• Agency Support
• About Us
• Events
• News
• Volunteer
• Campaign
• Ways to give
• Who we help
• What we do
• Home

• Our Service Areas
• Neighbourhood Strategy
• Research & Reports
• Our Member Agencies
• Agency List
• Real Stories

• Neighbourhoods
• Youth
• Newcomers
• Employment
• Hunger & homelessness
• Women who have been abused
• Young children
• People with disabilities
• Health care support
• Seniors
• People with AIDS/HIV
• People with addictions

Youth

Creating Opportunities for Youth

Sandra Costain grew up in a low-income neighbourhood where it was unusual to finish high school. She credits a mentoring program run by Dixon Hall, a United Way agency, for encouraging her to aspire for more. Sandra was vice president and valedictorian of her graduating class and went on to university. She calls Dixon Hall her "savior."

The Situation

If you are young and living in a higher poverty neighbourhood in Toronto, there are few opportunities to participate in the recreational or creative activities that will help put you on the path to a productive life. With so few opportunities, youth often end up "hanging out" in malls, parking lots and on the streets.

A shortage of social and recreational programs and facilities for youth (15-24 years), particularly in the inner suburbs, means there is simply nowhere to go for young people after school. Where community and recreational facilities exist, rising user fees keep low- and modest-income youth away. With the withdrawal of school supports, there are fewer after-school programs and less support for young people with special academic or personal needs, jeopardizing their chances for success in life.

The Facts

• 25% of Toronto neighbourhoods have no youth services within walking distance (2005).
• In 2006, the youth unemployment rate in the Toronto region was 13.6%, which is higher than Ontario's rate at 13.1% and the national average at 11.6%.
• About 10,000 youth spend some time on the streets of Toronto each year (2003).
• One in four youth live below the povery line (LICO). Between 1991 and 2001, the number of Toronto neighbourhoods with the highest rates of youth povery doubled (2004).

Photo by Paul Irish/Toronto Star

Support United Way and you'll support people like Spencer Emerson

"I think I've got about 50 friends here," says ten-year-old Spencer Emerson about the Dovercourt Boys and Girls Club where he's been going since he was five. "It's a fantastic place."

A United Way agency, the club has been helping children since 1958. A $5 membership allows kids to enjoy programs like hockey, skating lessons, art classes, indoor soccer and karate—programs that aren't always available now in schools, due to cutbacks.

The club's after-school program is important to the community, a real lifesaver for kids from single-parent homes and for new immigrants. "People must realize that a lot of the community programs are all some families have," explains Executive Director, Tony Puopolo. "They can't afford expensive courses or clubs. I've seen a lot of kids grow up here and become incredible people."

Download the brochure: Creating opportunities for youth (pdf - 76 KB).