Our new vision is one that we believe focuses on one of the root causes of homelessness, addiction, abuse, and mental illness in our society: untreated trauma.
Trauma can be defined as any form of abuse, neglect, abandonment, or violent experience that has a negative impact on the physical, emotional, and developmental well-being of an individual. Trauma affects the connections and healthy functioning of the brain and can also have a lasting impact on the ability to develop relationships. The youth we see are dealing with varying degrees of trauma and if this is not treated, the cycles of abuse, neglect, etc. continue and the likelihood to form healthy, trusting relationships is severely lowered.
Our vision also looks to extend the concept of “support” all the way to ensure our youth feel safely part of and valued within community.
With this new vision we have already begun to re-organize and adjust how we do things at YESS. You will see our new focus and how we fit into the national effort to end homelessness on page 4. We are very proud to share that we have created an internal youth trauma team to provide counselling, programming, and family support for our youth. The trauma team and trauma program will be one of the cornerstones of our efforts, in addition to more prevention and family connection work and community integration programs.
As we enter our 2018/2019 year we will keep our sights on the same things: financial sustainability, collaboration with our partners, and the realization of a better support system for youth experiencing inappropriate care and housing.
Financial Statements
2018/2019 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
-
Meet Our Youth: AB
AB grew up in an abusive home. Soon they resorted to sleeping at friends’ places and sleeping outside. The first time they came to YESS was on a night when…
-
Meet Our Youth: Tom’s Story
My name is Tom and I am 21 years old. My girlfriend’s mother took me to the YESS Shelter about three years ago. I was in a real emotional state…
-
Meet Our Youth: Erinne’s Story
Erinne is a lifelong Edmontonian. When she was growing up her mother frequently disowned her, and when she was 16 she was permanently kicked out of the house. Erinne couch-surfed…