Meet CATM’s Assistant Pastor Jonathan Tysick

Meet CATM’s Assistant Pastor Jonathan Tysick

Despite being early in his career, YSM’s newest member of our Church at the Mission (CATM) Pastoral Care team, Jonathan Tysick has accumulated a wealth of lived experience beyond that of many who may be twice his age. Married with two young children, Jonathan has earned a Master of Theological […]

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Strengthening Family Bonds

Strengthening Family Bonds

Since January, YSM’s Cornerstone Family Services has been piloting an innovative program with the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto (CAST) to provide an onsite reunion space where our staff supervises visits between Children’s Aid Society involved children and their parents. This new program is part of YSM’s Cornerstone Partnership, a […]

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The Power of Philanthropy

The Power of Philanthropy

Partnerships play a vital role in Yonge Street Mission’s ability to serve the community. One of our trusted collaborations, which dates back to 2019, is with electric power company Kinectrics. It started when our President & CEO Angie Peters was invited by Kinectrics’ CEO David Harris to speak about YSM’s […]

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Meet Renaldo Wall, Director of Street-Involved Services

Meet Renaldo Wall, Director of Street-Involved Services

Back in the summer of 2022, Renaldo had been feeling it was time for a career change. He had been praying that he’d be delivered to such a change when a friend sent him a YSM job posting seeking a Director of Street-Involved Services.  The role required an established leader […]

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Jan Rothenburger: The People’s Pastor

Jan Rothenburger: The People’s Pastor

In 1991, after recently coming to faith, Jan Rothenburger found herself at a unique church service at YSM’s Evergreen Centre. The church served as a safe space for community members to call ‘home’, especially those not comfortable in other faith communities.  Jan attended Evergreen’s services weekly while connecting with street-involved […]

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Community Member Aisha Meets Her Care Manager

Community Member Aisha Meets Her Care Manager

YSM care managers are vital in establishing a connection with our community members and in creating the trust required to support them on their unique journey towards stability. A care manager at YSM’s Evergreen Centre for Street-Involved Youth recently shared her experience with a young community member named Aisha*: “I […]

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Meet our Community Member Trevor

Meet our Community Member Trevor

For many years *Trevor led a fairly modest life. He had an evolving career in film and television, a close-knit group of friends, and enjoyed several hobbies including building and painting military models. When the pandemic arrived and prevented him from working and socializing with friends, Trevor’s mental health began […]

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Hack Poverty: A Plan to End Chronic Poverty in Toronto

Hack Poverty: A Plan to End Chronic Poverty in Toronto

Yonge Street Mission is dedicated to its mission of ending chronic poverty in Toronto in one generation. This ambitious goal will only be achieved through the collective partnership with and support of many in our community, including donors, funders, volunteers, community and government agencies and elected officials. To further actualize […]

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A Belief in Legacy Giving

A Belief in Legacy Giving

At YSM we remain focused on serving the Toronto community while also working to secure and advance our programs and their impact for the decades ahead. As such, we’re working to keep strengthening both our present and future financial footings. Legacy gifts – especially bequests made in the Wills of […]

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Computer Literacy Centre Celebrates Graduating Class of 2022

Computer Literacy Centre Celebrates Graduating Class of 2022

The spring and summer season tend to bring many moments of celebrations and fun to YSM! This year is no different as our Computer Literacy Centre celebrated 58 graduating students, ranging in age from kindergarten to grade 11. Their special celebration was held in our YSM Davis Centre gymnasium, where […]

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Working Together for Stability & Security

Working Together for Stability & Security

Early this year, Rebecca* started her new job as a security guard at Paragon Security and since then has noticed her mood improving, “How I feel about myself is just more regulated. It feels less stressful now because I have a job that I don’t have to worry about changing […]

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Mentoring: Being a Catalyst for Change

Mentoring: Being a Catalyst for Change

“Two years ago, one of our YSM community members was facing a lot of struggles, especially related to employment,” shared Gerald, YSM’s Volunteer Coordinator and our mentorship program lead. “They were moving from one minimum wage job to another, and were about to be evicted from their home.” “During that […]

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Happy National Volunteer Week!

Happy National Volunteer Week!

April 24th – 30th 2022 is National Volunteer Week! Volunteers are such an integral part of YSM’s community – the impact of their commitment and contributions can be seen and felt across the organization. During our last fiscal year, 929 volunteers provided over 32,000 hours of their time to YSM! […]

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A Place to Call One’s Own

A Place to Call One’s Own

Stable housing is a foundational aspect in one’s journey out of poverty. A home provides not only refuge and shelter, but also a space for healing and empowerment – a place to call one’s own. Huda* first connected with YSM determined to find a secure sanctuary for herself and her […]

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Advocating for Second Chances

Advocating for Second Chances

Emily O’Brien’s name is well-recognized around YSM, both for her passionate support of YSM’s Helping Offenders on Probation (H.O.P.E) Program and for her delicious popcorn. Emily is the founder of Comeback Snacks, a popcorn company on a mission to make a difference for people with criminal backgrounds who are trying […]

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Christmas at YSM

Christmas at YSM

Joy & Hope Shared Through YSM’s Christmas Toy Market At YSM, our annual Christmas Toy Market always marks a special time of the year. In December 2021, as lockdown restrictions lifted, we were both excited and thankful to invite families back into our Toy Market space to enjoy the familiar […]

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What does it mean to journey with community members?

What does it mean to journey with community members?

At YSM, the concept of goal setting is an integral part of how we journey with community members on their path towards stability. In some form, all of us have goals we aspire to fulfill. Some of them we consider small, like finishing a book or eating healthier. Whereas some […]

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A Real Life Santa Claus: Supplying gifts of food across the community

A Real Life Santa Claus: Supplying gifts of food across the community

Retired for over two decades, YSM volunteer Gus goes above and beyond to source and share donated food with YSM, for staff to make into nourishing meals for community members. Growing up, Gus was always providing food to his neighbours as his family had a grocery store on Centre Island. […]

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Commemorating 125 years of service, community and collaboration

Commemorating 125 years of service, community and collaboration

2021 marks YSM’s 125th anniversary of serving in our city. To commemorate this special and memorable occasion, we used wood salvaged from the beams of YSM’s former site on Yonge Street to make a one of a kind time capsule to represent our work for future staff, volunteers, Board members […]

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What does Philanthropy mean to you?

What does Philanthropy mean to you?

At YSM, we use the word philanthropy a lot. It’s a fundamental component of our mission to end chronic poverty, a way for an individual, or even very many people, to participate in our vision. But if I were to ask you are you a philanthropist? I wonder what your response […]

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GIVE 6IX: Overcoming Barriers to Housing

GIVE 6IX: Overcoming Barriers to Housing

Written by Angie Peters, President & CEO of YSM Imagine not having a safe place to rest your head or to call home. Without a stable home, how would you even think about getting to work in the morning or focusing on your schoolwork in order to further your education […]

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Highlighting YSM’s real-life heroes – our Health Centre volunteers!

Highlighting YSM’s real-life heroes – our Health Centre volunteers!

As you may have heard, our Evergreen Health Centre serving street-involved youth is expanding! If you aren’t yet familiar, YSM’s Evergreen Centre is a safe space for unstably housed and street-involved youth between the ages of 16 and 24. Each year, Evergreen opens its doors to thousands of youth who […]

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GIVE 6IX: Finding Your Voice

GIVE 6IX: Finding Your Voice

“Was it even real? I talked to Ben Mulroney!” exclaimed Lilli, a YSM participant and one of six youth who had the opportunity to meet with and learn from Canadian broadcaster and celebrity Ben Mulroney. Lilli discovered YSM while living in a shelter. Initially, she came for the food and […]

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Managing YSM’s Health Centre Expansion

Managing YSM’s Health Centre Expansion

In 2018 YSM opened Phase 1 of our purpose-built Evergreen Centre for street-involved youth on Spadina Avenue. Now, in 2021, we’re excited to get started on Phase 2 and complete our Evergreen Health Centre expansion. The completed space will dramatically increase our range of services, reduce wait times and extend […]

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Our Growing GIVE 6IX movement

Our Growing GIVE 6IX movement

Pictured above: Connecting the Dots Foundation, Nigeria, participating in GIVE 6IX GIVE 6IX is a city-wide, “do-what-you-can, wherever-you-are”, invitation for everyone to do 6 of anything to help neighbours experiencing poverty. Here is just a sampling of the amazing actions we’ve been witnessing after launching our GIVE 6IX movement to […]

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GIVE 6IX: Overcoming Barriers to Employment

GIVE 6IX: Overcoming Barriers to Employment

Written by Angie Peters, President & CEO of YSM How many people pop to mind when you think of who helped you become who you are? For me the big ones are my mom, piano teacher, Girl Guide leader, many of my teachers, my spiritual director, mentors in business and […]

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Celebrating with Genesis Place

Celebrating with Genesis Place

Pictured above, YSM’s Housing Team, from left to right: Enoch, Stephanie Jessica, Kristin, Michael (not pictured Jacinta and Olaide)  30 years ago, YSM opened the doors of Genesis Place, a supportive 26-unit apartment complex. Families are created there, children grow up within its walls and residents face real-life challenges with […]

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Five “Cs” of YSM’s summer camp

Five “Cs” of YSM’s summer camp

Our Computer Literacy Centre staff were excited to welcome children and youth leaders back for a fun-filled, educational camp experience! Over the course of the summer, 120 children have joined us for a hybrid camp experience, online and in-person. Each two-week session offered new adventures for campers, ages 9-14, including: […]

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GIVE 6IX: Overcoming the Barrier of Isolation

GIVE 6IX: Overcoming the Barrier of Isolation

Written by Angie Peters, President & CEO of YSM We tend to think of poverty as something people experience because of choices they’ve made and – with better choices – they can overcome poverty. What if poverty was largely due to experiences that have shaped lives? Circumstances which causing individuals […]

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Video: Emad’s story – growth, stability and joy

Video: Emad’s story – growth, stability and joy

“The stability I have now – it all goes back to the first step I took with YSM.” Emad came to Canada for a new life. When he arrived he relied on his personal experiences and goals to create a great future for himself, but had very few material possessions […]

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GIVE 6IX: Overcoming the Affordable Daycare Shortage

GIVE 6IX: Overcoming the Affordable Daycare Shortage

Written by Angie Peters, President & CEO of YSM It’s no secret women disproportionately experience poverty in Toronto. Single parents, the majority of whom are women, and racialized females represent the highest percentage of our city’s residents who are living in poverty today. Why is that? One key reason is […]

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Purpose Filled Parenthood

Purpose Filled Parenthood

Marie* loves her child and wants to give them the best possible life. This desire fills her with purpose and hope as she works to meet the needs of her small family and navigate the daily challenges she faces. Marie arrived in Canada alone at the young age of 17 […]

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“We danced like never before . . . we were so happy”

“We danced like never before . . . we were so happy”

Akwesi* and his wife were devoted donors in their birth country, before they came to Canada with hopes of building a more solid future for their family. Due to unexpected circumstances, they instead found themselves without a home, forced to live in office buildings and shelters here in Toronto. The […]

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Mission of a Lifetime

Mission of a Lifetime

“I was sitting in a field in India,” said Eric, remembering the moment when Brother Christas reminded him to spend the same amount of effort helping his neighbours in Toronto as he’d already done in leprosy centres abroad. “I helped establish two missions, in Haiti and India, and they reminded […]

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Not Alone

Not Alone

“I love learning new things!” said Moreen*, who’s in the process of learning both French and Spanish. She goes on to talk about her passion for volunteering, specifically serving meals or lending a hand in distributing groceries among community members. Moreen’s enthusiasm is contagious and, with the assistance of YSM’s […]

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Much More Than a Meal

Much More Than a Meal

Daniel’s* perseverance and talent have seen him through a lot in his life. And it’s those gifts which have carried him through the past year, in helping him get back on his feet and create a plan to reach his goals. Due to COVID, Daniel was jobless, food insecure and […]

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Connection, direction and the power of mentorship

Connection, direction and the power of mentorship

At YSM, we’ve seen how personal connections are a vital factor in building the ability of our community members to set goals, take steps towards them and, ultimately, create better futures. Through mentorship, participants find opportunities to build healthy relationships, discover their own strengths and envision new possibilities for themselves […]

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GIVE 6IX: Overcoming the Health Barrier

GIVE 6IX: Overcoming the Health Barrier

Written by Angie Peters, President & CEO of YSM What’s your favourite meal? For me it’s definitely a chicken cacciatore I make in my Instant Pot these days. For many, simply finding something – anything – to put on the table each day is a struggle. Food is connected to […]

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National Volunteer Week: the power of partnership

National Volunteer Week: the power of partnership

Happy National Volunteer Week! We are so thankful to the many dedicated volunteers who give time and talent across all areas of YSM – you make our work possible each year. Not only are we blessed with individual volunteers, but YSM also has many partnerships with schools, churches and corporations […]

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Culturally Safe Care

Culturally Safe Care

Donna Alexander works as a social worker at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), and specializes in addiction and mental health, primarily working with Black families and youth through the Substance Abuse Program for African Canadian and Caribbean Youth. In 2007, encouraged by one of YSM’s volunteers, Donna […]

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