Surrey – SurreyCares Community Foundation has provided a $26,608 Emergency Community Support Fund grant to SOS Children’s Village BC to support foster children, youth, and families during the presence of COVID 19 in our communities and alleviate its negative impacts on their lives.
SOS Children’s Village BC is a community organization, located on 2.5 acres with 5 homes and 5 suites where their foster families and youth in transition are living. The organization’s youth program teams work closely with foster youth and youth aging out of care by doing regular weekly/biweekly check ups, to ensure that they are moving towards their original plans of independence and any obstacles they face are handled. As many of SOS Children’s Village’s youth and children are Indigenous, the organization partners with Seabird Island to ensure that their reconciliation process is moving according to plan and their programs/ activities are relevant and suitable to their Indigenous children.
“Youth aging out of care are at-risk because of childhood trauma and mental health challenges they faced during their placement in the foster care system. The pandemic has hampered their ability to sustain independence into employment, education, and housing. This means that self-isolation can become dangerous, with consequences like hunger, fear, extreme poverty, homelessness, being cut off from help, and exacerbation of existing mental health struggles. There is great fear and uncertainty about the future,” explained Michelle Bernard, Director of Development of SOS Children’s Village.
SOS Children’s Village youth workers are a critical component for youth to reduce their isolation through planning and support sessions up to three times a week. Due to the pandemic, these check ins have increased in frequency and consistency. Youth have plans in place with their youth workers to attain their educational goals, employment goals, and stability of their housing.
There has been an increase in the need of mental health support while there is uncertainty when trying to adapt current industry needs. Prior to the pandemic, youth were often given opportunities in industries to gain experience or paid work, but it is now unavailable.
