Posted on Aug. 23: Program opens doors for the homeless

Sixteen-year-old Aaron has not lived with his parents for three years. Now, nearly 17, he has stayed at group homes, foster homes, shelters or friends' apartments. The longest he stayed in one place was six months, and that was in rehab.

On March 19, he began participating in M.A.C. Door, an innovative program that helps homeless youth leave the streets.

M.A.C. (Making a Change) Door grew out of the McMaster Student Outreach Clinic (MacSOC).

During the winter of 2000, the MacSOC organization of more than 120 volunteers  students and faculty mainly from nursing but also medicine, midwifery and occupational therapy and physiotherapy  visited three areas in downtown Hamilton on Wednesday nights delivering clothing and food to homeless people.

Dyanne Semogas, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing, was one of those volunteers. Along with several people who worked with MacSOC, Semogas became interested in working with street youth. Two years later, she is the clinical director of the M.A.C. Door project.
This program has two parallel, but separate, components: intervention and research.

At the intervention phase, youths between 16 and 25, of no fixed address and part of the street world, come to M.A.C. Door's facilities. There, with the help of a non-street staff member or volunteer, they determine their own agenda for getting off the streets, and sign a contract detailing the steps they plan to take.
“It's important that they have the opportunity to interact with a non-street person,” says Rosie Yoon, a fourth-year nursing student completing her clinical placement with M.A.C. Door.

For each contract step that they negotiate, participants are paid $15, to a maximum of eight steps per month. Participants can contract for up to two years.

Mike, 20, has contracted for issues that affect most participants: quitting smoking, quitting drinking, finding an apartment and finding employment. Other common steps involve dealing with family or relationship problems. Says Semogas, “A lot of our work is to do with working out relationships that have gotten in their way.”

Modeled after Calgary's highly successful program, “The Back Door”, M.A.C. Door requires youths to take responsibility for themselves. Adds Yoon, “We're not here to take over people's lives.” Since different youths have different problems, each person sets his or her own plan.

In the research component, Semogas and others are studying what motivates youth to leave the streets. “We are developing a tool to measure the motivation to change.”

M.A.C. Door is innovative because it uses a business model, individualized aid and long-term service. This system of working with street youth has proven to be successful in other areas. Based on Calgary's experiences since 1988, 70 per cent of participants have successfully left the street environment.

Aaron explains why he joined M.A.C. Door: “Honestly, I came up here for the money, but the people (volunteers) are really cool, and it's not like all that counseling . . . It's a good place to go if you're uncomfortable going to a new place.”

Youth come to the facility to talk with volunteers, form contracts, or use computers. The computers are available for tasks such as job searches and resume writing. According to Yoon, the computers are important tools to develop a variety of skills. “They learn computer skills and communication skills. It's a different language than the street slang. We present them with a different world.”

M.A.C. Door operates in partnership with Wesley Urban Ministries, and is funded largely by a grant from Supportive Community Partnerships Initiatives (SCPI), a program sponsored by Human Resources Development Canada. This $300,000 grant, which pays for capital expenses, salaries and contract payments, will allow the program to continue for two years. Other support comes from the community.
There are three ways people can become involved. Donating money, clothing or time. A $15 contribution, which is tax deductible, will be used to pay for one step. Clothing, hygiene or food items will be distributed at the monthly “Christmas event”. Volunteers work at M.A.C. Door's facility.

As well, Semogas is looking for local business people willing to be interviewed by street youth. “McMaster has problem-based learning where we put people in contact with experts, and here we're trying to do the same thing. The kids would come and talk to a local business person at their place of work, and find out about a field that they are interested in.”

Eight weeks after M.A.C. Door opened its doors at the end of May, it had already taken in 37 youth. “We were set up for 25 kids, and we were full in one week,” says Semogas. M.A.C. Door is based at 407 Whitney Avenue in Hamilton. The office is open Monday to Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.