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“Hi, I’m Danny. How are you?” With these words, Youth Unlimited youth worker Danny Ferguson approached the girl sitting alone in her high school hallway, headphones plugged in to block out the sound of the bustling hallway and her intense feeling of isolation. “My life was falling apart,” says Kaelynn. “I was sitting in a hallway by myself at school because I had no friends. I was probably the saddest teenager in the school that day.” Thirteen-year old Kaelynn desperately needed support. Increasing instability at home due to her father’s alcoholism and parents’ tumultuous relationship left Kaelynn responsible for her...

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Ten years ago Youth Unlimited established the Elevation Experience, now an 18-month leadership development program including a trip to Rwanda. Below are story snapshots from several summer 2017 team members. Four years ago, Nevada-Lee’s future looked anything but bright. The stress of her severe depression and anxiety, triggered by unpredictable circumstances, left her a high school drop-out at 15. But after six months she became determined to return to school. Her delight when she found out she’d be attending the North Shore’s alternative school was shattered after learning her best friend had just died. “I felt like everything was falling...

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James first met Dylan at Youth Unlimited’s drop-in centre in Abbotsford. Growing up in a home destabilized by his parents’ addictions and high-conflict relationship, there was a significant risk that Dylan would perpetuate this cycle of addiction and broken relationships. But with supportive intervention, Dylan broke the statistics. Today he is a committed and loving father to his young family, unencumbered by addiction. Youth Unlimited outreach worker James Parlee was one of those supports for Dylan. Thanks to your support, James, like many YU staff, has been empowered to be that life-changing support for 100s of kids during their time...

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Four thousand on-lookers watched as Derian Moffitt stepped on to center ice. Donned head-to-toe in a Cat-in-the-Hat costume, holding a pink broom, he laughed and joined a small pumpkin girl and 18 other costumed heroes in an epic broomball battle at a recent Giants hockey game. Up until recently, this kind of attention would have been a horrific nightmare for Derian. Since his earliest memory, Derian, now 20, has lived with crippling anxiety—sometimes so bad it left him unable to leave the house. “He has always feared what people would think of him,” says Youth Unlimited outreach worker Cassia Philipson—aka...

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