A couple weeks into his stay, Thomas is glad he heeded the advice.

“It’s really accepting and everyone’s nice. People just come up and send out their hand for a handshake,” said Thomas.

He is one of 28 long-term residents at Covenant House. Along with other residents and a number of youth from outside the shelter, Thomas attends Covenant House’s high school. In classes of two to four students, youth can earn credits for compulsory courses such as English and math at a pace and schedule suited to each particular student.

“It’s really relaxed and calm. There’s not too many rules or guidelines to follow,” said Thomas, currently finishing a math credit. “They trust us, which is good… There’s a certain amount of freedom that I like about it.”

Without the option of a shelter, Thomas would have been back to couch-surfing, trying to reconnect with family out of town, or “worst comes to worst, on the street,” he said.

“I don’t have parents to fall back on,” he said. “I’m basically a lone wolf right now.”

His story is just one of thousands. In Toronto, it’s estimated that 10,000 different youth are homeless for at least a portion of the year, while up to 2,000 are on the street any given night. Covenant House, the largest youth shelter in Canada, offers 126 beds nightly.

Because of his situation, Thomas said he feels like a “bucket,” a term he uses to describe someone who lives off other people’s charity and generosity. But he was never too proud to ask for help; it was simply what he had to do to find a place to stay.

Not looking for sympathy is how Thomas describes himself.

“A confident, persevering person that tries to be positive,” he said. “I’m pretty polite and try to do the best I can at everything.”

It looks like Thomas’ optimism will pay off now that he is part of of Covenant House’s Rights of Passage program. Last year, 22 of the 28 members of the program successfully moved on to independent living, while another five returned home.