Yonge Street Mission's Evergreen is a welcoming, comprehensive centre for street-involved youth in Toronto. Daily we welcome 100+ youth for nutritious meals, access to barrier-free health care and counselling, housing and employment supports, or just as a place to escape the harsh realities of street life. Our wide range of services & programs are specifically designed to meet the unique needs of youth aged 16-24, to move them from surviving to thriving, so they achieve their full potential.
Any given night, 2,000 Toronto youth aged 16-24 are homeless. 63% have experienced childhood trauma or abuse, making them three times more prone to high mental health risk. 42% report at least one suicide attempt and 85% report high symptoms of distress. Most experience food instability: 40% have gone without food a day in the past week. Their futures look bleak. And if they stay on the street, they may not have much of one: average life expectancy for the homeless in Canada is just 39 years.
We guide youth through a customized wrap-around response model we call RISE - Respond, Invite, Support, Engage - in which we RESPOND to immediate needs, as for food and shelter; INVITE youth into low-barrier programs like walk-in medical/dental care and group activities; SUPPORT them in achieving goals with job training, housing stabilization, counselling and skill development; then ENGAGE them in the community to motivate others and realize their progress from needing, to offering, help.
The RISE model offers customized interventions delivered at the right time & with unconditional support, to help youth see change as possible, commit to short/long-term programs and goal setting around education and training. "Without Evergreen I would have ended up dead somewhere. My life was saved because of the staff and hard work they did and had me do. I used employment services and the Health Centre but now am getting married and pursuing a career as a youth worker!" - Evergreen youth
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
