Urban Native Youth Association

UNYA was founded in 1988 to address Indigenous youth issues at a time growing numbers of young people began leaving reserves for the city. Today, 60% of Indigenous people live in cities, and youth make up approximately 60% of the overall Indigenous population. Many youth continue to arrive in Vancouver with few job skills, minimal training or education, and not knowing where to go for help. The need for Indigenous youth services in Vancouver has never been greater. UNYA has a proven model that works, playing a transformational role in the lives of Indigenous youth. We are training the Indigenous leaders of tomorrow, delivering 20+ programs, together with our 175+ volunteers, 100 staff, and more than 300 community partners. Our strengths-based programming includes education and training, health, wellness, and counselling services, outreach, housing and transition support, drug and alcohol counselling and recovery, arts and culture, leadership training, sports and recreation, and more. Throughout our programs, we create space for youth to experience and explore a range of traditional practices and teachings, as well as to share their own cultural knowledge with their peers and UNYA staff. We believe that strengthening our community as a whole has a tremendous positive impact on the lives of Indigenous youth, and continue to focus efforts on community development initiatives. We contribute to positive community development by creating and distributing resource materials, hosting community meetings and forums, offering training on youth issues, serving on community steering committees, conducting research, developing innovative programs, hiring and training youth, participating on the Metro Vancouver Aboriginal Executive Council, and creating partnerships that expand services for Indigenous youth. UNYA is a registered not-for-profit society with the Province of BC and a federally registered charitable organization.