Mission Youth House (MY House) is celebrating its first anniversary on Wednesday (Sept. 21). The day marks one full year of providing a “home” and support to Mission youth who are living on the street or in precarious conditions.
To celebrate, organizers are hosting an open house from noon to 2 p.m., to thank the community and showcase My House’s many successes.
In the past year, MY House has had more than 2,000 visits by youth in need.
On average, 50 different youth come to MY House for food, showers, laundry facilities, counselling, clothing, a place to get out of the cold, healthcare and support to move forward in their lives.
Mission Youth House is a collaboration of a number of service agencies in Mission which provide staffing, funding and volunteers to support Mission’s most vulnerable youth.
Calvin Williams, house manager and Mission area director for Youth Unlimited, said the level of cooperation and collaboration provided by the various groups is unique, and many communities in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley are looking to Mission as a model.
“Mission is a pioneer in providing this type of care for the most vulnerable in our society,” said Williams.
He can cite many instances of youth moving forward with help from MY House. Several young people have been helped to obtain assistance or jobs which have allowed them to find stable housing and be able to feed themselves.
The MY House Friday cooking sessions have helped the youth learn more about healthy diets. Youth have received much needed counselling for drug dependency, sexual exploitation and anger management issues.
MY House has become a refuge for vulnerable youth in the community. The youth, staff and volunteers hope interested community members will come, take a look around, ask questions and see what has developed in one short year.
My House is located behind Mission Community Services at Second Avenue and Proctor Street. Light refreshments will be served.