November 27, 2013

Project Proposal

Healthy Minds for Healthy Lives Submitted to: Ontario Trillium Foundation

Prepared by: Nicole Heaney Jennifer Hundeck Rupneet Mangat Rebecca Sivel Nancy Tran

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Table of Contents List of Acronyms Map of Target Area ..........................................................................................................................1 1.0 Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................2 2.0 Background and Rationale .........................................................................................................2 3.0 Project Description 3.1 Project Goal and Purpose ...................................................................................................3 3.2 Expected Results ................................................................................................................4 3.3 Beneficiaries .......................................................................................................................4 3.4 Project Activities and Timeframe .......................................................................................4 3.5 Assumptions & Risk Management .....................................................................................6 4.0 Cross-Cutting Issues 4.1 Gender ................................................................................................................................7 4.2 Environment .......................................................................................................................7 4.3 Sustainability ......................................................................................................................8 5.0 Project Management & Organizational Capacity ......................................................................8 6.0 Monitoring & Evaluation ...........................................................................................................9 7.0 Budget 7.1 Budget Breakdown ...........................................................................................................10 7.2 Budget Narrative ..............................................................................................................11 8.0 Annexes 8.1 Table 1: Results-Oriented Logical Framework ................................................................12 8.2 Table 2: Activity Schedule ...............................................................................................13 8.3 Table 3: Monitoring and Evaluation Plan ........................................................................14 8.4 Risk Management Plan .....................................................................................................15 8.5 Activity Questionnaire .....................................................................................................16

List of Acronyms GTA Greater Toronto Area HMHL Healthy Minds for Healthy Lives HYY Humber Youth for Youth OTF Ontario Trillium Foundation PC Program Coordinator TTC Toronto Transit Commission YWS Youth Without Shelter

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Map of Target Area - Greater Toronto Area

List of Youth Homeless Shelters in GTA A - Youth Without Shelter B - Eva’s Phoenix C - Covenant House Toronto F- Eva’s Place G - Children’s Aid Society H- Eva’s Place J - Touchstone Youth Centre

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1.0 Executive Summary

The Healthy Minds for Healthy Lives (HMHL) program addresses a felt need by the youth at Youth Without Shelter (YWS) for more social programming to build their self-esteem and confidence to become self-sufficient adults. Poor mental health is one of the major barriers that homeless youth face in overcoming homelessness and maintaining self-sufficiency.

The program will be based at YWS, located in Etobicoke, Toronto where the youth at YWS will be the main beneficiaries. The social program activities will run for a full 12 months while the program design and planning stage will require three months before the activities begin, totaling 15 months. The budget for this project is $95,000 plus $28,500 in matched costs from community partners and donations.

By improving homeless youth’s mental health, youth can become empowered and effectively transition into self-sustaining adults. This will create a lasting positive change in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) community since they will be able to actively participate in social and economic aspects of community life. This community impact will be realized by engaging homeless youth in arts and cultural activities, environmental and food sustainability, as well as sports and recreational activities. HMHL aims to contribute to the building of healthy and vibrant communities in the GTA by ensuring that every youth obtains the necessary nourishment to build a holistic sense of well-being in order to become social agents of change and leaders within their communities. 2.0 Background and Rationale

In Toronto, there are roughly 10,000 homeless youth each year and youth homeless shelters are struggling to meet the growing demand as well as meet their diverse and complex needs. Many of these youth are not only suffering from mental health issues and addictions but also low self-esteem. Over 70% of homeless youth have experienced some form of sexual, physical or emotional abuse, which has had a major negative impact on their mental health and overall self-esteem. This is a major barrier for youth attempting to transition into self-sustainable adults.

Oftentimes, youth become homeless because they are fleeing from a form of abuse in their original home. After becoming homeless, the youth must fend for themselves with a limited level of skill set, access to resources and education. Supporting oneself and struggling to meet basic needs in order to survive can be very troubling and stressful, especially at a young age. Furthermore, the social stigma towards homelessness may lead to low self-esteem and self-worth and feelings of exclusion. An individual who is not accepted by society will likely not be willing to contribute to it in a positive way. Youth who experience homelessness have limited access to social interactions and support services, which can lead to isolation and depression.

Today, there are seven shelters in the Toronto area that focus on homeless youth, including YWS (refer to map on page 1). In the past decade, with Youth Shelter Interagency Network partnership, these shelters have evolved from meeting basic needs (safe housing, food)

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to addressing more complex needs of the youth (physical and mental health, addictions, education). Unfortunately, due to government cutbacks at the municipal, provincial and federal levels, these shelters are experiencing lack of funding and resources that reduces their ability to meet the complex needs of the youth.

YWS is more than just an emergency shelter and focuses on building the potential and resilience of the youth. It is also the only youth shelter in Toronto’s West End and the closest one to Toronto’s international airport. It receives 50% of its revenue from government funding, 42% from private donors, and 8% from the United Way. This funding allows the shelter to offer programs that encourage education and employment, as well as offering life skill training. It also provides the youth with daily meals and all items to meet their needs such as hygiene products, clothing, and school materials. It can accommodate 50 youth at a time and serves approximately 1000 youth each year. Though YWS does an excellent job at meeting the youth’s basic physical needs for survival, YWS, like many other homeless shelters, currently have limited capacity and resources to focus on improving youth’s mental health.

The purpose of HMHL project is to enable youth to overcome homelessness in the GTA by partnering with YWS to increase self-esteem and confidence among homeless youth through the implementation of recreation programming and social activities. This project will address self-esteem and mental health through the implementation of activities that create a safe environment and positive space for social interactions. These activities are designed to teach the youth about team building and developing critical social skills in hopes to reduce stress, create a sense of normalcy and increase the youth’s ability to sustain themselves.

These youth are Canada’s future. They are an untapped resource for the city of Toronto and if given an opportunity to grow as individuals they can reach unprecedented heights. The Humber Youth for Youth program HMHL is designed to help give youth a chance to express themselves through creative and innovative ways. 3.0 Project Description 3.1 Project Goal and Purpose

The primary goal of HMHL is to increase YWS’ capacity to enable homeless youth in the GTA to overcome homelessness by building positive mental health and social development through activity programing. Due to budgetary constraints restricting their access to professional mental health care, a more cost effective way to improve mental health is through accessible social programming. The implementation of these social activities will positively impact the youth’s self-esteem by creating opportunities for them to express themselves in a creative way, learn life skills as well as build social skills and a social support network in a safe environment. This project will give them more opportunities to involve themselves and feel included within their community, as well as create a sense of normalcy and stability in their lives. In addition, increasing their self-esteem will help increase their confidence and motivation to continue their

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education, find stable employment, decrease behavioral issues, build social skills, and improve their overall well-being. 3.2 Expected Results

The expected results of the project are the improvement of mental health and self-esteem of the homeless youth, which will enable them to overcome homelessness. YWS is offering the youth an accessible, safe and positive environment to interact with one another, allowing them to participate in activities that help develop important skills which contribute to their success. With the proper social supports, the youths’ journey to self-sustainability becomes easier. Their increased self-esteem encourages them to pursue higher education as well as employment opportunities and sustainable housing options.

The implementation of the activities in the HMHL program will create a more welcoming and inclusive environment at YWS. As the youth become more self-sustainable through building positive mental health, they will require less resources, shorter stays, and be less likely to return. This will allow the shelter to increase their intake of homeless youth by 20% over the next five years. With the success of the program at YWS, this may inspire other shelters and community centers in Toronto to implement similar mental health and social programs in an effort to reduce homeless youth on a holistic scale. By empowering youth through important life skills, the amount of homeless youth who become homeless adults will be reduced. furthermore, the youths capacity to overcome their mental health issues and addictions is increased. 3.3 Beneficiaries

The direct beneficiaries of the HMHL program are the homeless youth living and utilizing the services at YWS. Many of these youth are also part of other vulnerable and marginalized populations relating to sexual orientation and transgender, immigrants and refugees, racialized ethnic groups. The program was designed around the initial primary data that was collected from the youth at YWS by HYY and will continue to be monitored through different methods of feedback from the youth. This feedback will be used to mold the program objectives and activities to suit the needs identified by the youth. They are also encouraged to take leadership roles in facilitating the activities. This will ensure that the activities are interesting to the youth and relevant to their personal growth.

3.4 Project Activities and Timeframe

The weekly social activities aim to be diverse with the hopes of appealing to as many youth as possible. Each planned activity aims to help the youth through intellectual stimulation, physical activity, creativity and life skill building within a safe, social environment. This offers the youth the opportunity to explore new skills as well as practice old ones. A variety of optional and accessible activities will be offered in the evenings, five to seven days a week. This gives the youth an opportunity to choose activities that interest them and that fit into their schedule. These

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activities are set to start in June 2014 and will run for roughly one year. All resources and venues required will be secured before the start of each quarter (May, August, November and February). Book Club This activity will take place once a month to allow the youth enough time to select and read a book. The youth can decide to all read the same books, discuss their opinions on it and ask each other questions at the following meeting. A second option would be for each youth to read different books and to present it to the group at the following meeting. The book club would be most effective if it were voluntarily lead by one of the youth, however if no youth are willing to take on this responsibility, it can be lead by a community volunteer. This activity will take place at the shelter in one of the meeting rooms and the resources required would be books that are either donated or borrowed from the local library. Art Class This activity will take place once a week. Each week the group will tackle a different craft or medium. Due to its diversity, several instructors may be required depending on their area of expertise and skill set. The sessions could range from making clay sculptures, to drawing, to painting, to jewelry making, etc. The youth will be encouraged to try working with various mediums to discover their strengths and preferences. This activity will take place at the YWS shelter in the common dining area that includes lots of table space and the resources required are a variety of art supplies. Cooking Class This activity will take place on a weekly basis. Each week the youth will be taught how to make a new healthy dish. These dishes will range from deserts, to snacks, to main entrees and will include healthy ingredients to encourage healthy eating habits. Each week there will also be different cooking themes. The youth will experience preparing food from different cultures, food allergy options such as gluten free meals, and also cooking on a budget to teach the youth how to make healthy meals that are cost effective. This will offer the youth a practical and very important life skill. A professional from the field, who will be able to teach the skill as well as reinforce safety regulations, will conduct these classes. This activity will either take place in the YWS kitchen or at the Humber college cooking institute (North Campus). The resources necessary would be ingredients, cookware and utensils, proper cooking attire, cleaning products and materials. Music class This activity will be held on a weekly basis. The youth will learn how to play the instruments that will be made available to them, either through donations or on loan. The youth will be taught to play the instruments and sing as well as read music by a volunteer music instructor. The youth will collaborate as a group and perform songs together. The youth will be able to add a lot of

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their own input by choosing their instruments and songs they would like to perform. Due to the high noise level and room size limitations, this activity would take place in an available spaces that are accessible within the community. The resources necessary for this activity are instruments and sheet music. Social mixers These mixers will take place every Friday night. These events will give the youth an opportunity to socialize with one another in a safe and supervised location. Each week, the activity and location will vary. This will give the youth an opportunity to participate in group activities that would normally cost money. Examples of these activities are bowling, going to the movies, themed parties, etc. The resources for this activity would vary depending on the planned activity but most of the costs would be allocated to admission fees in other facilities. Sport/Recreation night This activity will take place once a week. During this activity, youth will participate in team sports, fitness classes, self defence classes and recreational activities, such as skating. Having a variety of activities will ensure that all youth have the chance to improve their physical health. Certain activities will be seasonal, however most sports can be moved inside when they are in their off seasons. Lots of resources will be required for this activity including indoor facilities, equipment, etc and luckily YWS is surrounded by recreational facilities including a school soccer field and gymnasium that are within walking distance of the shelter. Gardening Due to its outdoor nature, this activity will be seasonal, only taking place in the summer, spring and fall months. The activity will be weekly, however since the small garden will be located on the YWS site, the youth will have access to it at all times. The creation of the garden and planting will take place in early June and the weeding and harvesting will be ongoing throughout the activity months. The resources required will be soil, plants and seeds, gardening and watering tools as well as a small fence to keep rodents away. The nature of this activity is primarily youth based and will not require significant number of volunteers. 3.5 Assumptions & Risk Management

There are four possible risks that could hinder the implementation and impact of this project. In order to be successful, we measured the chances of the risk occurring, the impact level if it occurs, and the management actions that will be taken in response. The first potential risk is not having enough volunteers, in addition to activity facilitators. Due to higher levels of unemployment/underemployment and a lack of availability, finding regular volunteers may be difficult. If this is the case for HMHL, we will reach out to alternative community organizations (including educational institutions) to help advertise for more volunteers along with offering potential internship placements.

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A second risk would be if the youth in attendance do not actively participate in the activities. In order to reduce the likelihood of this happening, the youth will be included in designing, decision making, and implementation processes through focus groups, suggestion/comment cards, and facilitation of activities.

The third potential risk is the possibility of social exclusion, discrimination, and conflict amongst the youth. However, these conflicts may be deeply rooted in more personal issues and ongoing among the youth. Our management response will be to conduct workshops for the youth on maintaining a positive space and learning about anti-oppression strategies, as well as holding talking circles and opening dialogues to work out group conflicts.

The last possible risk is that the youth may dislike the activity facilitators and/or program coordinators. This could have a high impact on active youth participation and attendance. In response, we will ask case workers to talk to the youth about why they dislike the activity facilitators and/or program coordinators and have a trusted YWS staff member sit in on activities to observe the dynamics between youth and activity facilitators. 4.0 Cross-Cutting Issues 4.1 Gender

According to the primary data that was collected, more male youth utilize the services at YWS than females. HMHL is a gender-neutral program and aims to conduct activities that appeal to both genders. Although there is a gender disparity, all youth at YWS will be encouraged to attend and participate in the activities, without discrimination of their gender or gender identity. In order to be inclusive to the preferences of different genders, different activities will alternate each week, especially for sports and recreational activities (ex: football one week, yoga second week). Furthermore, the social activities will be based on the current need at YWS by obtaining feedback and suggestions through survey questionnaires by youth of all genders. This is a crucial tactic in having the youth be a part of the decision making process and take ownership of the program to meet their needs. 4.2 Environment

HMHL will have very minimal environmental impacts. We will implement specific environmentally sustainable strategies to reduce and minimize our ecological footprint in the following areas: transportation, food and waste management, and sustainable gardening. For transportation, youth at the shelter will be provided with TTC tokens to attend the activities that are off site or they will be within walking distance. Volunteers and staff will be encouraged to take public transit as well or to carpool. In addition, HMHL will promote environmentally sustainable strategies for waste management including reusing materials, recycling, and composting. Arts supplies, print material, decorations, and books can be reused throughout the program. Recycling of other waste materials will also be encouraged through the use of recycling bins and proper education incorporated into the activities. In addition, food waste from the

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cooking classes will be used in composting to turn into fertilizer for gardening activities while the food grown in the garden will be used in the cooking classes. 4.3 Sustainability

Financial Sustainability: HMHL requires initial funding to hire program coordinators to establish the foundational planning and design of the program. Once the foundation has been established, this position can be taken over by placement students or interns in fields such as social work, social services, project management and other similar fields. This will aid the program’s sustainability. Furthermore, the activities implemented will generate revenue which will cover the cost to sustain the program. for example hosting a community dinners, selling tickets for a musical performance or selling handmade crafts such as Christmas tree ornaments. Not only will this provide some financial support it will also generate a sense of responsibility and pride amongst the youth. Implementing community events will increase awareness of homeless youth and YWS, encouraging more partnerships and donations from community members and corporate donors, which will lessen the reliance on donor funding. Project Sustainability: Upon completion of the one year project, ownership will be transferred over to YWS staff and volunteers. Throughout the program, HYY takes on a minimal role to allow YWS and the youth to take ownership over the design and implementation process of the program. This will enable YWS to sustain the program in future years. The youth participants are also encouraged to take on leadership roles in facilitating the activities. This building of leadership skills will give the youth a sense of ownership over the project and encourage them to continue to volunteer once they have successfully moved on from the shelter. Implementing this project from within will insure its success and longevity. 5.0 Project Management & Organizational Capacity

The project will be managed by HYY in partnership with YWS. HYY will work with the YWS Volunteer & Education Facilitator to manage the creation of the job description and the hiring of the PC, recruit volunteers, and design and conduct volunteer trainings. YWS will monitor the programs and collect feedback from the youth while HYY will analyze the data to measure the impact of the project. HYY will also be responsible for generating monthly summary updates and expense tracking reports, quarterly evaluations, and the final evaluation report. As HYY’s partner, the PCs with help from the volunteer activity facilitators will manage the on-site day to day activities such as designing the schedule and outline for each activity, advertising the program, and managing any conflicts or issues that may arise during the activities.

HYY has a background and experience in working with vulnerable and marginalised populations. HYY also has sensitivity and anti-oppression training as well as an in depth

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understanding of confidentiality and safe space facilitation. Furthermore, HYY has received management and project planning training through the Humber Business School’s International Development post-graduate program. Since HYY is based at Humber College, its proximity to YWS facilitates easier accessibility and HYY’s ability to monitor and evaluate the project as well as collect resources.

HYY has collaborated with YWS, because they are reputable and well know within the community and are committed to offering more social services and holistic programs to help homeless youth overcome homelessness. YWS already has a program in place called Steps to Success which helps homeless youth build several necessary life skills. YWS has trained social workers and case workers to lead their programs and services, which has allowed their staff to build trusting relationships and supportive networks with the youth they serve. In addition, YWS works with 17 other partner organizations to help deliver workshops and receive donations from. YWS is an ideal partner since they have already established personal relationships with the youth. 6.0 Monitoring & Evaluation

The enjoyment of HMHL’s activities by YWS youth is the first indicator of the project’s success, followed by the youth’s overall sense of confidence and increased self-esteem (refer to Annex 1). Throughout the project phase, careful monitoring of these indicators will be recorded and documented accordingly. The staff at YWS are crucial to the monitoring of HMHL’s project. As mentors to the youth, many case workers and staff at YWS serve as pivotal implementers to the project’s overall monitoring and evaluation success. The HMHL PCs will hold focus groups with the youth each quarter to discuss the program’s activities and suggestions for improvement. During these focus group discussions, YWS youth are encouraged to be open and honest about the activities to allow the youth to be involved in designing and improving the program to meet their specific needs and experience important milestones as a transitioning young adult. During these focus groups, the PCs will take notes in order to report back to HYY during semi-structured interviews for quarterly evaluations (refer to Annex 3). In order to receive accurate feedback about the project’s success with limited bias and anonymity, a secure locked box will be provided in the YWS common room where youth are encouraged to write any feedback and activity suggestions. Suggestions from the box will be collected by HYY at the end of each quarter to be included in the quarterly evaluation reports. Additionally, activity questionnaires will be given to the youth for anonymous feedback at the middle and end of each quarter that will be used for quarterly evaluation reports (refer to Annex 5). This allows the voices of the youth at YWS to be heard in a safe and stress free way, which is important since many youth at the shelter are overcoming trauma and often have trust issues. During this time, the HYY will also conduct semi-structured interviews with key informants at YWS, caseworkers, and activity facilitators to receive any additional remarks and feedback on the activities and the youth’s progress. Activity attendance sheets will also be monitored by the PCs and sent to the HYY team to track which activities are most popular and to include in the

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monthly summary reports. HYY and YWS staff will be conducting the monitoring and evaluation activities so no additional costs will be required, except for printing purposes. HYY will send quarterly evaluation reports (end of August and November 2014 and February 2015) on the progress of the program including efficiency and effectiveness based on operational indicators in the Performance Monitoring & Evaluation Plan (refer to Annex 3). In addition, HYY will send monthly summary updates and expense reports on the the implemented activities, track resources used and expenses as well as track volunteer and staff involvement in the activities. The final report will be submitted by HYY in collaboration with YWS at the end of the program in May 2015. This report will provide a brief overview of the implemented activities, an overview of the program’s progress and impact through qualitative and quantitative data from youth and YWS staff feedback and attendance records. Please see Annex 3 for all indicators and more information about the Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Plan. 7.0 Budget 7.1 Budget Breakdown

Item Sub-Item OTF Contribution Other Donors Total

Personnel Activity Coordinators (2) $48,000 $48,000 Training $500 $500 Advertising $500 $500 Food & Snacks $10,000 $10,000 Transportation $6,000 $6,000 HYY's Admin Costs $10,000 $10,000 Activity Materials & Facilities Book Club Books $1,000

$2,000 Donated books $1,000 Art Class Art supplies $2,000

$5,000 Donated art supplies $3,000 Cooking Class Cooking supplies $2,000

$5,500 Donated kitchen facilities $3,500 Music Class Music supplies/instrument

rentals $2,000

$7,000 Donated music room & instrument rentals $5,000

Social Activities $3,000 $3,000 Sports & Recreation

Sports equipment rentals $3,000

$15,000 Donated recreational facilities $12,000

Gardening Gardening supplies $3,000

$4,000 Donated seeds, small plants & gardening supplies $1,000

Computer room Internet & computer repairs $1,000

$7,000 Computers $3,000 Donated computers $3,000

TOTAL: $95,000 $28,500 $123,500

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7.2 Budget Narrative Two additional personnel will be hired as part time Program Coordinators to manage the

everyday design and implementation of social activities with salary of $24,000 each. Training and Advertising expenses will cover mostly print materials. HYY’s administrative costs will cover transportation, print materials, cell phone usage, and honorariums for HYY members. The food and snacks budget will be for all the activities and training workshops. Transportation costs include TTC tokens for the youth to attend the activities.

For activity material and facility expenses, some materials have been budgeted for while other resources and facilities will be donated by other community partners. For the Book Club, resources will include mainly books. For the art class, art supplies are needed such as paint, brushes, canvases, sketchpads, pastels, art pencils, pencil crayons, and clay. For the cooking class, cooking supplies include cooking utensils and cooking ingredients while Humber College’s Culinary Program will donate their kitchen facilities and cookware. Sheet music, instrument rentals, and music space are required for the music classes. Social activities will include admission prices to events and activities, decorations for social mixers, and entertainment materials including movies and music. For sports and recreational activities, expenses include equipment rentals and recreational facilities such as gymnasiums. Seeds, small plants and gardening supplies will be required for gardening. Lastly, resources for the computer room will include new and donated computers as well as computer repairs and increased internet usage.

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8.1 APPENDIX 1 – Results-Oriented Logical Framework

Narrative Summary Objectively Verifiable Indicators Means of Verification Assumption/Risk Indicators

Project Goal To build YWS’ capacity to reduce youth homelessness in Toronto, Canada with an emphasis on mental health and social development.

− Youth able to become self-sustaining − Increase number of youth YWS able

to service by 20% over the next 5 years

− Decrease number of youth who return to YWS

− Data collected from YWS on number of youth serviced each year in Impact Report and YWS records

− Exit survey among youth

− Increase in self-esteem will increase long lasting self-sufficiency

Project Purpose To increase self-esteem and confidence of the youth at YWS to be able to become self-sufficient through social and team skill building activities.

− Youth able to build support network − Increase sense of community among

youth at YWS − Increase feelings of normalcy among

youth at YWS − Increase in positive daily social

interactions among youth at YWS

− Questionnaire − In depth interviews with the youth

and staff − Focus group discussions − Caseworker reports on individual

youth’s behaviour and improvement

− Program will produce positive behavioural and mental changes in youth

− No discrimination or conflict among youth

Outputs Approximately 5-8 sub-projects will be implemented by trained staff and volunteers at YWS with contributions of $102,000

− Participation of 100% of youth at YWS in at least one sub-project

− Enjoyment of activities

− Attendance of youth at each activity − Activity evaluations by the youth − Monthly reports on each activity by

staff

− Not having enough volunteers − Will have access to external

facilities and resources; other partner organizations are willing to collaborate

− Youth dislike activity facilitators and/or program coordinators

Activities 1. Develop plan for each activity 2. Identify potential partnerships with

other organizations 3. Recruit activity facilitators and

Activity Coordinator 4. Training of facilitators and

volunteers 5. Raise awareness of program to the

youth 6. Implement activities

Inputs − Transportation − Adequate space/facilities − Activity materials − Staff, facilitators and volunteers − Training materials − Advertising materials − Computers − Food and snacks

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Preconditions − Having enough qualified volunteers

to facilitate activities − Youth have time to participate in

program along with their school and work commitments

− Youth are able to access the activities via public transportation or in walking distance

− Youth are interested in the proposed activities

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8.2 ANNEX 2 - Activity Schedule

ActivitiesMarch April May June July August September October November December January February March April May

1. Design and Train Staff and Volunteers1.1 Create job description and hire Program Coordinators1.2 Recruit volunteers and activity facilitators1.3 Design and conduct volunteer training workshops on HMHL program, YWS policies, and working with homeless youth

2. Acquiring Resources2.1 Procure resources for activities2.2 Procure land and venues for activities

3. Access to Social Activities3.1 Design schedule and outline of each activity with input from youth3.2 Advertise social activities3.3 Hold weekly social activities

4. Monitoring & Evaluation4.1 Send monthly summary udates and expense tracking reports4.2 Send quarterly evalution report4.3 Send final evaluation report on impact of of program

Q1 - Spring 2014 Q2 - Summer 2014 Q3 - Fall 2014 Q4 - Winter 2014-15 Q1 - Spring 2015

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8.3 ANNEX 3 – Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Plan Narrative Summary Operational Indicators Data Source Collection Methods Frequency Responsibility

Goal/Impact YWS’ capacity to enable homeless youth in the Greater Toronto Area to overcome homelessness as adults through building positive mental health and social development will be built by 2015.

1.1 Duration of stay 1.2 Increase number of youth

YWS able to service by 20% over the next 5 years

1.3 Decrease number of youth who return to YWS 1.4 Youth able to become self-sustaining

1.1 YWS 1.2 YWS 1.3 YWS 1.4 Youth

1.1 Records 1.2 Records 1.3 Records 1.4 Exit surveys

1.1 Mid & end of program

1.2 End of program

1.3 End of program

1.4 Mid & end of program

● YWS ● Humber Youth

for Youth

Purpose/Outcome To increase self-esteem and confidence of the youth at YWS to be able to become self-sufficient through social and team skill building activities.

● Youth able to build support network

● Increase sense of community among youth at YWS

● Increase feelings of normalcy among youth at YWS

● Increase in positive daily social interactions among youth at YWS

2.1 Youth 2.2 Caseworkers; Program Coordinators and other YWS staff

2.1 Focus group discussions 2.2 Semi-structured interviews

2.2 Quarterly 2.3 Quarterly

● Humber Youth for Youth

Outputs Approximately 5-8 sub-projects will be implemented by trained staff and volunteers at YWS with contributions of $102,000

3.1 Participation of 100% of youth at YWS in at least one sub-project 3.2 Enjoyment of activities

3.1 Program Coordinators 3.2 Youth 3.3 Youth

3.1 Attendance sheets 3.2 Activity questionnaires 3.3 Suggestion box

3.1 Weekly 3.2 Mid and end of each quarter 3.3 Quarterly

3.1 Activity facilitators 3.2 Program Coordinators

Activities 4.1 Book club 4.2 Art class 4.3 Cooking class 4.4 Music class 4.5 Social mixer/activity 4.6 Sport/recreation night 4.7 Computer free time 4.8 Gardening

4.1 Monthly 4.2 Weekly 4.3 Weekly 4.4 Weekly 4.5 Weekly 4.6 Weekly 4.7 Daily 4.8 Weekly (Seasonal)

● Program

coordinators ● Activity

facilitator ● Volunteers

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8.4 ANNEX 4 – Risk Analysis and Management Matrix Organization: Humber Youth for Youth Project: Healthy Minds for Healthy Lives Date Revised: November 27, 2013 Authors: Nicole Heaney, Jennifer Hundeck, Rupneet Mangat, Rebecca Sivel, Nancy Tran

Risk Factor Odds of Occurring

Impact if Occurs Management Response

Not having enough volunteers in addition to activity facilitators

Medium Medium Reach out to alternative community partners (including educational institutions) to help advertise for volunteers.

Youth in attendance do not participate

Low High Include youth in designing, making decisions and implementing activities through focus groups and suggestion/comment cards on how to improve.

Social exclusion, discrimination or conflict among youth

Medium High Hold a workshop(s) for youth on maintaining a positive space and learn about anti-oppression.

Conduct talking circles and dialogues to work out group conflicts.

Youth dislike activity facilitators and/or program coordinators

Low High Ask case workers to talk to youth about why they dislike the activity facilitators and/or program coordinators

Have trusted YWS staff member sit in on activities to observe dynamics between youth and activity facilitators

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8.5 ANNEX 5 – Activity Questionnaire

Healthy Minds for Healthy Lives Youth Without Shelter Activity Questionnaire

In order to serve you at the fullest potential, please answer openly and honestly. No names are required; please answer anonymously.

Name of Activity:______________________________________________________________ Strengths of Activity:

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Suggestions for improvement:

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Other Comments:

______________________________________________________________________________

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Thank you for your feedback! :)