Supporting vulnerable youth and their families requires a deep understanding of the unique challenges they face, including trauma, mental health issues, family conflict, and the risk of homelessness. Many young people, individuals, and families interact with a variety of environments, including schools, shelters, drop-in centers, mental health services, after-school programs, and recreational programs. For many of them, these settings provide accessible and often the only safe spaces in their lives. While these community supports and frontline services are often the first point of contact where individuals seek support, or conversely, where their struggles may go unnoticed, the scope of these challenges extends far beyond the homelessness sector.
Recognizing the diversity in experiences among professionals in youth-serving spaces, it’s essential to provide practical tools and hands-on training that equip them to better support vulnerable individuals. Regardless of formal training or backgrounds, many staff members encounter challenges in addressing these issues due to gaps in training, resources, and the need for consistent, evidence-based approaches.
This is where our new Foundations 101 Training comes in, designed specifically for staff working in shelters, housing, outreach, community hubs and other frontline services. Its development involved years of collaboration with community partners to fill the knowledge gaps and enhance the effectiveness of support for vulnerable youth and their families.
This two-day training was driven by the insights and feedback from community partners to bridge the knowledge gaps in effectively supporting vulnerable youth and their families. It establishes a common baseline for staff and leaders that can further enhance training, policies, and procedures while ensuring clear communication of best practices. This can help ensure that everyone involved is equipped with the knowledge and skills to provide effective, empathetic, and consistent support.
While this foundational approach ensures that all staff are equipped with a shared understanding of how to effectively support vulnerable youth and their families, it is equally applicable to adults facing similar challenges. The Foundations 101 Training equips professionals with the knowledge, tools, and strategies necessary to prevent homelessness and deliver comprehensive support to youth, adults, their families, natural supports, and chosen family.
Additionally, this training addresses the complex challenges that today’s youth, individuals, and families face, including family conflict, trauma, substance use, mental health struggles, social disconnection or isolation, and experiences of grief and loss. By gaining a deeper understanding of these issues, case workers and service providers will be better prepared to intervene proactively, helping to prevent homelessness before it becomes a reality for the youth they serve. By integrating evidence-based approaches – such as Strengths-Based Practice, Attachment Theory, Positive Youth Development, Family-Systems Theory, Harm Reduction, and Trauma-Informed Practice – the Foundations 101 training prepares youth workers with the tools to build strong, trusting relationships with youth and their families. It prepares them to respond effectively and compassionately to trauma-related behaviours, fostering a supportive environment that promotes healing and long-term well-being. Additionally, with a focus on the Family and Natural Supports model, participants will learn about engaging youth, families, natural supports, and chosen families from all backgrounds to build sustainable pathways out of homelessness.
This initiative owes its deepest gratitude to the youth, their families, natural supports, and chosen families who generously participated in focus groups and fidelity reviews. Their invaluable contributions guided the enhancement of training and knowledge for agencies in the sector. We could not have achieved this without their dedication and input.
If you are interested in learning more about Foundations 101 or any of the other Training and Technical Support that A Way Home Canada can offer, please contact Heidi Walter at hwalter@awayhome.ca