Residents of the Cowichan Valley have a chance to help homeless youth by providing them with a place to live.
Host Homes Cowichan is a pilot project that will pair people with a spare room in their home with a homeless youth between the ages of 16 and 26.
Rosalie Sawrie of Social Planning Cowichan says there are many young people in the area without a full-time place to stay.
She says they may be living on the streets or couch-surfing as they look for work or try to go to school.
The matching procedure for Host Homes Cowichan includes application, screening, and orientation training prior to linking up youth with a residence.
Their goal is to empower homeless youth and young adults and help them pursue healthy and independent lives.
Sawrie says they understand the hesitation people may feel, “but no one would be going in blind.”
The first of three public information sessions will be on Wednesday evening at 5:30 pm at the CMHA’s Youth Outreach Office at 371 Festubert Street in Duncan.
Meetings are also being held on November 18th at the Ladysmith Resource Centre at 630 2nd Avenue in Ladysmith, and November 19th at the Lake Cowichan Arena.
