Youth Without Shelter

What services does your organization provide?
YWS has 5 main programs:
Residential Program: Emergency accommodation for up to 30 youth each night. The residential program meets the immediate needs of the youth by providing them with what is most needed (clothing, hygiene products, meals, counselling, etc.)
Steps to Success Program: Basic life skills, social skills and/or educational workshops as building blocks to assist youth in finding employment, completing their education and securing independent living.
Employment Program: The program aims to alleviate the barriers homeless youth encounter in finding and maintaining employment such as: literacy, legal issues and lack of financial resources to access appropriate foot and work wear.
Stay in School Program: Removes the barriers a homeless youth faces in completing their education by providing a safe and stable environment to live in and support and guidance from qualified staff.
Housing Program: Workers focus on placing youth in permanent, affordable housing. The program addresses the obstacles faced by homeless youth that interfere with the achievement of independent and stable living.

Do you have any age requirements?
To volunteer on-site, at the shelter, the minimum age requirement is 25 in order to respect the privacy and confidentiality of our residents. For off-site projects, there is no age requirements.

Do you require language proficiency other than in English?
No.

What time commitment(s) are you expecting from a volunteer?
Time commitment is dependent on the volunteer position.

Are there any other requirements for being a volunteer?
Some volunteer positions will require a police records check and formal interview. Any on-site projects will require the signing of a confidentiality form.

Are there any specific skills and experience required?
Each volunteer position has it's own required skill set.

What type of volunteer positions are typically available?
Volunteer positions are divided into on-site and off-site opportunities.
On-site opportunities include tutoring, making meals, leading life-skills workshops, organizing donations, joining a committee, doing maintenance work or yard work, painting projects, corporate employee engagement, among others.
Off-site projects include running fundraisers or donation drives (for hygiene products, school supplies, new clothing, food and juice, TTC tokens, etc.), making our signature Adopt-a-Bed craft, graphic design opportunities, making meals or lunchbags, raising awareness by hosting an educational workshop at your school, among others.
We also have a major event, Tokens 4 Change, that takes place annually in February that we constantly need volunteers for.

Is there any training provided for volunteers?
Training is dependent on volunteer position.

How will a person benefit from volunteering with Youth Without Shelter?
Volunteering will give you a better understanding of issues facing homeless youth in your community, allow you to make a meaningful contribution, provide experience in various skills for seeking employment, and reference letters can be provided to volunteers.

Do you accept high school students?
We do accept high-school students but only for off-site projects or Tokens 4 Change.