The YWCA Prince Albert has announced the renaming of the Youth Transitional Shelter to reflect the increased space, and new funding received from the Ministry of Social Services last year.
“The shelter has only been known for the longest time as Central Avenue,” said Wendy Sundbo, the Central Avenue and Youth Homes Manager. “It didn’t really have a name, but we recently, about a year ago, received funding from the Ministry of Social Services to expand our beds and our staffing to where we have a program coordinator house.”
The center caters to single mothers, newcomer families of all backgrounds and job seekers. lt also provides vital programs and services that help many people in Prince Albert build better lives and achieve economic independence.
“We got funding for more stuff because we changed the profile of what the youth centre is for,” Sundbo explained. “We received more funding for more youth beds. We changed it to a 30-day non-refugal shelter. We take complex cases and we work with them and we get them stable enough where they can go on to a more permanent place.”
Sundbo said this funding is forever, so that was another reason for giving the centre a new name.The choice of this name, Gateway, is because it will serve the north region where the majority of the clients are.
“We thought Gateway House that was just a real suitable name for that house because it serves,” Sundbo said.
The centre presently houses 14 youths and still has more space for up to 40 women and children.
“The women and children, there’s really no length for them to stay. We work with them, we get them stable and we help them find suitable housing. These people come to us with absolutely nothing, no money, so we set them up with agencies that can assist them like with financial assistance and then we help them find housing,” Sundbo explained.
People who use the centre have a variety of needs. for some, they need help parenting, so the centre will connect them with parenting classes. For others, it’s life skills like cooking and cleaning.
“The women can stay longer periods,” Sundbo said. “The youth have a 30-day stay but some who aren’t quite ready to leave after the 30 days so we extend their stay.”
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