YOUTH EMERGENCY SHELTER SOCIETY WEBSITE

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SO WHAT DOES YESS STAND FOR?

Who are we? What are we all about? Why are we doing . . . well, anything?

HISTORY LESSON

In 1978, a group of people noticed a huge gap in services for young people in Alberta. Until the age of sixteen, youth in crisis could access Child and Family Services. After they turned eighteen, the adult support systems opened up to them. See a problem here?

You got it. After a person's sixteenth birthday, and until their eighteenth birthday, there were no resources available to them. For two years - two very important years in anyone's life - these young people had no one to turn to. No assistance for housing. No one to help them get through high school. No one to help them eat, sleep, or live safely. It's not surprising in the slightest that a lot of these youth ended up on the streets, involved with drugs or prostitution, and just gave up on trying to graduate from high school. And as anyone who has been through this can tell you, two years on your own, at the age of sixteen, can set the tone for the rest of your life.

Enter YESS. By 1982, YESS had opened our doors on our Whyte Avenue building, providing shelter, safety and hope to homeless and at-risk youth. Over the years, thousands of kids have come through our doors. We've given them options, and we've given them support - and we've given them a future.


WHO ARE WE? GUIDING PRINCIPLES

So what's the deal with YESS, anyway?
Helping homeless youth is a daunting task. We've come up with a mission - what we're going to do - and a vision - who we want to be - to help guide us.

Mission: Giving youth at risk a chance.

Vision:

The Youth Emergency Shelter Society will be a well-respected and compassionate service provider for youth at risk. The organization will be one that youth want to utilize, people want to work for and the community wants to support.

VALUES

We live our values at YESS. Period. Every day, in everything we do, no matter how big or small, our values constantly guide us. These values are possibly the most important thing you can know if you want to know what we're about.
  • We are open and honest and keep our commitments
  • We treat everyone with respect
  • We are positive and professional
  • We are serious about what we do, but we take time to have fun
  • We celebrate our successes
  • We provide our staff with training and tools necessary to do their jobs
  • We provide our staff with the opportunity for input
  • We find solutions
  • We think outside the box
  • WE ARE YESS

    • PURPOSES

    What are we hoping to achieve? What is our goal?
    Easy:
  • To provide opportunities for youth and families to become confident and self-reliant.
  • To advocate on behalf of youth and families.
  • To be accountable to the community by offering effective programs and evaluating outcomes on a regular basis.

    • PHILOSOPHIES

    How are we going to achieve our goals? What is our philosophy? What kind of organization are we, anyway?
  • That every person deserves to be treated with respect for his or her inherent self-worth and dignity.
  • That the most effective way of helping others is to help them learn to help themselves.
  • We recognize that young people have the right to develop intellectually, emotionally, physically and spiritually to their fullest potential and, with encouragement and support, the right to determine the direction of such development.
  • That healthy family relationships and the preservation of the family is integral to the care and nurturing of youth.
  • That by working together and sharing resources, a better community can be created for everyone.

    • LEGAL STUFF

    Privacy Policy: YESS collects your personal information in order to process your donation and to provide you with additional information about other YESS fundraising events and programs. If you do not wish to receive additional YESS information, please call 780.468.7070 or email yess@yess.org to have your name removed from the YESS mailing list.

    Return Policy: As a not-for-profit agency, the Youth Emergency Shelter Society does not provide refunds on donations.

    Currency of charges: The Youth Emergency Shelter Society operates using Canadian dollars.

    Revenue Canada Business No. 12953-7437 RR0001

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