News + Events

When Kevan Zainali and his then four-year old daughter, Esther, first slept out at YUnite Outside in 2021, they didn’t know much about the event or YU – just that their neighbour had asked them to come, and they wanted to be good neighbours. This year, as they gear up for their fourth YUnite Outside, they have expanded beyond being good neighbours, also now have empathy and greater compassion for our region’s most vulnerable. Kevan’s neighbour of several years is GVYU’s director of Support Services, Dean Klassen. When Dean asked Kevan if he’d consider sleeping outside, Kevan, a welder by...

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A push follows a shove, and part of the group jostles to regain its footing. Someone cracks a joke and laughter is heard across the empty cafeteria. Alex, Mark, Balthazar, Allen and Adam are part of a group of high school guys who are loud, like to roughhouse, and constantly trying to make each other laugh. Despite their clear differences in age and personality, they’ve clearly built a solid friendship. How did such a diverse group of teens get so close? YU’s Tombert Chen says it’s what happens when youth invest in volunteering together. Richmond Area Director and Youth Worker,...

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In 2022, while working in the government’s social services sector, Jeffrey noticed an unsettling pattern: young fathers were in desperate need of support, social services and churches had resources available for young men – but nothing specific for young dads. The vulnerable ones were falling through the cracks. “Vulnerable young dads face many barriers to support,” he says. “They are tired from working tough dead-end jobs, are economically disadvantaged, and suffer from relational deficiencies.” Not having had a consistent father figure in his own childhood home, Jeffrey understood the need. It’s what drew him to Greater Vancouver Youth Unlimited (GVYU)...

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Seventeen-year-old Keira first noticed an inner uneasiness at a young age. “I felt all this pressure within myself to be the kid I thought I was supposed to be,” she says. “I always had a pit in my stomach.”” From the outside, no one could tell Keira was struggling. She came from a stable home and a supportive community, was a star basketball player and an excellent student. Yet Keira suffered with intense internal pressure to live a “perfect” life. At age 11, Keira was diagnosed with anxiety. “I closed myself off because I didn’t want to add anything negative...

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