ROOF Agency

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In late 1988, Kate Millar, with the help of others in the community, began working with the street youth in downtown Kitchener. In 1989, a friend donated office space to Kate, and ROOF was officially born. Kate noticed that there were a lot of young people living on the streets of our community. These youth had great difficulty accessing services that were available and were quickly becoming victims of the hostile “street environment”.

In 1990, ROOF moved into a facility at Duke and College Streets. It was in this building that ROOF began to define a set of values and principles that were to become the foundation of the present day agency. In 1991, ROOF moved into 43 Cedar St. N. in Kitchener. ROOF extended to seven day service; added a connective outreach program; added a food hamper program; created a more comprehensive volunteer training program; and added trained counsellors to its team. On March 1, 1996, ROOF began its partnership in the Betty Thompson Youth Centre, increasing its capacity to provide service to high risk youth.

In 1999, ROOF purchased a new facility at 242 Queen Street South, in Kitchener. This facility allowed us the space to offer extended hours of service and more diverse group activities. An on site partnership with Public Health Nurses began. This building purchase was made possible through the generous support of a private donor.

On December 28, 2005, the building at 242 Queens Street suffered a devastating fire, resulting in the closure of that location and immeasurable loss. Fortunately, through our continued partnership with the Betty Thompson Youth Center, ROOF was able to open for limited services that same day. Working closely with the City of Kitchener, the Board was able to quickly find what was thought to be a more suitable location. On January 17, 2006, ROOF officially opened its temporary quarters at 79 Joseph Street, in the downtown core, while various options for the site at 242 Queen Street were explored.

Unfortunately, the KOR Gallery proved to be more temporary than anyone anticipated. Coal Tar contamination made it necessary for ROOF to move yet again. As of April 2006, ROOF staff were temporarily housed in the Betty Thompson Youth Centre and drop-in was run out of Trinity United Church. The arrival of a new Executive Director in June 2006 offered a renewed sense of energy and motivation to move forward. On December 28, 2007 we returned to our old address of 242 Queen Street South that is now our new facility.

During the first years of life, ROOF provided services to approximately 80 and 100 clients a year. This number rose by approximately 30% per year until 1993, when we began to see a dramatic rise. In 1994, we served 650 individual youth in our community and in 1995 we served 981. In 1996, we were able to provide service to 1,376 members of our youth community, an increase of almost 50%. In 1997, that number rose to 1,773 and in 1998, ROOF provided service to 2,152 individual youth. By 2003, ROOF was assisting 2,500 youth. Due to government cutbacks and restructuring there is a definite erosion of services available to youth in our community. Thus the number of youth requiring service, along with the issues they face, has grown exponentially. Today, ROOF continues to serve KW youth through programs (such as the ROOF Lunchbox and Street Designs) that help youth gain work experience, while continuing outreach and drop-in services.

In the 20 years through which ROOF has provided service to our community’s homeless youth, we have seen many youth re-integrate into the mainstream of society. Thousands of youth facing dire circumstances have benefited from the option of immediate services to develop the personal confidence, resources and skills necessary to rise above adversity. ROOF remains committed to the ideal that “one youth on the street is one too many”.

Filed under: How it all began on November 2nd, 2009 | Comments Off

Homeless is a reality in our community and in our country.

This page was developed in an attempt to address the more common questions asked about homelessness and homeless youth. If your particular question remains unanswered, please feel free to email - and we will answer them as best we can.

Q: What characteristics are typical of the youth you work with?

A: ROOF prides itself on recognizing each youth as unique individuals. Their situations are as diverse as they, themselves are. We make every attempt to educate the public and to warn against stereotyping any population. However, there are some common characteristics that seem prevalent among those we serve. These commonalities include: backgrounds in abuse, low self-esteem, difficulty with commitment and trust, an inability to see past the immediate situation, and a real sense of disconnect (from adults and community). Some of the youth we serve suffer with/from mental health issues, alcohol/drug use, victimization (sexual, emotional, physical), exploitation, a lack of education, conflict with the law, an increased amount of direct and indirect exposure to violence, poor physical health, a sense of isolation, strong survival insticts and depression.

Q: Why don’t they just go home?

A: As mentioned above, many of our youth suffer from extreme abuse. Some know no other ‘home’ life but a violent one. The streets, as difficult as it is for us to comprehend, actually represent a ’safer’ place to some youth. Some of the youth we serve take to the streets to escape the violence that has been perpetrated against them or against someone they love. Some are driven to the streets because their is no room in their family for them any longer; and still others hit the streets because they are in such constant turmoil that they (or their parents) can no longer cope. Regardless of why a youth becomes homeless, ROOF remains committed to the ideal that “one youth on the streets is one too many”. With this in mind, we focus on the youths future and support them as they come to terms with their past.

Q: What is it like to be homeless?

A: To answer this question, it is best to use the words of a homeless individual:

“you realize you’re at the bottom of the chain…every night when I go to sleep, I realize, “holy f***! I’m sleeping on a picnic table …I have no home, I have no job, I have no education, I have no money … I don’t have anything …” you wake up in the morning, you don’t have anywhere to go, you have nothing to do, except go sit at a soup kitchen. That’s really, really depressing. Five years ago I never thought I’d be where I am now!”

Being homeless is cold, frightening and degrading. Research shows that the longer a youth remains on the street, the more difficult is becomes to truly end the cycle of homelessness for him/her.

Q: How do youth survive out there?

A: Youth are resilient! Unfortunately there resiliency could be put to much greater use then simply trying to survive. Homeless youth will resort to whatever means necessary to stay alive, be warm, and get food - who wouldn’t? Some panhandle, work part-time jobs, apply to Ontario Works for financial assistance, or commit crimes to survive. Many of the youth we serve spend their nights couch surfing (moving from one friend’s couch to another to avoid sleeping on the streets), squat in abandon and unsafe buildings or sleep in the park. Homeless youth survive by accessing ROOF.

Q: Youth are homeless because they don’t want to obey the rules at home!

A: This comment gets bantered around quite a bit and, again, the best response that I have found comes from directly from a homeless individual…

“If I had the option of not being homeless, I wouldn’t be homeless, you know? I know personally I’d rather be out there going to school…now that I’m in this situation, I can’t get myself out of it, and I’m trying my hardest but it’s not easy….I have nothing. I have 25 cents to my name. I’m gonna sleep on a picnic table in the park tonight! No one wants to live like that, no one in their right mind.”

There ARE youth that ‘hit the streets’ because they are tired of the rules in their homes…..but our experience has been that these youth return home as soon as the reality and harshness of street life hits. These are not the youth we tend to see at ROOF.

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Filed under: Frequently Asked Question on March 27th, 2007 | No Comments »