Enhancing Services and Supports for At-Risk, Homeless and Trafficked Youth

Enhancing Services and Supports for At-Risk, Homeless and Trafficked Youth

CONSULTANT APPLICATION

Covenant House Toronto (CHT) is seeking a third-party consultant to provide advice, analysis and recommendations with regards to enhancing supports for at-risk, homeless and trafficked youth and improving service delivery efficiency and effectiveness, in the following areas:

Implementing a differential response approach within the crisis shelter;
Strengthening mental health and substance use supports;
Enhancing life skills, arts-based and recreational programming;
Improving employment services; and
Promoting youth leadership and mentorship.

The following document provides further detail on the project and how to submit an application.

Application release date:June 28, 2017

Application submission date:July 27, 2017 (4:00pm EST)

Project start date:Early September 2017

Project completion date:December 31, 2017

Completed applications should be submitted electronically, by no later than the above noted deadline, to: Jill Dubrick, . Jill may also be contacted with any questions about the application.

BACKGROUND

Covenant House Toronto

As Canada's largest homeless youth agency, Covenant House Toronto offers the widest range of services and support under one roof for young people, aged 16 to 24, and up to age 26 in our drop-in services. A national leader, the agency educates and advocates for change to help at-risk, homeless and trafficked youth by influencing public policy and delivering prevention and awareness programs.

More than a place to stay, CHT provides as many as 250 young people daily with 24/7 crisis shelter, transitional housing (on-site and in the community)and comprehensive services, including education, counselling, health care, employment assistance, job training and aftercare.

Throughout our over three decades of experience, CHT has emerged as a national leader, and developed substantial expertise in the areas of youth homelessness, trauma-informed care and positive youth development. Over the past 35 years, Covenant House Toronto has served more than 90,000 young people.

CHT Staff and Volunteers

CHT is a large agency, employing approximately 220 staff in a non-unionized environment. Of that, about 130 work in our program department, providing various services and supports to at-risk, homeless and trafficked youth. The majority of program staff are trained as Child/Youth Workers, with some having a social work educational background.

Staff throughout the agency come with significant years of experience. The average length of service for staff, as of October 2016, was 8.6 years. This includes four staff who each have over 30 years of service. There are a total of 56 staff with over 15 years of service.

CHT has a strong volunteer base. In 2016, the agency benefitted from the support of over 200 corporate employee group volunteers, approximately 135 regularly active volunteers and over 60 special event volunteers. In total, volunteers contributed more than 6,300 house of service to CHT.

Youth Population at CHT

Age: 9.1% are between the ages of 16-18; 37.8% are between the ages of 19-21; 40.2% are between the ages of 22-24; and 6.7% are age 25 or older.

Gender: 35.4% are female; 50.6% are male; 12.9% are gender non-binary/non-conforming.

Race/ethnicity: 42.1% White; 36.6% Black; 17.1% “mixed” race; 12.8% Indigenous.

Citizenship: 79.9% are Canadian citizens; 9.1% Permanent Residents; 3.7% refugee.

Sexual orientation: 26.2% did not identify as heterosexual; 2.4% asexual; 61% heterosexual.

Mental health: in the past 3 months: 66.5% of youth reported feeling depressed; 67% trouble sleeping; 67.1% very anxious; 61.6% distressed about the past; 27.4% seeing or hearing things others could not; 34.8% thought about ending their lives.

Leaving home: average age that youth first left home was 16.8; reasons for leaving home included: could not get along with parents (64.6%); abuse (51.8%); taken away by child protective services (22.5%); thrown out (49.4%); guardian’s mental health (32.3%) or substance use (26.2%); poverty (32.9%).

Current Programming

Covenant House Toronto offers a diverse array of services and supports to meet the unique needs of homeless, at-risk and trafficked youth.

HOUSING/RESIDENTIAL

CRISIS SHELTER / TRANSITIONAL HOUSING / COMMUNITY APARTMENTS / HOUSING WORKERS
96 beds (2 dedicated for survivors of human trafficking); 24-hour intake; youth aged 16-24; provides crisis intervention, assessment, case management and counselling. / Rights of Passage
28 beds; youth aged 18-24; up to 2 year stay; own room plus case management; on site at CHT.
Rogers Home
7 beds; young women who have been victims of human trafficking; aged 16-24; up to 2 year stay; own room plus case management; off site in the community. / 38 apartments across the City; rent-reduced or rent-geared-to-income; independent living with supports. / 3 Housing Workers; support youth in finding safe, affordable housing; help youth understand and advocate for rights; facilitate relationships with landlords.

In addition to providing youth with shelter and housing services, CHT provides a range of wrap-around programs and services to support youth in achieving their goals and moving towards a life of independence. Programs include:

On-site educational programs, including a high school that offers youth, aged 16-20, credits in compulsory high school subjects to enable them to return to school in the community;
Employment services that give youth the tools they need to find a job and work towards a sustainable income. This includes a partnership with Youth Employment Services which delivers its Youth Job Connection program in CHT’s Employment Centre;
A culinary arts job training program, Cooking for Life, that prepares youth for entry-level jobs in the hospitality industry;
Life skills programming to help youth prepare for the transition to independent living;
Youth-in-Transition Workers who provide individualized, one-on-one support to youth and help them to identify, access and navigate the services they need in their communities to successfully transition to independent living, including housing, employment, mental health, etc.
An on-site health care clinic that addresses the physical and mental health needs of youth; and
Sports and recreation to support the health and well-being of young people.

CHT’s Community Support Services offer drop-in services for non-residents to get a meal, shower and clean clothes as well as access to the agency’s wrap-around supports identified above.

Challenges and Opportunities

CRISIS SHELTER

CHT’s crisis shelter provides youth with a warm, safe place to stay along with healthy meals and other supports. Once settled into the program, youth meet with CHT staff to begin planning for their future and determining the steps, services and supports they need to meet their goals, whether in the areas of housing, employment, education, family reconnection or health.

In a recent survey of youth, it was revealed that there are three distinct groups of young people that are accessing our crisis shelter:

High transience/basic needs only – approximately 30-40% of the youth reported that they are only accessing the shelter to meet their basic needs and that they are not interested in case planning with CHT staff. The majority of these youth stay for short periods of time and come and go from the shelter system.
Higher functioning – about 10-20% of the youth could be classified as “higher functioning.” They tend to be in school or employed, and are interested in working with CHT staff to identify and achieve goals in various areas. Many of these youth stay in our shelter for longer periods of time and transition into one of our longer-term housing programs.
Complex needs – the majority of youth accessing CHT’s crisis shelter, approximately 55-60%, have complex needs related to mental health, substance use, developmental delays and other challenges. While about half of these youth are actively case planning with CHT staff, their complex needs are impeding their ability to achieve their goals.

In addition, within each of these distinct groups, we know that there are young people who face further oppression and vulnerability by virtue of their gender identity, sexuality and/or race.

CHT’s current case management and programming within the crisis shelter is fairly homogeneous, and does not take into account the diverse needs of these three very distinct groups. As such, CHT is considering adopting a differential response model within its crisis shelter that is in line with a trauma-informed approach.

MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE

CHT is currently the only abstinence-based shelter for youth within the City of Toronto. This is to provide a safe, positive choice for youth who are trying to make changes with their substance use. It can be challenging for young people to quit alcohol or drugs if they are surrounded by it in their environment. Young people under the influence of drugs or alcohol are not able to stay at CHT’s shelter and are instead referred to another service provider. Youth are welcome to return the next day once they are sober.

In an effort to enhance on-site supports for youth, CHT employs a dedicated Mental Health Substance Use Counsellor who meets with youth to discuss and address their challenges. Further, two dedicated special circumstance beds were recently implemented within the crisis shelter to provide a safe space for youth who are working towards their sobriety, but may have had a temporary lapse in their journey.

The results of CHT’s recent youth survey indicate that many of the youth are struggling with issues related to substance use and mental health. We hear frequently from young people, partners and other agencies that more services are needed to support the health and wellbeing of youth.

CHT wants to explore opportunities to enhance its mental health and substance use programs and policies for youth, and to do so in a way that meets current promising practices and a trauma-informed approach.

LIFE SKILLS, ARTS AND RECREATION PROGRAMMING

Over the last few years, CHT has seen participation rates fluctuate across its life skills, arts and recreation programs, despite youth continually reporting how valuable these types of programs are in supporting their overall health and wellbeing. Despite efforts to change program times, offer incentives to youth to participate and increase the variety of programs offered, uptake has remained largely the same.

CHT is considering alternate ways of delivering these important supports to youth. This includes exploring partnerships with other agencies within the city that specialize in the design and delivery of these types of programs.

EMPLOYMENT

In a similar fashion to CHT’s life skills, arts and recreation programming, uptake of services in our Employment Centre have remained low. There are a considerable number of agencies within the City of Toronto that specialize in supporting young people to find and maintain employment. Many also pay youth to participate in their programs, something CHT is unable to do outside of its partnership with Youth Employment Services and its culinary arts job training program.

CHT is considering alternate ways of providing employment supports to youth, including identifying partnerships within the community.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Scope of Work

The intended outcome of the project is to strengthen programs and services for at-risk, homeless and trafficked youth at Covenant House Toronto so that we may better support them in achieving independence and pursuing a life of opportunity.

To achieve this outcome, Covenant House Toronto is seeking a third-party consultant to provide advice, analysis and recommendations in the following five areas:

How to meet the diverse needs of youth accessing our crisis shelter by implementing a differential response approach;
How to strengthen mental health supports for our youth and implement an approach to substance use that meets current promising practices and a trauma-informed approach;
How to enhance life skills, arts-based and recreational programming, including identifying staffing models and opportunities to partner with other service providers within the City of Toronto;
How to improve the delivery of employment services, including providing incentives to youth and partnering with other agencies in the city; and
How to promote youth leadership at CHT, including opportunities for young people to have input into program/policy development and service delivery as well as to mentor their peers.

The final product will be a report to CHT that presents the successful applicant’s findings and recommendations in the five areas noted above, along with advice on an implementation plan, next steps, staffing models and potential partners.

Methods

The successful applicant will implement a number of methods to complete the analysis and set of recommendations, including a review of literature and promising practices in other agencies/jurisdictions, key informant interviews with CHT staff and youth, and other activities that support the project scope.

It is expected that the final set of recommendations will reflect the diversity of CHT staff as well as the youth we serve.

Project Timelines

Project start: / Early September 2017
Project completion: / December 31, 2017

Budget

Applicants are required to submit a detailed budget (using the attached application template) that aligns with the work plan and activities proposed in their application. Value for money (i.e. use of resources with due regard for economy, efficiency and effectiveness) is expected in the expenditure of funds. Actual costs will be determined and negotiated with the selected applicant.

Ineligible expenses include: hiring new permanent staff; costs incurred to prepare this application; funding for regular, ongoing service delivery; and capital costs.

REQUIREMENTS

Applicants must demonstrate the following knowledge and experience:

An understanding of the project scope, objectives and activities.
Knowledge of:
Issues and challenges facing at-risk, homeless and trafficked youth in an urban context; and
Promising practices and innovative approaches to providing residential and support services to vulnerable clients, including in a collaborative/partnership-based way.
Experience in:
Reviewing, analyzing and providing recommendations to community-based agencies;
Managing complex projects with a track record of completing high-quality products on time and within the agreed-upon budget;
Conducting key informant interviews and other information-gathering processes, including engaging key informants throughout the project; and
Working effectively with a diverse range of partners, including staff and youth.

SUBMISSION PROCESS

Application Components

A complete application consists of two components:

A completed, signed application using the attached template; and
Two letters of reference that comment on the applicant’s capacity and ability to deliver the project.

Timelines

All applications must be received by no later than July 27, 2017 at 4:00pm (EST).

Completed applications should be submitted electronically, by no later than the above noted deadline, to: Jill Dubrick, . Jill may also be contacted with any questions about the application.

Next Steps

Following submission of all completed applications, CHT staff will review each in detail to determine how well they meet the project scope, objectives, activities and budget.

Applicants may be called for an interview to provide more information about their background, experience and/or proposed project details.

A decision on the successful applicant is anticipated in August 2017, with a start date of early September 2017.

Consultant Application: Covenant House Toronto

June/July 2017 1

Enhancing Services and Supports for At-Risk, Homeless and Trafficked Youth

APPLICATION

Submitted by: [INSERT NAME HERE]

Please complete all sections of this application. You may expand boxes within the application form if more space is needed.

PART 1: Contact Information

Legal Name of Applicant (“Applicant”)
Street Address / Mailing Address (if different from Street Address)
City/Town / City/Town
Province / Postal Code / Province / Postal Code
Contact Person for Application / Position/Title / Name of Applicant
Telephone / Fax / E-mail

PART 2: Capacity, Knowledge and Experience

Describe your capacity to complete the project and achieve the desired end-state as articulated in the “Project Overview” section of this application (pp. 6-7).

Describe your knowledge of:

Issues and challenges facing at-risk, homeless and trafficked youth in an urban context; and
Promising practices and innovative approaches to providing residential and support services to vulnerable clients, including in a collaborative/partnership-based way.

Describe your experience in:

Reviewing, analyzing and providing recommendations to community-based agencies;
Managing complex projects with a track record of completing high-quality products on time and within the agreed-upon budget;
Conducting key informant interviews and other information-gathering processes, including engaging key informants throughout the project; and
Working effectively with a diverse range of partners.

PART 3: Project Description

Provide a detailed description of the project, including all activities that will be undertaken to ensure achievement of the project’s scope of work, methods and timelines.

PART 4: Work Plan and Implementation Details

Describe the work plan for the project, including milestones and expected timelines for all activities.

Milestone / Start Date / End Date / Activities / Resources Required

PART 5: Budget

Provide a detailed budget, which includes explanations for each of the budget items. Refer to page 7 of this application for more information.

PROPOSED BUDGET
Item / Explanation / Amount
$
$
$
$
$
TOTAL PROPOSED BUDGET / $

PART 6: Letters of Reference

A letter of reference has been attached to this application from the following:

Name / Organization / Relationship to Applicant
1
2

PART 7: Authorization

Name: / Position/Title: / Signature: / Date:

Consultant Application: Covenant House Toronto

June/July 2017 1