Message from Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa
For the last five years, Dharma Developments has helped some of Ottawa’s most vulnerable citizens find and keep decent, afordable housing through Urbana – a fundraising project that has raised over $65,000 to date. This year, Urbana’s focus is on helping youth. At the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa, we are very grateful to be the recipients of proceeds from Urbana 2010 and look forward to the tremendous opportunity we have been given to work with the folks at Dharma Developments this year in creating another successful Urbana event.
The Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa (YSB) is one of the largest and most comprehensive non-proft agencies serving youth in Ottawa and is a registered charity. This year marks our 50th anniversary of offering a wide range of programs that give youth a chance to achieve their potential.
Every day, young people face difficult choices and life-changing events. YSB supports young people and their families as they resolve complex issues affecting their physical and emotional well-being. We provide a safe and non-judgmental environment for youth where they are valued and empowered. We promote respect for diversity, including gender, culture, religion and sexual orientation, and provide services in both French and English.
YSB services are strategically located in 20 sites across Ottawa. We offer a wide range of programs that serve between 2,500 and 3,000 young people and families each month that include:
• A 24-hour crisis line
• Short and long-term counseling
• Mental health services
• Emergency and supportive housing
• Services for street-involved youth
• Employment assistance
• Leadership development
We are all deeply touched that Dharma Developments has selected youth as its focus this year and YSB as the recipient of proceeds from its Urbana 2010 fundraising event. At YSB, we are all about hope and commitment, and turning kids’ lives around for a better future. Urbana’s theme this year of ‘building hope, building futures’ could not be a better fit for the work we have been doing at YSB for the past 50 years.
