SUPPORTIVE SHELTER
Hunter Thompson, who has been living at Pride Home, says, “The support in the house is something that I never had before.” Canada’s first long-term group home for LGBTQ2+ youth has seen 18 young people through its six rooms since it opened in 2017.
Pride Home opened its doors to Hunter Thompson at the perfect time.
Thompson, now 22, was in rehab and had lost his living situation in Moose Jaw. He needed a supportive environment and moving back home wasn’t an option.
His case worker found Pride Home, Canada’s first long-term group home for LGBTQ2+ youth, and Thompson was able to move into a home where he felt safe.
“The support in the house is something that I never had before,” Thompson said. “When I moved into the house, I wasn’t in a great place. I was struggling through a lot of mental health problems and people were here for me.”
Since it opened in 2017, Pride Home has seen 18 youth, including two peer mentors, inhabit its six rooms.
Along with housing, Pride Home takes a “care approach,” said Krystal Niecker, housing and support services manager at Outsaskatoon, providing youth with programming and case management while connecting them with resources that they may otherwise feel unsafe accessing.
Gender and sexually diverse youth are at greater risk of homelessness. It’s estimated that, of the 40,000 homeless youth in Canada, from 25-40 per cent identify as LGBTQ2+.
Locally, 30 per cent of youth in Outsaskatoon’s youth program had been homeless or without secure housing at some point in their lives.
The current shelter system both provincially and across Canada doesn’t reflect that need.
Outsaskatoon is working with organizations in the city toward creating inclusive spaces, without a gender binary enforced, said Niecker. But at the moment, Pride Home is the only such facility in Saskatoon, and one of a handful across Canada.
“To be a space where youth can come to live, just to live who they are, their most authentic selves, it’s pretty incredible,” Niecker said. “But it also shows how far the community still needs to go in terms of creating space for young people.”
A report on LGBTQ2+ health care released by the Standing Committee on Health in June recommended that the federal government fund shelters that consider the needs of LGBTQ2+ communities, especially trans and nonbinary people.
It can be challenging to secure the funding to operate Pride Home, Niecker said. Federal and provincial housing programs offer funding for capital expenses at Pride Home, but not wages for staff or operating costs.
To give back to to the place he’s called home for over a year, Thompson, who was named Mr. Gay Saskatoon/mister Diva’s earlier this month, selected Pride Home his charity of choice as he raised funds during his time in the role.
Those kinds of stories are what Pride Home is all about, Niecker said.
“The home really showcases the resilience of its occupants,” she said. When given the ability to showcase their talents, seeing the things that they then offer to the community is so moving.
“It’s pretty cool to be able to watch folks be able to grow and flourish and become the people who they want to be.”
The support in the house is something that I never had before ... people were here for me.