The Victoria Cool Aid Society, also known as "Cool Aid" is a
charitable organization
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definition of a ...
that provides shelter and other services to disadvantaged and
homeless youth and adults. It was founded in
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. The ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, in 1968 as an
emergency hostel for transient youth.
[ - ''He also worked with Cool-Aid, a society which has its origins in the Cool Aid Hostel established in 1968 to provide short-term emergency shelter for transient youth, and today offers a wide range ...''][ -''Aid in Victoria and Oolagen in Toronto. Cool-Aid in Victoria was started by the Victoria Youth Council in 1968 to meet the needs of the young transients who flock to British Columbia in the summer.'']
History
During April and May 1968, members of the Victoria Youth Council researched the extent and quality of helping facilities available to youth in the
Greater Victoria area. For housing, the picture was “dismal” with the
Salvation Army housing only men, and the
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...
housing women but charging $2.50 - $3.50 per night. For counseling, the outlook was even worse. This led to the idea of a hostel and an emergency-oriented,
crisis intervention
Crisis intervention is a time-limited intervention with a specific psychotherapeutic approach to immediately stabilize those in crisis.
Implementation
A crisis can have physical or psychological effects. Usually significant and more widespre ...
service, run by youth. Having obtained permission from a Vancouver group to use the name “Cool Aid,” the group began operations with a phone number and a single shelter.
Between 1970 and 1976 Cool Aid evolved into a more serious and adult run organization operating a
shelter
Shelter is a small building giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger.
Shelter may also refer to:
Places
* Port Shelter, Hong Kong
* Shelter Bay (disambiguation), various locations
* Shelter Cove (disambiguation), various locatio ...
and medical clinic.
In 1976 the organization was formally incorporated as the Victoria Cool Aid Society. Over the following years and decades Cool Aid has expanded its shelter facilities and increased the range of services to include medical and dental, counseling, employment and a community center which promotes healthy living.
See also
Homelessness in Canada
Homelessness in Canada was not a social problem until the 1980s. Canadian government housing policies and programs in place throughout the 1970s were based on a concept of shelter as a basic need or requirement for survival and of the obligation o ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
*{{official website, http://www.coolaid.org/, CoolAid.org
Charities based in Canada
Organizations based in Victoria, British Columbia
Organizations established in 1968