Do you or someone you know need help now?

Durham Youth Services offers safe, temporary shelter and a full-service housing support program to youth ages 16 to 24.

We are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Call us at 905-239-9477      Text/WhatsApp at 289-890-7889

Or reach out with Facebook Messenger

In most cases, we will respond within the hour.

Our 10-bed emergency shelter offers safe, temporary shelter to youth aged 16-24 and includes a safe place to sleep, meals and snacks and a full-service housing support program where we work together with you on your identified housing goals.

Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. We serve all gender identities and expressions in a supportive, inclusive environment.

If you need help and a place to stay right now and our shelter is not for you, we may still be able to help as we have other programs and places to stay so please call and talk to us about it.

Who can stay at Joanne’s House? (That’s the name of the DYS emergency shelter!)

We operate Durham’s only youth-focused emergency shelter and we serve youth aged 16 to 24 exclusively.  The only adults at our shelter are our staff.

What services does Joanne’s House offer?

DYS is dedicated to helping young people and a safe place to sleep is just one of the services we offer.  We also provide:

• Transportation to the shelter (talk with staff, they’ll help you figure out a way!)
• Showers (DYS supplies shampoo and stuff)
• Clean clothes
• Laundry facilities
• Meals and snacks
• Safe storage for your belongings

Clean clothes, a nutritious meal and a safe place to sleep are just the beginning. We also offer services such as:

• Access to counseling and other mental health supports
• Family reconnect support
• Support in obtaining ID
• Help to register for financial assistance
• Support with your housing goals
• Support with applications to school and/or employment

How long can I stay at Joanne’s House?

At DYS we recognize that each person’s journey to us is complex, therefore we do not put any time limits around the support that we provide. We are a housing-focused shelter and will work with youth to find lasting solutions to their housing crisis. Our team members provide case management and work in partnership with other community organizations to establish healthy connections in the community and support educational and employment goals. Our Housing Support programs continue to help youth once they move out of the shelter.

What is Joanne’s House like?

Our emergency shelter is a two-story house on a residential street in Ajax. Dorm-style bedrooms are divided by floor, with one for male-identifying and one for female-identifying clients. Each floor includes a shared bathroom. We welcome individuals of all gender identities and expressions we will work with each person in a supportive, inclusive environment.

The living room, dining room and kitchen are common areas on the ground floor. A staff office is located on the ground floor as well and this is where the intake process occurs, which is one of the first in-person meetings with DYS staff.

Please see a virtual tour of our shelter further down this page.

Is it safe?

• Joanne’s House is staffed around the clock, with a comprehensive check-in security process every time a youth arrives at the shelter from the community.
• Our dedicated staff work tirelessly to uphold the safety of the environment, which is supported by camera monitoring in all common areas.
•  We are committed to maintaining both the physical and emotional safety of all youth during their stay.
•  We do NOT permit anything that could be used as a weapon, or to harm any person.
•  We also do NOT permit non-prescribed mind-altering substances or items associated with substances into the shelter.
•  Above all, we strive to create a safe, inclusive and welcoming space for everyone, regardless of their identity.

Can we speak confidentially?

We take our client confidentiality incredibly seriously. We will not share information with any parties outside of DYS without your explicit consent.

The only exception is when we have a legal duty to report. In specific circumstances (e.g. physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect), DYS staff have a “duty to report”.  In this case, DYS staff will inform the youth of the steps that need to be taken, as well as information that staff need to share when it is safe for staff to do so (this reporting does not necessarily need to be immediate).

Will you report back to my guardian?

We will not communicate with your guardian without your explicit consent to share information with them.

When you do provide consent we will ensure you are comfortable with the information we are sharing prior to connecting with your guardian, ensuring that it is all relevant to the support being provided to you.

If there is any specific information you do not want to be shared, you will always have the right to let us know that. If you ever change your mind about us talking with your guardian, consent can be revoked or put into place at any time!

If you have any questions about information sharing please give our shelter team a call!

We have a 3D virtual tour of Joanne’s House, our emergency shelter.

Click on the circles to move around the house.

Use your keyboard arrow keys to move in different directions.

Use the Floor Selector to see the different levels.

:the do .YYI,,,,,,.“Intake” is the process of collecting data (age, contact info, details of current situation, etc.), consent and other key pieces of information.

Step 1. Contact and Conversation

When you call Joanne’s House (905-239-9477), a DYS team member will gather information about your current situation as part of the support process. We will ensure you are of age to obtain support from DYS and work with you to explore various possible solutions for a safe place to stay.

Step 2. Getting to Us

As part of the intake process, a DYS team member will work with you to ensure you have a safe method of transport to the shelter or to an alternate safe, temporary accommodation.

Step 3. Arrival

When you arrive at Joanne’s House, a team member will meet you and accompany you to the staff office so that the intake of you and your belongings can be done confidentially. The average intake is approximately 30 minutes – 1 hour long.

Intake for you will include signing consent forms and reviewing the client guideline package.

We understand that for some people the questions asked throughout the intake process can be intimidating or triggering. Therefore, clients are welcome to take breaks, as needed, from the intake process and are not required to answer all questions at once.

You’ll be assigned a bunk and DYS team members will make every effort to accommodate concerns expressed regarding safety and dignity in your personal space.

Your bunk bed will be clean, sanitized and set with fresh linens and a satin pillowcase.  You’ll receive a hygiene kit for your personal needs (e.g. lotion, deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, brush/comb, shampoo and soap). You’ll also receive a clothing kit with pj bottoms, a T-shirt, undergarments, socks and a bath towel.

Intake for your belongings. DYS is located in a residential house so space is limited. You are allowed to bring a maximum of 2 garbage bags full of items to the shelter, any additional bags will be stored in our shed storage until discharge.

In order to maintain a safe environment for youth and staff, a DYS team member will go through your belongings to ensure everything that you brought is able to remain at Joanne’s House. This will be done once verbal consent has been given. (If you decline for your belongings to be searched, you will be unable to keep these belongings on DYS property.)

• We do not permit anything that could be used as a weapon, or to harm any person. We also do not permit non-prescribed mind altering substances or items associated with substances into the shelter.

In order to prevent bed bugs, DYS uses a bed bug protocol which includes laundering clothing on high heat and cleaning and sanitizing mattresses and bedding.

A team member will provide you with a tour of the shelter and assist you to complete the intake process. This includes having a meal and a shower.

What does a typical day in the shelter look like?

The morning after you intake at the shelter, if it is a weekday, we will wake you up between 8 am – 9 am. After you have had the opportunity to shower, brush teeth and get dressed, you will be asked to meet with our Shelter Diversion worker.

Housing Goals: Our Shelter Diversion worker will meet with you to try to think of friends or family that you might be able to stay with, and they’ll even help you with calling and asking. You’d be surprised how often this works! (More than 50% of the time). 

If you stay at the shelter, you’ll participate in individual morning meetings with a Rapid Rehousing worker to set your daily housing goals. After morning meetings the bedrooms at Joanne’s House are locked for theft prevention and to support client engagement in the program.

Throughout the remainder of your first day until dinner, we will work together on your identified housing goals. This may include:

• applying for income
• applying for identification
• messaging landlords

Meals and Snacks: We serve a hot lunch to all youth who remain at the shelter working on their housing goals. We provide a bagged lunch for youth who are going to be in the community for the day (e.g. school, work, etc.).

We also have snacks available throughout the day and can accommodate any special dietary needs.

Goals and Progress: In the afternoon you will meet with our Youth Advocate (YA) team, who will work with you on how your goal completion went, and support in overcoming any barriers to finding lasting solutions to your housing crisis.

After you have met with the YA team, we’ll open the door to your room. Throughout the evening, we will have dinner prepared by the Shelter team and will sit together for a 10 pm house meeting to ensure everyone is on the same page before completing chores and going to bed.

It’s important that you know that we have a 10 pm curfew and an 11 pm lights out each day.

School and Work: If you have school or work which may interfere with the general times of our programming, our team will work with you to create an accommodated program schedule to support your success throughout your stay at Joanne’s House.

We will help you communicate with your school or employer, at your request, to support in any necessary accommodations during your temporary stay at the shelter.

If there is anything you need help with that we haven’t mentioned, please ask us and we can figure things out together.