Hollyburn Properties, in partnership with Covenant House Toronto and Covenant House Vancouver, has created an innovative model of providing supportive, transitional housing to homeless youth.
Since 2008, Hollyburn has housed 21 youth for a one to two year period in 5 fully subsidized and furnished rental apartments in communities in Vancouver and Toronto. Once the youth successfully graduate, they are able to take the furniture with them to help set them up for their next market housing opportunity. All rent paid is reimbursed to Covenant House to support the youth and their programming.
“The thing that I’m loving about the Hollyburn approach is that the building superintendent, and other employees of Hollyburn, have all bought in – significantly – and they treat and include our young people as real members of the community.”
– Bruce Rivers, Covenant House Toronto, Executive Director
In this video produced by the Homeless Hub, a web-based research library and information centre, Hollyburn and Covenant House share their unique program in the hopes of encouraging other property management companies and developers to start something similar. This program has pioneered an approach of supporting those who need housing most by giving them just that – actual housing!
Hollyburn Properties and Covenant House Partnership from The Homeless Hub on Vimeo.