What we do
The Youth Services Bureau (YSB) is one of the largest and longest serving youth agencies in Ottawa, serving more than 3,000 youth each month in support of their wellbeing. YSB runs two emergency youth shelters and four apartment buildings, offers a range of free youth mental health services, provides employment support, as well as programs for youth in conflict with the law. Central to YSB’s work has been ensuring we have youth voices advising us, allowing us to continually adapt to serving the needs of young people and their families. Regardless of the service that our clients are accessing, we work to meet youth where they are at, physically, mentally, and logistically. YSB staff-a group of more than 325 full and part-time professionals working from 20 locations–live the ethos of supporting youth regardless of where they live, what they look like, or whom they love. YSB’s work is broad and deep, serving youth of all ethnicities, faiths and genders.
How you can help
Donations ensure YSB’s mental health services including crisis phone and chat services, Walk-In clinics and youth and family counselling are available free of charge, and that young people do not have to endure long wait lists while they are suffering. One of the major stressors for young people is safe, stable housing. Each year, more than 1,400 youth find themselves homeless often due to conflict at home, with upwards of 40 per cent of those youth being part of the LGBTQ2S+ community. At YSB, they are welcomed into a supportive environment at its two shelters and four long-term housing buildings, where housing, health, and a sense of community are top priorities.
To learn more about this charity, please visit the latest issue of the Giving Guide:
