Our Impact Blog

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

“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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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: […]

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 […]

“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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

“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 […]

“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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

When Susan* first came to YSM she was living in a rooming house with many others, sleeping on the floor. Growing up in foster homes, Susan had experienced multiple traumas and received one consistent message: she wasn’t and would never be worth anything. Feeling alone and unvalued, Susan would arrive […]

For many of us, Christmas 2020 was like nothing we’ve experienced. However, for many in our community, the feeling of isolation during holidays is not new. Compounded with the financial impacts of the pandemic, we knew this Christmas would be extra challenging for many neighbours. With your generous support, however, […]

In 1896, John ‘Hallelujah’ Coolidge Davis founded Yonge Street Mission to support and serve Torontonians experiencing poverty, by offering food and giving out Bibles from the back of a horse-pulled wagon which travelled up and down Yonge Street. 125 years later YSM is still here, responding to the needs of […]

Written by Angie Peters, President & CEO of YSM 166 days before I was born, Martin Luther King Jr. stood at the pulpit in Riverside Church in New York City and said these words: “A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of […]

Evergreen Centre had just opened its doors for another day of providing essential supports and services to street-involved youth, when an unexpected visitor arrived. A large man, clearly agitated, began aggressively banging on the doors of the centre demanding food. Although he was older than youth served at Evergreen, YSM […]

Sharon first interacted with YSM through fabric shopping at our Double Take thrift store while teaching teen girls in Regent Park sewing and how to create up-cycled crafts. Frequent return trips connected her with Kathy, Double Take’s then Manager, who commissioned Sharon to create a wall hanging for the store. […]

In 1983 Rick was living in his beloved Atlantic Canada, with no intention of leaving. Yet, because of YSM’s persistent leadership, Rick agreed to move to Toronto and join the team as Director of the Evergreen Centre. Just two years later, Rick began to re-focus Evergreen to address the needs […]

Every year, as the temperature drops and leaves begin to fall, community members, volunteers, donors and staff eagerly anticipate our annual Toy Market. It presents an opportunity for families to obtain high quality, meaningful gifts for their children and is a source of joy for all who encounter it! Thanks […]

 5-ing COVID-19 was founded by David, a second year undergraduate in Medical Sciences. His student-led nonprofit aims to “go the extra mile” in support of front-line workers during the COVID pandemic. “When my research internship for medical school was postponed, I felt ‘silenced’ by the pandemic,” said David. “I talked […]

Project Northern Lights  is a grassroots network stretching across Canada. Organized at the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown, the group aims to develop and deliver open-source, community-based solutions to struggling Canadian communities. Their group includes volunteer makers, sewers, students, developers, artists, farmers, engineers, and health care professionals who came together […]

“The HOPE program is going to help me have a foundation. I want to do better for my mom, but I also want to do better for me,” said Kevin, one of eight recent graduates of YSM’s HOPE (Helping Offenders on Probation Excel) program. “Everyone can say they love themselves, […]

Lila* had been living in a shelter for 6 months after moving to Toronto. Working in restaurants when she could, Lila was looking for stable employment, “I needed a job – anything”, she says. “One day [when I went to the library to look for jobs] I saw YSM across […]

Over recent months we’ve all seen increased instability within our communities. With fewer services available and many losing stable employment, YSM saw an influx of neighbours seeking healthy food to sustain themselves and their families. Pre-COVID, YSM’s Food Bank served about 600 people a week, but from March through August […]

Since the beginning of YSM’s modified COVID service plan in March, YSM’s Tree of Life Homework Club staff had been connecting weekly with 41 children, and their families, all of whom were looking forward to a new camp experience this summer. With the city moving to stage 2 re-opening, and […]

Since 1883, St. John Ambulance has been teaching first aid and CPR, as well as volunteering in communities across Canada. “This is what we do – we don’t only save lives, we change them”, says Elvis, Chief of St. John Ambulance Central Toronto. When YSM reached out for help, Elvis […]

Over the past months, we have all experienced physical separation from our friends and communities. As summer ramped up and YSM summer camps began this year, with new precautions and procedures, kids were excited to see old friends and make new ones. New to YSM’s Computer Lab day camp, Lucy* […]

Greg was heartbroken when, at birth, his son was taken into protective custody. Alone and unsupported, Greg tried his best to get his son back. “It didn’t look like I had a chance,” says Greg, “I knew I would have to work hard to beat the stereotype that comes with […]

When Sylvie moved to Toronto in 2017 to study medicine, she wanted to find a place to volunteer. Having moved between various cities, volunteering was always a priority, as it helped her feel connected and settled in a new community. YSM’s Food Bank was a great fit – Sylvie soon […]