Kingston Youth Shelter aiming to nearly double its capacity

Two months ago, the Kingston Youth Shelter moved into its new location on Nelson Street.

It was previously located at Macgillivary-Brown Hall on the campus of Queen’s University, where there were 16 beds.

This new location only has 13 spaces, but the plan is for that number to increase.

“Right now, our capacity is 12,” says Jay Nowak, executive director of the youth shelter.

“We do have one extra spot, so if somebody does come through the night we can go up to 13. Our goal is to get it up to 21, with a capacity, if needed, to go up to 23.”

The space where the rest of the sleeping pods will go is currently being used as storage.

So far, the Kingston Youth Shelter has raised $1.3 million out of its $1.5 million goal.

The shelter does get government funding for operating and staff costs, but the money doesn’t cover renovations.

“We’re almost there,” says board member Anne Brown.

“We have 90 per cent of it done, we just need to do that last little bit so that we have the space available to expand our sleeping space, provide some community space for the youth, and some administrative space for our staff.”

And the shelter needs all the beds it can get.

According to the Kingston Youth Shelter, approximately one in five homeless people in the city are youth, and about 200 youth every year seek help from the Kingston Youth Shelter.

That number has only been increasing in recent years.

“The population of homeless youths has risen over the last five years, specifically during the time of the pandemic,” says Nowak.

“We are the only location that is strictly serving youth in the Kingston area, so knowing there are youth walking the streets at night makes us want to get this done real quick.”

The shelter hopes to raise that remaining $200,000 to give some local homeless youth a chance to get back on their feet.

You can donate to the Kingston Youth Shelter on their website.

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