The Story

In 2014, Youth One launched because of a major problem surfacing in many communities - A lack of affordable, quality driven, mentorship based programs supporting youth after school. In North America, 1 in every 3 youth will grow up without a mentor or role model in their life. This means many youth are going without necessary guidance and support during their most formative years. Research tells us when a youth has even ONE positive role model/mentor in their life it dramatically reduces many risk factors such as drug and alcohol abuse, crime rates, mental health issues, drop-out rates etc. For this reason, we are determined to make sure no youth has to figure out life alone. We firmly believe when youth are supported to live out their full potential, the future health of our community increases.

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Since launching in 2014, Youth One has supported thousands of individual youth through their middle school and high school years.  This has been done through after-school drop in programs, support groups, leadership training, food services, life skill development and more.

The Mission

We believe every youth has so much potential, but many grow up without a dedicated community to help them fully realize it and live it out.  This is why Youth One provides mentors, spaces and programs where youth can find belonging and support. 

We accomplish this mission by focussing on 3 key core values/key characteristics:

Mentoring Relationships - Committing to being good friends and guides to youth who need it most. It is crucial for young people to have positive role models giving them direction and speaking life and hope over them. 

Family-like Community- Giving youth a community where they are deeply loved and supported.  A sense of belonging is a basic human need, to do this we must provide youth with a loving, safe and nurturing environment. 

Personal Growth-Seeing the potential in every youth and practically helping them discover their purpose and meaning in life. We do this by focussing on 3 areas of development. Leadership, life skills and holistic health.

*Youth One is now a Trauma Informed organization based on the ACE’s model (Adverse Childhood Experiences), recognizing trauma during early childhood development can have a significant impact on the future health of our community. All programs look through a trauma informed lense, making positive adult relationships a key contributor to the overall mission of Youth One. For more information on the ACES model click here.