Youth
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Youth Coaching Partnership Program
YOUTH LIVING PROGRAMS Interior Community Services offers highly structured, individualized programs based on the strengths, abilities, and needs of the youth. They are primarily single staffed resources with additional support staff as required. Programs are funded through the Ministry of Children and Family Development.
Interior Community Services also provides therpeutic model homes for youth who cannot remain in their home. The responsibility for the care and nurturing of the youth is assumed by Interior Community Services and the program is designed to meet the individual strengths, abilities, desires and needs for the youth. The mandate of these homes is to ensure a safe environment while teaching various independent living skills. Programs are funded by the Ministry of Children and Family Development and Community Living British Columbia.
Residential Youth Mentorship This program provides youth with a short term residential experience under the guidance of an adult mentor, along with outside training and support services that can enable youth to launch successfully into independence. This program is for youth 16-18 years old who recognize their need to learn various life skills. The youth need to be prepared to work on the challenges they face with their team of supportive adults in order to maintain their mentorship agreement.
Acadia Program
STREET SERVICES Safe House Street Services offers non-residential, support services and short-term residential stays (7 to14 days) for youth. Street Services encourages youth to make safe, responsible choices in order to work towards creating positive changes in their lives. The Safe House is the residential component and is for any youth 13 to 18 years of age, in need of a safe place to stay, support or assistance. This is a self-referral program that is open and staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Services are provided to assist those, who are street involved or are at risk of becoming street involved, adopt a healthier lifestyle.
Youth Outreach
Some of the social issues the program addresses are:
The Youth Outreach Program provides services to homeless and at risk youth ages 13-24 and facilitates early identification and crisis intervention. Individual youth assisted by this service range from street entrenched youth, transient youth, youth from foster family settings, and other care facilities. Since the start of the program the Youth Outreach Program has reached over 300 youth. It has enabled us to partner with some of the other youth programs to open a Youth Centre. Youth now have a location in the downtown core where they can access resources such as food, clothing, supports and community resources.
Safe Spaces
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Programs
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The Youth Coaching Partnership Program seeks to respectfully join with youth to develop strategies that will enhance their lives and assist them in making healthy choices. This program provides support to guardians and caregivers involved in direct support to youth. Youth Coaches will provide one to one support that focuses directly on the youth’s and caregivers identified goals. Ongoing group informational sessions will be provided to teach skills necessary for a healthy adaptation towards independence. Restoring or enhancing the youth’s relationship with caregivers is an area where youth coaches can also provide support. The program is open to youth between the ages of 13 to 18 who have a willingness to improve their life skills and/or personal relationships. Referrals are made by Social Workers within the Ministry of Children and Family Development. 
Through one-to-one mentorship, the Transitional Life Skills Mentor will teach youth the skills needed for healthy adaptation toward independence. The mentor will be introduced to each new resident of the Acadia Program within one week of the youth moving in, and will maintain consistent contact for the duration of the youth’s membership within the program. The youth and mentor develop realistic expectations that pertain directly to the youth’s goals through increased sense of self worth, increased opportunities, knowledge of essential life skills and increase sense of belonging. A formalized screening process will provide the program with an opportunity to identify those youth most likely to be successful with mentorship support.
In 2009, the Youth Outreach Program was created through a grant received from the Homelessness Partnering Strategy and Human Resources and Skill Development Canada (HRSDC). The grant provided the opportunity to address several issues identified through a 2009 Ipsos Reid survey conducted by the City of Kamloops and adopted by the Kamloops Social Plan on April 7, 2009. The survey rated Children and Youth at Risk as a priority and identified gaps in services. 
Safe Spaces is a service for youth ages up to 25 years of age, who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, two-spirited, trans-gendered or questioning and their allies. It is a youth driven service offering weekly group meetings for youth up to 16- 25 years, and a trans group that meets when needed; one-on-one appointments; summer drop-in; workshops and presentations for the Kamloops and surrounding communities; a resource and lending library and a referral system. The Safe Spaces project was developed under the direction of Bill Ryan from the Centre for Applied Family Studies at McGill University, Montreal. Kamloops was chosen as one of only four Canadian sites to implement the model as a pilot project. Safe Spaces is a self-referral service. The Safe Spaces contract is funded by Ministry of Children and Family Development through Child and Youth Mental Health.