In terms of youth, I actually used to work at a youth drop-in, Operation Come Home, in Ottawa. Having federal funding available that organizations on the ground can apply for is so important. When I was working at that centre, it was a drop-in centre, but we received funding through the employment programming. However, in order to get the youth into the employment programming, we had to have the drop-in centre, which we supported through donations.
From there, we were able to get them into employment, back into education. We were able to provide case management supports and housing-based case management supports. Having that wraparound care is so important for early intervention, reconnecting youth with services and providing the supports that are going to support them in the long term to be successful and to reintegrate back with their families, into education and into employment.
The Youth Services Bureau in Ottawa is another great example of that. Beyond providing those wraparound services, they provide shelters and supported housing options. Investing in affordable housing for youth, specifically, is important, as well as the mental health services. It creates, again, a wraparound continuum of services that starts from supporting families with early intervention and continues to youth who have found themselves in shelters. It's that continuum of services, as well as providing those peer supports. Again, the Youth Services Bureau is able to go out into schools and into other organizations to provide training for youth ambassadors to create the peer support that keeps those youth involved and supports their shared mental health.