Steve Cordes reflects on 4 decades with Youth Opportunities Unlimited
After 35 years at the helm of Youth Opportunities Unlimited, Steve Cordes will be retiring in August. Cordes joined London Morning host Andrew Brown to reflect on the work that's been done to help youth in London and what needs to continue.
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CBC
16-04-2025
- CBC
Steve Cordes reflects on 4 decades with Youth Opportunities Unlimited
After 35 years at the helm of Youth Opportunities Unlimited, Steve Cordes will be retiring in August. Cordes joined London Morning host Andrew Brown to reflect on the work that's been done to help youth in London and what needs to continue.
CBC
07-01-2025
- CBC
Joan's Place residents to move in next month, Youth Opportunities Unlimited says
Social Sharing A supportive housing project in downtown London targeting young and expectant mothers at risk of homelessness is nearing completion with move-ins set to begin next month. The long-awaited opening of Joan's Place will see 39 affordable housing units at the northwest corner of Richmond and York streets, with resources and supports aimed at helping residents transition to stable and permanent housing. Thirty-five of the units are newly built. Named after Ontario's first female solicitor general, Joan Smith, whose family has supported the effort from the start, the opening will cap off a project nearly a decade in the making. "Jones Place is going to have a significant impact in this community," said Steve Cordes, executive director of Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU), whose headquarters are across the street. "I'm a marathon runner. I equate this to, we're at about mile 24 of the marathon, so we got a last little bit to go, but we're able to see the end in sight." Construction began in September 2022, converting a former theatre-turned-sports bar into a multi-storey building with ground floor supports, including employment counselling, commercial space on the second floor, and a family room on the top floor. An adjoining building was refurbished and will house four units. Members of YOU's youth wellness hub and housing team, located in the agency's headquarters, will also offer programs regularly, Cordes said. Originally slated to open in the fall, the building is due to be turned over in the next four weeks, with the list of residents finalized by the end of January, and units ready for occupancy in mid-February, Cordes said. "The goal of Joan's Place at the end of the day is creating stability for people. The sooner we have that information, we can tell someone their life's about to change," Jordan Boyd, YOU's housing services program manager, of the resident list. The agency is working with the city to identify potential residents through the municipal housing wait list, with an eye for people aged 16 to 24 who are Indigenous, 2SLGBTQ+, a member of another marginalized group, or survivors of intimate partner violence. "Overarching all of that is … a focus on individuals who are pregnant, who have had children, have children with them, or have had children but don't have custody currently," Boyd said. Local shelters have been told of the criteria so they can share the names of people who may be a good fit. "We're exploring all those avenues before we look at anyone else." Potential residents will be offered a one-year or three-year participation agreement, depending on their circumstances. Someone who is pregnant, for example, will likely need more than a year to get comfortable, learn skills to take care of an infant and move into the community, Boyd said. Officials said, however, people won't simply be tossed out because their one year is up, and YOU will work with residents to determine the resources and supports they need to live independently. Each resident will be assigned a caseworker to guide them through move in, and help if they need to buy furniture or other items. Beds will be provided, but it's unclear what other furnishings will be. "Hopefully we'll have some things, but we haven't figured out exactly what that looks like. I know our goal is that no one will walk into a completely unfurnished apartment," Boyd said. "Our goal is that move-ins are going to be very quick once that open date happens." Nearly $20 million was raised for the project, including $8 million from the provincial and federal governments, and $1 million from the Smith family. Cordes said the fact the building has been so close to completion was "almost overwhelming at times." During early focus groups of young Londoners, he recalled young mothers telling him they felt isolated and had no one they could trust for answers about parenthood. "Those young people that I know are going to get amazing news," he said. "That when they have their baby they're not going to be separated, they're going to be in a supportive home that they can afford ... It's wonderful to see it all come into reality.
CBC
15-11-2024
- CBC
Why this Londoner lets strangers sleep on a cot he set up on his front porch
One woman cried when Jonathon Phillips offered to order her a vegetarian pizza. Another wondered what kind of ulterior motive he had when he offered her a place to spend the night and a shower. But Phillips, 52, said he's just trying to help in the small way he can when he offers people down on their luck a place to crash on a cot he set up on his front porch, enclosed in plastic to keep out the elements. "Maybe I'm going to make a difference in that person's life. Maybe they will realize that there is somebody out there that cares or that would sit and listen and help," said Phillips. "While they're sleeping, that's when they're the most vulnerable because they can be attacked or assaulted or robbed. This gives them a safe, dry place where they can crash. That's why I call it the crash cot." Offering up a spot for people to sleep is something Phillips has done for about a decade. It began when an old friend showed up at his door, homeless, and asked to crash on his couch for a while. That relationship soured, but eventually, he set up a cot on his covered back deck for people who needed it. Through trial and error, he's developed some rules: No groups or couples, just individuals, and no long-term stays — a night or two is what Phillips allows. More recently he moved the cot to the front porch of his bungalow because he needed the back deck for something else. Officials estimate there are 2,000 people living without a home in London. In a recent survey, 55 per cent of Londoners identified homelessness as the most pressing issue facing the city. A hot meal, a shower Phillips has first aid training and a first aid kit, as well as safety equipment such as a fire extinguisher. The crash cot operates on an invitation-only basis, though some people reach out to him on Facebook. "I don't go up to the first homeless person I see and say 'Come on home with me.' We get to know each other, maybe we go down to the Tim Hortons to get a coffee, we chat, and I ask if they need a place to stay for the night," Phillips said. "Some people sleep 12, 18 hours." Rosemary Van Gelderen's daughter is one of an estimated 2,000 people living unhoused on London's streets. Van Gelderen opened up to London Morning about what it's like to have a child living rough and what she would like to see happen to help those who are unhoused as winter approaches. A forklift operator during the day, Phillips spends evenings and nights biking around the city with water bottles and other essentials to hand out to those less fortunate. "If I get an okay vibe from them, I offer them the cot. For others, I might just give them something to eat or just have a talk. "I offer them a hot meal, have a shower, I'll wash your clothes, you'll get treated like a human being for the night. People don't see them. You go on Richmond Row and people just step over them. They don't realize that somebody's there, that's a person. Some of them just want conversation." Phillips admits there have been some negative experiences, but those have just made him double down on offering the cot to only single people and make sure to go with his gut about who he offers the cot to. "Most people have a similar story. You were a recreational drug user and now you're on the street and an addict, and then there's the pharmaceutical ones who had an accident, were prescribed an opiate, and then there was no aftercare, they were cut off, but a friend stepped in and said 'Oh, I can hook you but with something better and cheaper.'" For Phillips, the reward comes from having interesting conversations with people and knowing that he's atoning for what he called a "misspent youth." "You're a guest here. People are extremely grateful that they have a chance to be normal," Phillips said. For the people he can't help, he refers them to other services. Phillips admits letting strangers sleep on your front porch isn't for everyone. He's a big, burly man, so he doesn't scare easily, he said. But it would be impossible to sit back and watch London's homeless crisis deepen without doing something, he said.
