Pictou County Roots for Youth (PCRFY) offers safe and supportive emergency housing for youth 16-24 years of age who are experiencing homelessness. The Roots House Youth Shelter offers an alternative to living on the street, and provides youth with several in-house services, such as referrals to community resources and services, education and practice with independent living skills, one-on-one support and mentorship, self-reflection and self-awareness development, and support with long-term goals (e.g., health, education, and employment). The organization understands that there are multiple factors that contribute to youth homelessness, and that securing and maintaining long-term housing is often precarious. PCRFY partners with many other social service agencies in the province that help youth to meet their basic needs. Through these partnerships, Roots for Youth can equip youth with understanding and managing their current episode of homelessness, and help prevent further episodes of homelessness.  

PCRFY provides emergency shelter that is grounded in the theories of attachment, trauma-informed care, positive youth development, social emotional competencies, and resilience. The program emphasizes a natural supports approach, and holistic, relational, developmental, culturally-competent, and strengths-based strategies for working with youth.

The Roots House has eight (8) shelter beds in total where homeless youth can stay for a minimum of three (3) months. The Roots House also reserves three (3) additional beds per night for emergency overnight accommodation. Youth who are accessing emergency overnight accommodation are admitted into the program on a first-come first-served basis and are connected with Shelter Support Advisors (SSAs) for additional support.