More than 3,500 people have signed a petition aimed at saving Scarborough’s only youth shelter.
Since 1993, the Second Base Youth Shelter has served as the only shelter for homeless youth in Scarborough. It’s also the second-largest youth shelter in Toronto.
The facility, located on Kennedy Road near Eglinton Avenue, is open 24 hours a day, every day. But on Oct. 20, it is set to close its doors for good.
The safe haven has run into a string of financial problems over the past few years, according to the chair of Second Base’s board of directors, Sherwin Modeste.
“I think there’s a history of poor judgment by different management that were in place, and I think we inherited it,” Modeste said recently.
But Marika Goode, the shelter’s former executive director, created a Care2 petition, calling on the city to keep Second Base open. The petition also suggests a restructuring of the shelter’s leadership.
The shelter’s financial problems, Goode said, stem from shelter executives’ mismanagement of money.
"It's unconscionable that this vital space may be closed simply because management cannot maintain a budget," Goode said in a statement. "It's been clearly demonstrated that this shelter can operate with a budget surplus. We can commit ourselves to fixing this problem, as we have in the past, rather than gambling with the real lives of teens and young adults, who will undoubtedly suffer if this shelter closes.”
In 2011, the shelter was almost shut down by the City of Toronto because of an outstanding $150,000 debt. According to the statement, Second Base paid off the debt and generate a $50,000 surplus during Goode’s time as director. Now, however, the shelter is again facing $100,000 in debt, the statement said.
The petition has been endorsed by other ex-employees, who are also calling for the board to step down and for new leadership to be given the chance to keep the shelter open.
