Youthlink

YOUTHLINK’S SERVICE PHILOSOPHY

Youth and families/caregivers are our priority and meeting their needs is our primary objective. We welcome vulnerable youth, ensuring they feel accepted and can explore their strengths, acknowledge differences, cope with difficulties and make positive life choices.We believe that youth and families/caregivers are best served when:

They can choose from a continuum of services ranging from prevention, early intervention and treatment.
Services are provided in the communities where they live
Services and supports are flexible, accessible, responsive and non-judgmental
We are sensitive to their race, culture, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation and religion
We build on their strengths to help them achieve their full potential
We work with other community partners to develop resources and implement services that respond to community trends and needs.
They are informed of what they can expect from us
They can actively participate in the planning and decision making

We also strive to ensure that all our programs and services reflect the following values:

Accessible: All of our services and programs are voluntary, confidential and free of charge. Referrals for service can be initiated either by the young person or family as well as by community agencies and professionals. Access to particular services such as counseling depends on wait lists, which are up-dated regularly. Youth and families/caregivers are invited to call to inquire about their status on the wait list. Walk-in services are provided for street involved and homeless youth at Inner City.

Creative, responsive and effective We strive to be creative in our thinking and planning of services, receptive to ideas offered by young people and community groups and flexible in our approach.

Professional, qualified staff implement them: We appreciate the complexity of the difficulties young people are dealing with and our staff have a variety of educational backgrounds, experience and expertise. Our agency employs social workers, child and youth workers, youth peer educators, as well as various consultants.

Open to need for multidisciplinary input during the therapy process: Our agency has developed a network of resources through which they can access the required disciplines not available within our agency. In addition, other agencies that are within the community and that may have previously provided service to the youth or family are encouraged to participate in the treatment process when this best meets the needs of the youth and his/her family/caregivers.

Reflect strong community partnerships: Our relationships with other agencies in our community are important to us. We partner with many other agencies on a regular basis and in a number of different ways. These may include providing counselling services, community outreach, developing joint programs and new ways to deliver programs.

Involve youth: We are committed to creating opportunities for youth and their families to play an active role in their treatment as well as in planning and delivering programs and sharing information. We encourage young people and their families/caregivers to be active participants in their treatment by defining the problem, by setting their treatment goals and by reviewing their service. We have a long history of training peer mentors/educators to work in partnership with staff in school based prevention programs and in the delivery of outreach services to street involved youth.

Respect diversity and are inclusiv: At YOUTHLINK we make every effort to honour the customs and traditions of youth and their families from many cultural backgrounds. We welcome individual requests and will do our best to accommodate them.

Provide follow-up support: When a youth leaves YOUTHLINK, plans are made to support him/her in the community. Youth and their families/caregivers are encouraged to re-contact the agency if they are having problems following the completion of service.