Jessica had no stable living situation during some of her most impactful adolescent years. She moved within the foster care system and numerous residential services after a minister of social development removed her from her family home at the age of 12. She got involved with drugs and prostitution and had no family connections, as the social support she was receiving from local services would come to an end when she turned 16.

However, as one of the first participants in Youth Impact Jeunesse, a transitional housing program, she reset the course of her life and 15 years later is now a business owner, a homeowner and married with two children.

“She comes in every single week to this day and donates hygiene products or gently used clothing,” said Tracy Cormier, Youth Impact’s associate director of development office and community outreach programs. “She truly believes she wouldn’t be where she is today without all of the interventions that she went through.”

In fact, Cormier says it’s common to receive calls from people her organization served as long as 10 years ago, to express gratitude. It speaks to how Youth Impact, based in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, and the recipient of an MDRT Foundation 2024 Global Grant of $2,500, has lived up to its name by preventing young people with nowhere to go from returning to difficult family situations or the street.

How it works

While Youth Impact helps people as young as 2 and as old as 25 with meals, mental health counseling, drug intervention support and more, the transitional housing program also provides one four-person apartment for males and one four-person apartment for females between 16 and 22. There are conditions for each candidate:

• Undergo an interview process with a program manager and staff.
• Commit to either working or going to school full time (40 hours per week) and meeting with case workers (supported by the MDRT Foundation grant) on a regular basis.
• No drug use or alcohol is allowed on the property.
• The cost is at most $400, depending on income level, and half of the rent is returned to participants upon successful discharge.
• Stays can last three to 12 months, with exceptions depending on need.

While some landlords may hesitate to house 16-year-olds in their buildings (in New Brunswick, 16 is old enough to rent your own apartment), Youth Impact establishes relationships to foster beneficial circumstances for all involved, including exit plans for people leaving the program.

Furniture, linens and other basics are provided upon moving into the apartment. The program also has two live-in role models — often university students who live rent-free and receive a monthly stipend — who mentor and support the youth and provide another voice to answer any questions. 

In addition, program staff help each youth develop an individualized care plan, which outlines goals and steps that will help them move their lives in a positive direction and become more independent. Goals may include how to shop for groceries, cook, and advance their communication and self-esteem skills. Weekly check-ins help monitor progress and set new targets if something isn’t working.

Staff members also are available 24/7 in person or by phone to provide a reliable resource, help keep on track with goals and encourage the kids to be independent.

“One of the things we try to focus on with the kids is that they are directing their life,” said Barb Ferguson, Youth Impact’s associate director of administration. “We’re there to help coach, guide and support, and if the staff aren’t there, the foundation of the program isn’t there.”

Each participant is different, but all have endured trauma in early childhood, experienced a family breakdown and come from low socioeconomic conditions. Transitional housing, says Ferguson, is first and foremost a safe place to combat chaos where residents know they have a place to sleep, something to eat and hope for the future. After youths have been discharged, they can utilize an after-care program, where staff support former residents with guidance, whether it’s job-seeking assistance or fixing an overflowing toilet.

All these services help young people overcome adversity and become productive citizens, says John Charles Maisey, CFP, CLU, the 18-year MDRT member from Moncton who recommended the grant.

“Our community is experiencing a street drug and homelessness epidemic,” said Maisey, who first learned of the organization when he joined the board of the local Boys and Girls Club in 2002. “Every child helped is one less child who may end up on the streets.”

Youth Impact hopes to provide additional residences for more kids. An expansion can address housing shortages in the face of rising rents and additional needs, whether it’s people who are unable to live with others or are not served by other housing programs’ approach to gender. (In one case, Youth Impact worked with another organization to support a transgender youth who couldn’t reside in transitional housing.)

For now, the program serves as many people as possible, and its impact is reflected by the testimony one resident living in transitional housing at the time provided for Youth Impact’s grant application:

“Transitional housing has given me a supportive and stable living environment, and because of this I am graduating high school and applying to a child and youth care worker program at college,” they said. “I want to help people break the cycle I have experienced and give them the same opportunities and support that I have received here. I think I will soon be ready to move into my own place and be OK.”

Youth Impact Jeunesse is just one organization battling homelessness that the MDRT Foundation supported with grants in 2024. The others include:

• Alabaré ($3,500) provides programs for homeless veterans across England and Wales.
• Habitat for Humanity of Sangamon County ($3,500) in Illinois supports home repair for low-income seniors.
• Knock Knock Angels Colorado ($4,000) furnishes apartments for low-income individuals and families who are transitioning into stable housing.