Brandon Friendship Centre Inc.
GAP Youth Outreach
360 - 8th Street, Brandon, Manitoba
431 - 541 - 1893 | coordinator@bfcgap.ca
"Our Nest" Youth Lodge
Gakina Abinoojiiyag < GAP > Program maintains "Our Nest", a Youth Lodge Space located at 360 - 8th Street in Treaty Two Territory at Brandon, Manitoba. Our Nest is accessible to youth who are connected to and working with GAP Youth Outreach and other helpers. Our Nest is a space for young people and helpers to learn together. The Lodge is largely cared for by youth as they participate in chore program, share meals together, and engage meaningfully with community. We honoured to walk alongside these young people.
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About GAP Youth Outreach
GAP Youth Outreach offers support to young people ages 16 - 29 who may be at risk of homelessness or are experiencing homelessness for the first time in Brandon, Manitoba. GAP operates a small case management team that can provide support as youth prepare for and transition to adulthood including life skills development, obtaining ID, income & budgeting, opening accounts (taxes, utilities, internet), shelter, housing and tenancy support. Our aim is to help youth build a stable foundation so they can remain focused on goals related to education and employment; ultimately supporting increased opportunity to sustain housing longer-term, and decreasing the likelihood of becoming chronically homeless adults. GAP uses a non judgmental, harm reduction approach in supporting youth toward living in a safe and planned way.
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GAP Youth Outreach is a voluntary, youth-centered, rights-based, and goal-oriented program. As Wrap-Around Facilitators, our team encourages youth to consider/establish their own unique “Circle of Helpers” that will naturally change over time. As we may support youth for any length of time between the ages of 16 – 29, we maintain a limited case load capacity. For this reason, we utilize a referral process to connect youth with our team.
Referral Process
IMPORTANT TO NOTE: GAP Youth Outreach accepts new referrals for youth between the ages of 16 - 26. While we can work with youth up to the age of 29, we only consider new referrals up to age 26. This allows for time to work with youth to stabilize housing and achieve other goals.
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School supports, service providers, and families are encouraged to share print materials below (brochure & visual aid) to tell youth about our program. If youth are interested in connecting, please complete a referral form (below) and send to: admin@bfcgap.ca.
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Referrals are reviewed weekly, so please anticipate up to seven business days for response. Please note, referrals from local schools are prioritized and/or we may be at case load capacity at any given time. Not all referrals can be immediately accepted. If a youth is experiencing shelter/housing crisis, please see below for a list of resources available in community.
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If you’d like to inquire before sending a referral form, please reach out to coordinator@bfcgap.ca.
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Shelter / Housing Crisis
Youth ages 16 - 26 can access Brandon Friendship Centre's Youth Safe Lodge by calling 204-725-1773. The BFC Youth Safe Lodge is staffed 24-hours each day, 365 days of the year. Please reach out by telephone to help youth get connected.
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We hope to update this webpage very soon with a list of other local resource youth can connect with. Stay tuned! Stay safe! Take good care!
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