Safe Coach is a program available for youth needing a safe haven.

Being a teenager can be hard, being a parent of a teenager can be even harder. Sometimes those relationships can cause strain on a family home for various reasons. Family & Community Support Services (FCSS) in Cochrane has a program called Safe Coach, available for youth 13-18 years old.

Jason Garagan, Youth and Family Support Worker, FCSS says youth homelessness is a family issue that needs to be supported.  The Safe Coach Program is available to to anyone who comes in contact with a youth who is out of the home, or at risk for being out of the home. Garagan says the mandate of the program is to firstly make sure the youth is safe, secondly to have the biological family involved when possible, and finally strengthen the family's capacity to stay connected. The end goal is to foster long term support.  

"We want to positively transition the youth to adulthood, regardless whether the parents are involved or not. Ideally we want the parents involved, but it depends on the need of the family how our support is going to look."

This can be a collaborative initiative throughout the community. 

"I will work with other youth professionals in town to help figure out the best route for supporting the youth and the family. It can be a child protection concern, the family having high conflict and even someone having addiction issues. I work with whoever reaches out to me, then we get the appropriate supports in place," Garagan adds.

The program is reaching out to community members to find families that are interested in becoming a host home. For youth who need to be removed from their homes, they need a safe place to heal from whatever reason the youth was out of their home in the first place. 

A free information session is being held at FCSS January 31 for host home information. To find out more information, click here.