Who We Are
Vision
A VO where youth have a strong support system and sense of community in order to navigate life.
Mission
To build a network of VO youth that foster positive relations, create mentorship and learning opportunities, and share resources.
Values
- Respect
- Equity
- Sustainability
- Self reflection and critical thinking
- Knowledge and power of lived experiences
- Collaboration
- Accountability
What our Values Mean
- Respect - Basic respect. Treat people well.
- Equity - We recognize that each person has different circumstances and therefore we will allocate the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach a fair outcome.
- Sustainability - Always thinking and working with the goal of having a long term impact.
- Self reflection - Always ask ourselves who we are as individuals and as a group; understand what our biases are, why we act, think, talk and see the world the way we do in order to improve.
- Critical thinking - Ask questions and analyse a situation as objectively as possible to form a decision or judgement.
- Knowledge and power of lived experiences - You don’t need a formal degree or experience. If you have been through it then your story and input is what we need.
- Collaboration - We do it together.
- Accountability - Take responsibility for our actions and make sure we practice what we preach.
Our Beginning
Our story is one that is ever evolving as we learn more about the experiences of youth in our community and what their hopes are for this network. It all started with two VO community members who had a dream of what they wanted for VO youth.
Rebecca grew up as a youth in the VO neighborhood and is now a parent to a youth in the community. Her experience as a youth in the neighborhood was not a very pleasant one and would often seek out friendships and activities outside of the area. She never really felt connected. She wants this to be different for youth of the present and future.
Leya grew up in VO and understands what it looks like when youth do not get the support and care they deserve from home, from the educational systems, from society and from governments. With mental illnesses increasing among youth, education systems failing, VO undergoing intense gentrification, and poverty rising, Leya is passionate to make the local community better for youth of the present and future.
Leya and Rebecca both share the dream that all youth feel a sense of belonging to the community, and that youth are at the forefront of making this happen.
Now
Since our inception in 2021, our network has been gaining steam, as we've established ourselves as a team of doers! We pride ourselves on the way we work and the connections we make along the way. We are proud to say we've built, and continue to build, on a network that has engaged VO youth to make our community a better place through amplifying voices.
Since our beginning, we've established a Planning Team! This team meets once a month to discuss projects and initiatives to further enhance the network, plan events for the community, talk about how we as a network can better serve VO, and more! If you have an interest in joining the team and making a difference, sign-up here!
To name a few of the things we've done since 2021, we've hosted a Holiday Gift Drive in collaboration with FYI in December 2021, a charitable event where we collected hundreds of donated items (winter clothes, toys, accessories, etc.) that we gave away to those that needed it. In July 2022, we hosted a screening and networking session of 'Subjects of Desire', a documentary that explores the cultural shift in North American beauty standards. In September 2022, our network was awarded for being Community Champions by FYI!
Our network is still growing, still learning, but still doing. Join our team to contribute to youth driven change (12-29).