2023-2024 Annual Report
We are so grateful to have our community with us as we embark on an era of change at YESS.
Throughout our 43 years, YESS has embraced the spirit of evolution and continuous improvement to be able to provide youth with the help they need when they need it and where they need it. We have transformed from an overnight emergency shelter to being a collaborative partner in a community of youth care leveraging more than 30 youth agencies.
In 2018, we created an in-house trauma and mental health support program with our Wellness Integration team of psychologists and support practitioners. In 2021, YESS restructured our overnight shelter program to 24/7 access. In 2023, we moved our daytime primary medical care clinic, navigation staff, and resources from the Armoury Resource Centre to our Whyte Ave building to share space with our 24/7 crisis intervention and stabilization program and reduce barriers to access for youth, creating our first Youth Support Centre.
I am so proud of our staff for their expertise, innovation, and leadership. The strength of the relationships they have built with youth, with our fellow youth-serving organizations, and with our community of support have brought YESS to where it is today.
One thing that has stayed constant over these 43 years is the positive impacts we can have on youth when we all work together. Thank you so much for continuing to advocate for youth!
2022-2023 Outcomes & Results
Some of the success stories
I disciplined myself so strongly because I wanted change. I am so resilient. I always have been, but I didn’t see it until I had gone through treatment... I worked so hard to build up all my supports to be where I am today.
Mariah, YESS YouthWhen I became sober, I felt like I became a completely different person. I was positive about life, talkative, met good friends, and felt like I was able to succeed and move on from pretty traumatic events in my past.
Alyssa, YESS Youth
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Creating Space for Cultural and Spiritual Wellbeing
Young people are developmentally working to define their own identity and purpose and connections. Finding purpose and meaning in the world is a large concept that our youth do not…
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Community Spotlight: The Newcomer Centre
The Newcomer Centre envisions a future where community members walk alongside newcomers, helping bridge their transition into Canadian society. To achieve this, the Centre serves as a key catalyst and…
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Natalie’s Story
Natalie came to YESS when she was 15. At her young age and with a long list of unsafe and unhealthy living situations she had already experienced, Natalie worked with…
