Youth mental health and homelessness is a rising concern in many Central Alberta communities and Sylvan Lake is no exception. Youth vandalism, violence, and substance use is on the rise, and we need to take initiative to help our youth go down a better path, make more positive choices, and learn the life skills they need to have a brighter future.
Y.E.A.H. will be a youth support hub where youth will be empowered to take control of their lives in a positive way. When fully operational, we will provide them with a warm bed, food, and shower. We will assist them with their education needs and help them learn life skills. We will help them discover the life and future they want and lead them in the right direction to living that life.
Our vision, mission statement, and goals will lead Y.E.A.H.’s purpose and initiatives. We will build strong, lasting relationships with the youth and community partners to ensure that we reach as many youths as possible.
Our mission is to spread awareness about youth mental health and homelessness while supporting youth in improving their lives. Positive changes in our youth today will result in them having a better future and making a positive impact in our world tomorrow.
Our vision is to empower all youth to take initiative in creating a better future.
Our values are awareness, initiative, optimism, empathy, and respect.
Awareness: Youth mental health and homelessness is a growing concern that impacts everyone. We need to be aware and take action at a local, provincial, and federal level in order to make a real impact.
Initiative: If you want it, you need to get up and do it. Take the initiative to make things happen. We are here to help, but you need to be willing to help yourself or the change won’t last.
Optimism: Everyone deserves a bright future, no matter your past experiences or traumas. Be optimistic that good things can happen, it may just take a bit of work.
Empathy: We all have our own stories, our own lives, and our own experiences. We all deserve trust, and we all deserve to grow. We are all equal and together, we WILL persevere.
Respect: Respect starts with respecting ourselves. We must respect ourselves, each other, and our elders. Respect is earned and valued highly.
Y.E.A.H. will have a positive effect within the community and will create a safe space for our youth to help get them off the streets, out of the unsafe situations they may be in, away from substance use, and into a caring, non-judgmental atmosphere.
Our goal is to open the Youth Empowerment Awareness Hub (YEAH) in a positive way, so that it is introduced to the local youth and community with no associated stigma. As such, our main focus for year 1 is the youth lounge, gathering areas, and the learning centre with employment services and system navigation. We want to ensure that we are providing learning services and programs, as well as resources and further assistance to those in need. As such, the learning centre, employment services, and system navigation is an important factor for year one. For these services to be available we plan to install several computers, desks, chairs, programs, and ebook subscriptions. We will utilize software to ensure all information is protected and secure and will partner with several organizations to host specialized classes and training programs such as how to budget and how to write a resume. We will develop several resource documents so that we can assist youth in other important areas as well such as with food, housing, finances, counselling services, etc. until we are fully operational in accordance with our 3-year plan and can offer most of these resources in house.
Funds raised through this campaign will be utilized to purchase computers, desks, chairs, printers, software programs, and additional supplies required to get the learning centre, employment services, and system navigation services operational.
