
oneROOF Youth Services is committed to providing for the safety, support and overall well-being of youth who are experiencing homelessness and youth who are at-risk of homelessness in Waterloo Region.
These are some of their stories…
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In 2022, one talented youth lent her skills for a donation to a local auction, raising funds for oneROOF Youth Services. A beautiful birdhouse was built in our woodworking shop, painted by a youth, and purchased at the auction.
This birdhouse was meticulously hand-painted by a youth who had not exercised her artistic skill in many years. When asked by staff if she would help them contribute to this fundraising event, she generously agreed and got to work! Upon purchase, the birdhouse's new owner was told the story of this collaborative effort and generous act, after which they chose to return the work of art back to the youth who created it.
The gesture, in recognition of the immense talent shown, was done with the hopes of encouraging this youth to pursue her lost dream of art. The donor hopes the birdhouse continues to inspire her and serve as a reminder that her skills and talent are not going unnoticed.
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Upon completion of oneROOF’s 16-week Streets To Employment and Education (SEE) Program, we asked participants to share feedback about their experience in The SEE Program and the results were entirely positive!
“They [The SEE Team] would make sure that not only me but everyone knew that there were no stupid questions and to not hesitate to ask. I never felt stupid once and the way I was managed made me feel confident.” —Anonymous, 2022 SEE Graduate
“The first thing for which I have joined this program is to improve my conversation skills because I am migrated from non-speaking English country. And in this program I had to engage with co-workers and resource persons like Kandice, Sarah and Jacqueline whose native language is English. So at the end of SEE program I was able to speak English with confidence. I know to make perfection in any language we need more time but at least now I feel confident while speaking.” —Anonymous, 2022 SEE Graduate
“The program gave me a reason to go outside. Being depressed, without a job it was really difficult to pull myself together for an interview and having the job got me actually outside the house, and actually looking forward to it. On top of that, they gave me a reason to keep going outside after the program and put me in touch with many recreational activities I can do to keep up with my mental health.” —Anonymous, 2022 SEE Graduate
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After suffering profound abuse at the hands of an ex-boyfriend, including getting hooked on his drug of choice, Lisa found safety and solace at oneROOF Youth Services. Unable to maintain stable housing due to her addiction, Lisa had been on and off the streets for six long years of her young life. After suffering a near-death experience, she stated…
“Since getting sober, my whole outlook on life has changed. oneROOF knew everything about me and no one judged me. They treated me like a person; they treated me like I mattered when most people looked at me like I was just another dead kid in the streets.”
Lisa went on to work part-time at oneROOF Youth Services as a peer-worker, helping others make the same changes she did and rebuild their lives. – Female, Age 23 (Alias: ‘Lisa’)
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“My whole life became dependant on substance use and I didn’t know how to get out. Drug abuse isolated me; I lost my friends and family and I was losing my health. I became pretty hopeless – unloved and unlovable. It felt like I could never do anything meaningful in life and I became very suicidal.
At eighteen I decided I wanted to go down a different path in life. In that time, I was staying at oneROOF — they helped me find a rehab program. Their staff listened to me when I had nothing, and oneROOF continuously took me in, time after time, failure after failure. People cared for me there and encouraged me to make good choices.
The Lunchbox Program was great and provided a means to financial aid; I worked there and used the money to pay my orientation fee for rehab. Once I was there, everything changed. I got my high school diploma, discovered who I was, and started doing comedy. I rebuilt my relationships with family, had my life back and friends back, started to do hobbies like art and creative speaking, and decided to go back to school to study addictions counselling.” – Male, Age 23
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“Six years ago I moved to Kitchener-Waterloo from Eastern Canada. I had just gotten out of jail and I needed a fresh start. At the time I was 18 and had two kids. I came to Waterloo and met my now, ex-partner, and was trying to get clean. My grandfather passed away, which led my sister to come and stay with me. During her stay she brought drugs back into my environment and I got addicted to crystal meth. In this time, I retreated and was suffering violent abuse… oneROOF was my saving grace while suffering in that relationship.
During that rough time, I was associated with a high-profile crime, that my ex-partner has now been found guilty of. After my involvement went public, I ended up being verbally attacked by members of this community. I couldn’t find a stable home and always ended up back at oneROOF.
After this I got very sick and had a near death experience. During the time I was recovering in the hospital, the only people who came to visit me were oneROOF staff. I am grateful to them for standing by me when no one else did. My life has only improved since.” -Female, Age 22
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“After losing my mother at age 15, I ran away from home; away from my dad and siblings... I had caused a lot of stress for them growing up. I thought they would prefer it if I was gone. I went to another city and met a guy online; soon after I was pregnant and he became abusive. I was 18 years old and after four years in this abuse, my two children were taken from me. The abuse I suffered had gotten increasingly worse. I fled back to Kitchener-Waterloo after deciding my kids were better off without me. Homeless again, hopeless, lonely and hurt, I decided to try to escape my life by using drugs. I began to use crystal meth and hit my rock bottom when I started escorting out of local hotels. I felt worthless and tried to overdose on heroin.
It’s been a struggle since then, but I am getting back on my feet. I’ve been housed for 16 months now, have had no police contact, stayed away from abusive relationships, and worked three jobs consistently. I am proud to say I’m starting university in the fall.” - Female, Age 24
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“It’s been a rough 5 years for me, but I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason… I may not understand why these horrible things have happened to me, but the one thing I know is that I want to try and better the lives of others who have been through the same things. In my lifetime, I want to make a difference.” - Male, Age 24
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“At the lowest point of my life, quality help was nearly impossible to find. I had a bad run of luck that forced me into circumstances that were difficult to talk about. A disagreement regarding religious views ended with me being excommunicated from my entire family, all my friends, and the only way of life I knew. In one day, everything I knew was gone. I was lost. This led to massive feelings of guilt; and the guilt led me to escapism through alcohol and drugs. This negative cycle continued for years… Soon I found myself without housing, without support of any kind. I was alone.
This hopelessness and difficult lifestyle continued and I found myself travelling back to Kitchener, my birthplace, in hopes that I could achieve some kind of peace. This is when I found oneROOF Youth Services. My initial impressions of the environment and staff were that of knowledgeable, mature, empathetic people who genuinely care about the well-being of their clients. My trust was at an all time low, having met so many bad people during my journey through homelessness. My recovery took years, and through the entire process oneROOF was there to help me rebuild my life.” - Male, Age 22
Quick Quotes
Youth speak about their lives and the impact of oneROOF Youth Services
“oneROOF staff went above and beyond. They’ve helped me more times than I can count over the last six years” - Female, Age 24
“Without oneROOF Youth Services, I don’t know if I would be alive today… That is the most difficult thing I have ever said.” – Male, Age 18
“oneROOF helped me believe in myself again and understand that I was worth staying alive.” – Male, Age 23
“I want to inspire and show other girls that they can do better, they can become who they want to be. When they see the change in my life they want to listen, and it’s awesome to be able to be a good influence on people. It makes me really happy.” – Female, Age 24
“Without their help, I would have been lost with no place to go. They got me back on my feet and headed in the right direction.” – Anonymous
How Many People Does oneROOF Youth Services Help?
For more Youth Voices and to see our impact numbers, click here.
Want To Hear More Stories?
Here’s a few places you can find more real life stories of homelessness…