Opening Doors: How Your Support Helps REST House Black Youth in Crisis

By: Janin Bartholomew, Landlord Engagement Coordinator, REST Centres

I spend most of my days on the phone, emailing, texting, and knocking on doors trying to get landlords and property managers to give our youth a chance.

You see, I’m the Landlord Engagement Coordinator here at REST. I’m the one that connects to landlords to help house youth. 

A lot of people don’t realize how much stigma shows up the moment someone hears “Black youth, 16 to 24.” They imagine the worst. They assume no credit, no stability, no future. My job is to help them see something different. I tell them that when they open a door for a young person, they strengthen the whole community.

And in this housing crisis, I remind them that anyone can become unhoused. If adults with steady jobs are struggling to pay their mortgages, imagine what it feels like to be nineteen with no safety net. That connection changes people. It softens judgment. It helps them understand why our youth deserve the same grace they expect for themselves.

I’ve known about REST since the very beginning. I referred young people here long before I ever worked here. Back then, I was a counsellor supporting women and youth who had survived violence. Many were just seventeen or eighteen. When families cut ties, those young people had nowhere to go. They lost support and independence all at once.

I realized I wanted to work on the part of the system that could prevent homelessness, not just respond to it.

When the Landlord Engagement role opened, I knew where I needed to be. I’m a landlord myself. I’ve worked with youth, women, and families. I knew the work, and I knew I could help. And I was right. 

One young person I recently supported will stay with me for a long time. She had been through a serious family breakdown and carried that grief everywhere. She never smiled. She rarely made eye contact. Even though she was housed, she wasn’t safe or stable, and I was asked to help find a better place.

When the opportunity came up for a new unit in a newly built condo, she didn’t believe it. Honestly, she had no reason to. Nothing in her life had ever worked out easily.

Every step of the process was messy. Paperwork delays. Miscommunication. Issues with the region and the building. Every time I spoke with her, she said, “I’m not getting my hopes up.”

Then she saw the unit.

For the first time since I met her, she smiled. And when the application was approved, she lit up in a way I can’t describe. A full grin across her face. When she got her keys, the real estate agent helping me said, “This is why I do this work.”

Yesterday, I dropped off a desk. She’s still smiling.

This is what your donation makes possible.

Your gift is not just a subsidy or a service. It is the moment a young person realizes something good can finally happen for them. It is safety. Stability. A future that feels reachable.

Your donation today helps us:

• secure safe housing for youth who are at risk

• engage landlords who have never considered renting to a young person

• provide grocery and rent subsidies during crisis

• create programs where youth can learn, heal, and belong

• keep young people off the streets and connected to school, work, and support

REST is the only organization in Peel whose primary focus is housing homeless BIPOC youth. And we cannot do this without you.

If you believe that every young person deserves a safe place to live, please make your gift today.

• $25 helps us with groceries

• $50 contributes to our rental subsidy

• $100 helps us connect with more landlords so we can divert them from the shelter system

When youth walk through our doors, they see faces that look like theirs. They hear their names spoken with care. They feel, maybe for the first time, that they belong somewhere.

Your support makes that possible.