Youth Haven in Barrie Ont., to get new home with more room for youth in need

What started as a call for help with some repairs has led to plans for Youth Haven to get an entirely new home with more space.

The homeless shelter serving youth in the Barrie, Ont., area will be knocked down next year, with a new and better home built in its place, increasing capacity to  house 34 youth at a time, up from 19.

Youth Haven executive director Lucy Gowers told Global News they reached out to the Simcoe County Home Builders Association to see if they could help with some repairs and were overwhelmed by their response.

“They quickly realized there was going to be a lot more work involved than just the cosmetic repairs,” Gowers said.

“Mark Mulder and Ryan went back to their board and said ‘this is something that we have to seriously look at and help Youth Haven with … to provide them with a home that will be purpose-built for their youth.’”

Gowers said the existing duplex at 20-22 Wellington St. E. is a century old and has had its share of wear and tear over the years.

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She said when the home builders association’s engineers went through the building, they determined the structure was unsafe and would need to be demolished.

“The Simcoe County Homebuilders Association are hoping they could start the demolition in August of 2023 and have it completed by the end of September 2023,” Gowers said.

Over the next year, Gowers said they will be working to help raise funds to help cover the cost of things the home builders association cannot. She said they need around $600,000 to support the project.

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While the new home is being built, the shelter plans to utilize hotels as temporary accommodations for housing residents.

“We’ve helped transform the lives of thousands of youth over the 35 years that we’ve been Youth Haven, and we’ll continue to transform the lives of many more,” Gowers said.

“The exciting part of it is that we’re going to be doing it in a home that is going to be safe, secure, and it’s going to have the right environment for the youth to take the first step in turning their lives around.”