Latest news with #youthsupport
CTV News
15 hours ago
- General
- CTV News
$552,000 given to help local homeless youth
A $552,000 Grow Grant has been given to the Windsor Residence for Young Men (WRYM) by the Ontario Trillium Foundation. The funding will help WRYM expand critical services, further supporting youth who are at risk-of or that are experiencing homelessness. The WRYM said it will continue to build on its System Navigation pilot project, which is an initiative that prepares youth in crisis with necessary life skills and support to gain economic independence and housing stability. Windsor Residence for Young Men grant Officials seen at the grant announcement for the Windsor Residence for Young Men in Windsor, Ont. on June 19, 2025. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor) 'Windsor-Essex is home to many incredible services, but for youth in crisis, simply finding and accessing these supports can feel overwhelming or impossible,' said Jason Weinberg, executive director of WRYM. 'When you're facing homelessness, navigating complex eligibility rules, referral systems, waitlists, and transportation barriers can be a challenge that stops before you even begin. This funding allows us to break down those barriers. We're not just pointing young people in the right direction, we're walking alongside them, ensuring they get the right help, from the right places, at the right time.' WRYM will keep offering intensive case management within its housing programs over the next three years, while essential services are expanded. In the first two years of the pilot, more than 50 homeless youth were helped, securing long-term housing when they left the program.
The Independent
a day ago
- Health
- The Independent
Trump administration orders LGBTQ+ youth suicide hotline to close within a month
President Donald Trump's administration has ordered the national LGBT+ youth suicide hotline to shut down next month, in a decision advocates called 'devastating.' The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will be closing the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline's LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services — also known as the 'Press 3 option' — on July 17, the agency said in a statement. The agency said it would no longer 'silo LGB+ youth focus on serving all help seekers, including those previously served through the Press 3 option.' The program first rolled out in 2022 as part of a government contract with The Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention for LGBT+ youth. The program allowed callers to connect with counselors specially trained to assist LGBT+ youth up to 25 years old. Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black called the move 'devastating,' adding that Congress can still move to reverse the decision. 'Suicide prevention is about people, not politics,' Black said on Wednesday. 'The administration's decision to remove a bipartisan, evidence-based service that has effectively supported a high-risk group of young people through their darkest moments is incomprehensible.' 'The fact that this news comes to us halfway through Pride Month is callous – as is the administration's choice to remove the 'T' from the acronym 'LGBTQ+' in their announcement,' Black added. 'Transgender people can never, and will never, be erased.' Since its launch in 2022, the 988 crisis line has provided more than 1.2 million people with life-saving, LGBTQ+-inclusive crisis services, according to The Trevor Project, which responds to nearly half of all calls and texts to 988 from LGBT+ young people. Last year, The Trevor Project alone directly served more than 231,000 people through the program. The service for LGBT+ youth has received more than 1.3 million calls, texts or chats since 2022. This comes after a budget plan from the Department of Health and Human Services leaked in April, indicating Trump's administration would slash all funding for the hotline's LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services program. Suicide remains the second leading cause of death among young people aged 10 to 14, and the third leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds. The leading cause of death among young people is gun violence. LGBT+ young people are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers, according to The Trevor Project, which estimates roughly 1.8 million young LGBT+ Americans seriously consider suicide every year, and at least one attempts suicide every 45 seconds. Ending services for LGBT+ youth through the crisis line 'will not just strip away access from millions of LGBTQ+ kids and teens – it will put their lives at risk,' Black said when the budget first leaked in April. 'These programs were implemented to address a proven, unprecedented, and ongoing mental health crisis among our nation's young people with strong bipartisan support in Congress and signed into law by President Trump himself.' In 2020, during his first term in office, Trump signed the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act into law, establishing the number 988 as a crisis hotline. The proposed budget would continue to fund the lifeline at 2024 levels, but it 'eliminates the 2024 Congressionally-directed set-aside within the 988 for Specialized Services for LGBTQ+ Youth,' according to the draft. 'In effect, the loss of this funding would result in a loss of resources we rely on to hire, train, and support crisis counselors – and to reach LGBTQ+ youth across the country amid growing demand for these life-saving services,' Janson Wu, The Trevor Project's vice president of advocacy and government affairs said in an April statement to The Independent. Within his first days in office, the president signed several executive orders directly targeting LGBT+ Americans, including explicitly removing federal recognition of transgender people and upending civil rights protections intended to combat LGBT+ discrimination. The administration has also upended access to gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth and moved to block trans athletes from competing in women's sports. Trump also directed the Department of Defense to remove trans service members from all branches of the military. The Independent has requested comment from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to to find a helpline near you. If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@ or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
Mail & Guardian
2 days ago
- Health
- Mail & Guardian
Academic offers mental health support to education assistants placed at North West schools
Dr Khido Ramadie. As Phase 5 of the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI) prepares to place thousands of young education assistants in schools across South Africa, support for their mental and emotional well-being is coming into sharper focus. In the North West province, an academic from the North-West University (NWU) is stepping in to provide such support to the 1 326 assistants allocated to the province. Dr Khido Ramadie, a mental health counsellor and academic in the NWU's Faculty of Education, is working closely with the North West Provincial Department of Education to offer mental health and wellness support to the province's youth education assistants. 'These young assistants are often caught between being learners and authority figures,' says Dr Ramadie. 'That can lead to identity challenges, self-doubt and social isolation, especially in unfamiliar school environments.' BEEI Phase 5, scheduled to begin in June 2025, forms part of the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative. It provides job opportunities to young people while easing the workload on educators. However, the psychological toll on participants has drawn increasing attention. 'Many of them experience anxiety, burnout and financial stress due to delayed or inconsistent stipends,' says Dr Ramadie. 'Support must be holistic, covering emotional care, financial literacy, physical wellness and a sense of belonging.' Her services include wellness workshops, peer support structures and access to counselling. The initiative also promotes physical health through education on nutrition, managing fatigue and encouraging balanced workloads to reduce absenteeism. 'We are not addressing mental health in isolation,' she explains. 'We are creating a framework that equips youth to cope in demanding school settings and develop personally while contributing meaningfully to the education sector.' Using research-informed methods, Dr Ramadie and her team will monitor participant well-being throughout the programme, providing data-driven insights to inform support strategies. 'This is about more than just filling posts,' she says. 'It's about ensuring that those who are placed in schools are emotionally and physically ready to make a lasting impact.' As BEEI Phase 5 gets under way, the focus is shifting from placement alone to sustainable support, ensuring that those who are hired are also heard.
ABC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
ACT Chief Police Officer Scott Lee raises concerns as age of criminality increase looms
Canberra's top cop has raised concerns ACT support services aren't ready for the impending change to the age of criminal responsibility. The ACT Legislative Assembly passed a bill to incrementally raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years, in November 2023. The first increase, to 12 years old, happened on November 22 that year, and the next increase is scheduled for July 1 this year. Under the change, rather than face criminal charges, children and young people under the age of 14 will instead be referred for support to address their behaviour. But the ACT's Chief Police Officer Deputy Commissioner Scott Lee told ABC Canberra he anticipates the change will put pressure on police resources. "I've had conversations with government and the other directorates that I have concerns that those services will not be fully in place," Deputy Commissioner Scott said. "We are actually working through with ministers and other directorates at the moment, to ensure that we've got processes in place. "The legislation says that as soon as practical we're to pass these children to other services for therapeutic support. "So we need to ensure those service are available and we can hand them across. "Regardless of the age of the child we will continue to respond, because where there's a risk to the child, in terms of their safety, or a risk to people — we will continue to respond, we'll continue to intervene and ensure the child is safe and everyone else is safe. "And then under legislation, obviously we will need to look at then ensuring that support services are available 24/7." ACT Minister for Police Marisa Paterson said today she was adamant that services would be available and that they were ready for the change in legislation. She said a round table would also take place this week with ACT Policing and Minister for Children, Youth and Family Michael Petterson to ensure everyone is "on the same page". "I do believe services are in place, we have the safer youth [response] service, which is just transitioning to a 24-hour service," she said. ACT Attorney-General Tara Cheyne echoed the Ms Paterson. "I accept the CPO's comments about having concerns, and I think [with] any new thing there is going to be hesitation and nervousness about the implementation," she said. "We do have the investment in the systems around ACT Policing to ensure that where they do need to support young people into other systems that they will be there and they will be available." She agreed with the CPO's comments about the legislation being practical but insisted that over time the change would be a success. She said she was confident "things will go smoothly". But Canberra Liberals MLA Deborah Morris said the government had "raced" through the transition, putting the community and vulnerable young people at risk. "I fear this will make children in Canberra less safe and it will also put police in a very difficult position of not knowing how to do their job," she said. "I'm concerned that vulnerable young children will be targeted by organised crime because they know that a child under the age of criminal responsibility will encounter less resistance from authorities. "This is something I have heard from local businesses ... and it's also been put to me by members of our police force." However she conceded that the true impact of the changes would remain unknown until after July 1. Greens leader Shane Rattenbury, who was the ACT Attorney-General when the legislation passed, said the chief police officer's comments were "disappointing to hear and really concerning". "This has been set up very very carefully to allow a long lead-time," Mr Rattenbury said. "At that time the minimum age of criminal responsibility rose from 10 to 12 — and the view was you could do that quite quickly because there was a very small number of children [of concern] in that age group." "But there will be more children in the 12 to 14 age group — and so there was an effectively 18-month lead-in time. "There was a lot of study and work done before that — so this has not been a surprise. "If a young person is involved in dangerous activity the police can still intervene and bring them into custody." "The point is you need a range of service responses so the police can hand them over to somebody — whether that's back to the parents or to some other organisation to make sure they're safe and then intervene. "We need to make sure young people are still held accountable." If services were not ready to go in the coming weeks, Mr Rattenbury said it will be due to a failure by the government to invest in the necessary supports. "Some young people will do dangerous things — they'll do things that will have a negative impact on other people in the community — that's always been the case," Mr Rattenbury said. "The point of this reform is to make sure Canberra's children are diverted away from harm, toward the support they need to be part of safer and more connected community."
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Redwood Credit Union Birthday Bash Raises Over $31,000 for Youth Arts Programs
SANTA ROSA, Calif., June 17, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A shared birthday celebration raised over $31,000 to support music programs for youth in the North Bay. The third annual Birthday Benefit Bash, hosted by Brett Martinez, President and CEO of Redwood Credit Union (RCU), and Mark Nelson, lead singer of Walking Mirrors Music, brought together 250 guests at HopMonk Tavern in Sebastopol on Saturday, April 19. The sold-out event raised a total of $31,502, with all proceeds benefiting the Redwood Credit Union Community Fund (RCUCF). The funds will support three local nonprofits: Enriching Lives Through Music (ELM) "We're going to use the proceeds from RCU's Birthday Bash Fundraiser to support our Summer Music Program," said Andrea Lloyd, director of development for ELM. "It's a chamber music program where students come together to play without a conductor. They need to listen to each other, take turns leading, and work together. It's a great way for them to learn about collaboration, leadership, and other essential skills." Chop's Teen Club Music Program "We want to support our teens by having the right equipment, the right instruments, and professional recording tools they can use in the real world," said Melissa Stewart, executive director of the Chop's Teen Club. "It's an expensive program, so to have an infusion of money to ensure it stays here and has longevity is really important to us." Luther Burbank Center's Mariachi Ensemble "Our Mariachi Ensemble keeps growing, and so does the need for instructors, and uniforms," said Ashleigh Worley, director of education and community engagement for the Luther Burbank Center. "We plan to use the funds to make sure we have the staff to support this program and the crisp, beautiful traje de charro uniforms the students get to wear when they perform." "This was a fun and meaningful way for Mark and me to celebrate our birthdays while giving back to the community," said Martinez. "Thanks to the generosity of our supporters and the incredible work of these three organizations, we're helping to inspire the next generation of musicians and artists." Walking Mirrors is a rock band formed in 2019 by Nelson and guitarist/producer Craig Bartock (of the band Heart), that donates proceeds from all performances to local nonprofits. "Celebrating with my good friend Brett while supporting causes we care about is a true honor," said Nelson. "It's exactly what Walking Mirrors Music is all about—connecting with the community through live music." The RCU Community Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, channels 100% of donations directly into the community, supporting financial education, disaster relief, housing, and community wellness initiatives. Visit to learn more. About Redwood Credit Union Founded in 1950, Redwood Credit Union is a full-service, not-for-profit financial institution providing personal and business banking to consumers and businesses in the North Bay and San Francisco. With a mission to passionately serve the best interests of its members, team members, and communities, RCU delivers many ways for its members to save and build money through checking and savings accounts, auto and home loans, credit cards, digital banking, business services, commercial and SBA lending, and more. Wealth management and investment services are available through Redwood Wealth Management, and insurance and auto-purchasing services are also offered through RCU Services Group (RCU's wholly owned subsidiary). RCU has more than $9.3 billion in assets and serves more than 497,000 members with full-service branches from San Francisco to Ukiah. For more information, call 1 (800) 479-7928, visit or follow RCU on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn for news and updates. View source version on Contacts FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Redwood Credit Union Public Relations Department(707) 576-5224 | (800) 479-7928, ext. 65224 | PR@ Hi-Res Photos Available Here Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
