A program at 360 Kids in Richmond Hill, Ont., provided Vacarciuc with housing and also gave the youth a guitar as a birthday gift. When the pandemic hit Canada last March, 360 Kids had to halt Nightstop to protect both host families and youth against the risk of infecting each other with the coronavirus. "It really set us back actually," said Bonnie Harkness, director of strategic partnerships and program development at 360 Kids. The Nightstop program is particularly valuable, he said, because it diverts young people from shelters and the streets and keeps them in their own community. "It makes you feel things that you've always needed to feel as a homeless youth or as a youth who can't stay at home, right?

Source: CBC News January 02, 2021 09:00 UTC