Empowerment through Support: Friends of Ruby offers mental health services, social services, and housing to 2SLGBTQIA+ youth, acknowledging their wisdom and resilience in navigating a challenging world.
Even if they have a hard time recognizing it, 2SLGBTQIA+ youth come to Friends of Ruby with more wisdom and knowledge of how to cope and survive in this world. They have already lived through so much,” says Daniel Arun, the Clinical Team Lead at Friends of Ruby.
Every day, negative and harmful messages about being 2SLGBTQIA+ are shared online, in the news, or experienced at home. The world teaches 2SLGBTQIA+ youth that they are not good enough, their wisdom and beliefs do not matter, or they do not deserve to exist. Friends of Ruby is creating a welcoming space for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth (16 to 29) dedicated to progressive well-being through mental health services, social services, and housing.
2SLGBTQIA+ youth face disproportionately high rates of family rejection, violence, homelessness, and trauma, leading to high rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges. In fact, 2SLGBTQIA+ youth are 6 to 9 times more likely to experience suicidal ideation or engage in deliberate self-harm.
This is why Friends of Ruby prioritizes mental health and well-being by providing free counseling services to 2SLGBTQIA+ youth. “As we work together, participants begin to acknowledge their wisdom and ability as their inner therapist continues to grow. When therapy ends, they don’t leave without support. The little therapist in their brain will always be there to help them,” says Arun.
Over 28 per cent of 2SLGBTQIA+ youth report experiencing housing instability and represent a disproportionately high amount of Toronto’s homeless population. Familial abandonment is a significant factor in housing instability, leading to a considerable risk of homelessness. When Javier came to Friends of Ruby in 2021, he needed a safe place to call home where he could complete his studies. “As a university student, I was homeless and living in a shelter, which didn’t provide a safe space to continue my education. I wasn’t doing well in any of my classes,” says Javier.
Almost all shelters and youth homes in Toronto are organized along the gender binary, making them unwelcoming and unsafe for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth. Instead, youth feel safer on the streets. The Friends of Ruby Home was designed from the lived experience of homeless 2SLGBTQIA+ youth. Every part of Friends of Ruby Home cultivates emotional well-being, confidence, and independence. Friends of Ruby supports 2SLGBTQIA+ youth on their path toward independent, stable, and empowered living.
Friends of Ruby Home residents are surrounded by dedicated 2SLGBTQIA+ support staff who understand the challenges that youth encounter, like homelessness, trauma and abuse, or substance misuse. Staff support youth in developing independence, which might look like helping them find a job, open a bank account, return to school, or find an affordable apartment. Most importantly, they help youth develop the skills and mental resilience to live independently.
Friends of Ruby supports 2SLGBTQIA+ youth on their path toward independent, stable, and empowered living. “Now that I’m in the Transitional Housing Program, my grades got better. I feel safe, and I’m doing well. The services I use at the Home include meals and food. Most important to me is the counseling that has helped me to get through difficult times. Thank you to the staff at Friends of Ruby and the donors that make this place possible for us to live,” says Javier.
Since opening in early 2020, the Friends of Ruby Home has provided 70 youth like Javier a place they can call home. Yet, when Javier moves out, there are over 100 youth like him hoping to take his place.
Learn more about how Friends of Ruby is Supporting and Empowering 2SLGBTQIA+ youths at friendsofruby.ca.
