YWCA Prince Albert says renewed provincial funding will help keep staff and shelter supports in place for vulnerable youth who may otherwise end up on the street, in gangs, or in the criminal justice system.
The Government of Saskatchewan has committed roughly $500,000 over the next four fiscal years to support YWCA Prince Albert programming for youth aged 12 to 17, including youth connected to the justice system who are facing challenges such as homelessness, addictions and mental health concerns.
YWCA Prince Albert CEO Donna Brooks said the funding supports work that can begin with something as simple as one caring staff member having a conversation with a young person.
Brooks said one staff member recently told her about a youth who had received a strong mark in a difficult school class. That conversation turned into the youth talking about wanting to go to university and possibly becoming a dentist or lawyer.
“They engage the youth, they start talking about, ‘so what do we need to get you there,'” Brooks said. “So now that path, instead of maybe being on the street and floundering, and maybe ending up in the criminal justice system, now that youth is on a different path.”
Brooks said many of the youth who come through YWCA programs do not have the stable family, home, grandparents or other support systems that some young people can rely on.
“What we try to do as an agency is empower the youth to be able to make the positive choices,” Brooks said during the funding announcement. “But they have to be able to know what choices they have to make, so we have to be able to show them what choices there are, and support them, and guide them, and be there.”
The funding builds on $1.8 million provided over the past three years for enhanced residential services through YWCA Prince Albert.
Brooks said the money helps pay for the practical supports that make the program possible, including staff, meals and buildings. Without that funding, she said there would be no staff to guide youth, cook meals, buy meals or have the conversations that can help young people find another path.
“If you didn’t have that funding, then the youth would just fall through the cracks,” Brooks said. “A lot of them would end up in the criminal justice system, or on the street, or it wouldn’t be good.”
YWCA officials said 63 individual youth used the youth shelter during the last fiscal year, accounting for 4,114 bed nights.
Brooks said youth are generally referred to the Central Avenue building through the Ministry of Social Services or the Young Offender Program during office hours. After hours, referrals come through Mobile Crisis.
She said the contract may talk about stays of 30 days or less, but that rarely happens because demand for safe places for youth is greater than the supply.
“You’re probably looking more about that four or five month mark, because you got to get the person stabilized,” Brooks said. “You have to get them connected to good services.”
Brooks said young people need help before they are pulled toward other places where they may feel a sense of belonging.
“Youth are really vulnerable,” she said. “That’s when they’re impressionable, that’s when they want to belong somewhere, or they want to be loved, and if you don’t get them, then well, the gangs will, or somebody else will.”
Justice Minister and Attorney General Tim McLeod said the funding continues the province’s support for youth and families in Prince Albert. He said the investments support safe housing and structured programming that help people rebuild their lives.
Minister Responsible for the Status of Women Alana Ross said the province will continue to support the work as it is needed.
“This is helping vulnerable youth become more successful, and that’s very important to all of us,” Ross said.
The renewed funding also comes as YWCA Prince Albert continues to play a visible role in the city’s wider support system. Daily Herald coverage over the past year has included the opening of New Roots, a 10-bed women’s emergency shelter at Our House, the start of construction on a 20-unit housing project, YWCA-supported youth and newcomer programming, and the organization’s role in the emergency response after the Christmas Day fire at the Salvation Army building.
The province said 77 per cent of youth accessing the service in 2024-25 showed improvement in life skills related to financial literacy, personal management and managing substance misuse. It also said 77 per cent of clients reported an increased sense of well-being after taking part in culturally appropriate programming.
Brooks said investing in YWCA means investing in youth, and investing in youth means investing in the future.
“We do every day see the difference that it makes,” she said.
-with files from Jason Kerr
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
