The Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane and Area was given the news last week that it was one of 11 communities in the province to receive grant monies to go toward tackling the issue of rural homelessness.
The Alberta Rural Development Network (ARDN) awarded more than $2M to the various communities seeking to address the growing problem of rural homelessness — including a grant for $375,209 to the local youth club.
Adelle Forzley, youth coordinator for the club, said this grant would help them get the ball rolling to tackle youth homelessness in the community of Cochrane — including hiring a full-time youth housing coordinator and continued support for at-risk youth. The vision of the local club is to see no homeless youth in the community; it is currently estimated that there are around 30 homeless youth in Cochrane at any given time.
The club is committed to ‘a sustainable housing first program and to community-based projects that will provide support to ensure that youth who are homeless and at-risk of becoming homeless can stabilize and move beyond emergency needs.’
