Home Base Fund

What is the Home Base Fund?

This program provides 18+ Toronto youth with home essentials and financial assistance for housing and utilities after exiting child welfare care. Upon departure, youth receive support to help them pay for first and last month’s rent plus heating, electricity and other bills while providing them with furniture and other necessities to set up an apartment.

How it helps:

Offering a safety net when kids age out of care

The Home Base Fund provides young people with support at a crucial moment. Ontario youth leave government-subsidized care anytime between age 18 and 23, and the financial reality of finding their way independently hits them hard. Not only are youth leaving care nearly 200 times more likely to experience homelessness compared to their peers, they’re also at a higher risk of unemployment, poverty, mental health challenges and substance use. The families of young adults aging out of care don’t have the means to support them, and they receive little government funding; yet they’re trying to support themselves in a city where the average studio apartment costs at least $1,400/month. This program is funded by donors to the Catholic Children’s Aid Foundation and supplemented by a grant from the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada.

Your impact:

Donations keep at-risk youth off the streets

Generous donors like you help us bridge that funding gap to ensure young adults find a safe place to live after exiting care. That peace of mind allows them to focus on their studies, their job and other aspirations for the future. As one grateful recipient said, “I am so happy for all the support that I have been given to make this challenging time a lot easier for me. Thank you very much to everyone who supported me.”