Shuah Roskies was dedicated to developing and implementing concrete improvements for children and youth involved in child welfare, especially in the area of housing stability.
Nothing bothered Shuah Roskies more than how administrivia (as she called it) could frustrate the goal of keeping youth safe within the child welfare system. Nowhere was this more pronounced than in relation to housing stability. Shuah couldn’t accept that the system is so broken that vulnerable young people often have to become homeless before they become eligible for services that would have prevented their homelessness in the first place. It was this commitment to removing barriers and to finding concrete solutions that drove Shuah in her work to improve youth access to housing grants. Her intelligence, care, and passion for youth drew people to her and created connections between youth and adults, as well as among adults from different sectors, to get everyone working together to find better workable answers to the complex challenges facing homeless youth. Whether through her work as Counsel at the Office of the Children’s Lawyer or as StepStones Director of Innovation and Awareness, Shuah led the charge to make the lives of young people better and safer, leaving an indelible impact on those who she worked with and for.
Very suddenly and unexpectedly, we lost Shuah last August. Her death has left a huge void in our community and in our hearts. In honour of our dear friend and champion of young people involved in child welfare, we would like to announce a new funding opportunity for youth homelessness prevention.
The Shuah Roskies Youth Homelessness Prevention Fund is open to all young people who are involved with Ontario’s Child Protection Services who have no support from their families and who are at high risk of homelessness, are currently underhoused, or are currently experiencing housing-precarious situations. This grant can be used for a variety of urgently-required supports to stabilize housing and meet basic needs including first and last month’s rent, grocery gift cards, move-in expenses, and emergency supports. Young people will be able to apply for this grant through our online Housing Grant Portal that was co-designed by Shuah.
