For Realtors® in the Fraser Valley Charity Begins at Home

At 13 years old, Isabelle* was already living on the streets to escape a home life of abuse and neglect. She had dropped out of school and soon found herself in yet another abusive relationship. The isolation and hopelessness plagued the young adolescent daily and she soon became suicidal. Another child, Dylan, was seven when he and his brother were taken from their parents and moved into foster care. Despite the stability of his new life, the unresolved trauma of being separated from his family planted the seeds for depression and self-sabotage that drained all hope for a future. And then there’s Kyle. Thirteen, a good kid from a good family. He was playing basketball one day when an older kid offered him a vape hit. Kyle refused but was ultimately threatened with violence into taking the drugs, providing his new “friend” with the opening needed to mentor Kyle in the ways of substance abuse and crime.

These are just three of the thousands of stories playing out across the country. Physical abuse and sexual violence; families struggling with substance use, mental health problems and violence; frequent moves and being in foster care – all are significant risk factors says the McCreary Centre Society. “Some young people find the road to adulthood much harder to navigate and face more challenges than their peers…The journey is filled with obstacles and stressors that can derail healthy development, leaving them vulnerable to poorer health and diminished achievement and [putting them] at greater risk for not finishing school, experiencing homelessness, problem substance use. Their…disconnection from meaningful relationships can leave some vulnerable youth at risk for emotional distress and some even attempt suicide.”

More is needed—much more

A 2016 survey conducted by the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness reported that homeless youth between 13 and 24 years of age make up 20 per cent of the homeless population in Canada. Over the course of a year, between 35,000 and 40,000 youth will experience homelessness at some point during the year, with 6,000 to 7,000 homeless on any given night. Once an already at-risk young person becomes homeless, the slide towards further vulnerability is exacerbated as drugs and crime become survival strategies to stave off abuse, despair, suicide. The numbers are stark.

• The Canadian Mental Health Association estimates that ten per cent to 20 per cent of Canadian youth are affected by a mental illness or disorder. In BC, over 84,000 children and youth have a diagnosed mental disorder, yet less than one-third of children who seek help are receiving mental health services.
• In 2018, one in six BC youth seriously considered suicide in the prior year, one in five self-reported anxiety disorders, one in eight engaged in purging, and one in seven were depressed. All rates increased more than 50 per cent since 2013, with the worst rates among female and LGBTQ+ youth.
• Based on 2022 data, the BC Centre for Disease Control found that overdose from opioids and other illicit drugs is now the leading cause of death for youth aged 10 to 18 in British Columbia.
• An estimated 68,000 youth between the ages of 15 and 24 meet the criteria for a substance use disorder, yet BC has only 24 publicly funded treatment beds to serve our youth.

In response, the BC government has significantly increased funding to combat the issue, including initiatives to boost housing and shelter, and add mental health services and drug rehab programs. The province’s auditor general feels the government is not doing enough, in particular with the oversight of contracted care facilities for vulnerable youth. But beyond the hard dollars and other quantifiable measures—necessary to be sure—it is hard to program or institutionalize the core essentials that give youth a fighting chance: self-belief, trust, hope, unconditional love. These won’t show up in an auditor’s report, but their contribution is at least as crucial as any other part of the balance sheet. That’s where youth-focused charities come in. These local, community-based, grass roots organizations do the heavy lifting of providing emotional support—and for kids like Isabelle, Dylan and Kyle, that has meant all the difference.

Equip, Engage, Encourage – Mackie’s Place

Mackie’s Place opened its doors in 2017 with an investment of $7,000, and enough lasagna for 70 kids. Just one kid show up that cold day in January. Today the charity has grown to accommodate an ever-growing need, with a budget of $1.7 million, 29 employees and programs built around skills training, employability and mentorship. But perhaps the most important thing Mackie’s Place offers to youth is a sense of hope; that anything is possible.

“We feed kids, we employ kids and provide a platform for them to build meaningful relationships,” says Sylvia Shury co-founder and Director of Philanthropy. “But mostly what we do is believe in them and help them envision a brighter future than where they may have come from.”
She emphasizes the need to put aside judgement. If kids are disrespectful, or perhaps under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Mackie’s doesn’t immediately turn them away. “We’ll offer them a warm meal to go,” she says, “and encourage them to return on another day.”
The journey takes time. The arduous process of creating trust within a safe environment must be established before a young person is ready to take steps towards building their future. “We are in this for the long run with every single youth we meet,” says Shury. “Our incredible staff and tireless volunteers are committed to creating a safe and welcoming place where our youth want to return again and again.”

Connecting Youth, Transforming Lives – Youth Unlimited

Calvin Williams is the Area Director for the Youth Unlimited chapter in Mission. His natural inclination to help the underdog led him to the organization over 15 years ago, where he has been ministering to the needs of struggling youth ever since. The Mission chapter is one of eight throughout the Greater Vancouver area. In 2023 Calvin and his team of volunteers helped 125 young people in partnership with Mission Youth House.

“The need is growing,” says Calvin. “Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen a big increase in kids coming to us, especially in the areas of drug abuse and homelessness.”

At the same time as needs are growing, Calvin adds that it’s getting more difficult to raise funds. “Our donor base is down by about ten per cent from last year so a good part of my time has been spent on fundraising.”

Become the Village—KidsPLay

Kiran Toor is co- founder and president of KidsPlay, and like Sharon and Calvin she too has seen a steep rise in the numbers of youth they are working with. “In the last 15 years, violent crime among young people in Canada has increased by thirty per cent,” she says.

Since it was founded in 2015, Surrey-based KidsPlay Foundation has served over 75,000 youth through its programs in BC, Alberta and Ontario and internationally in Punjab, India and Colombia. Armed with a philosophy of “prevention over intervention” the KidsPlay mission is to stop kids from getting involved with drugs, gangs and violence.

“Kids today are under enormous pressure or to fit in. And when you add economic hardship or family problems on top of that, joining a gang fills that need to belong. But you have to remember, all those gangsters, at some point in their lives, were once good kids. Our job is to help them rediscover that person.”

KidsPlay does that through a number of programs including education, sports, mentorship. Often, youth who have been helped and turned around by the organization, themselves, become volunteers and mentors for the younger ones coming up. “KidsPlay hasn’t only changed lives—it has saved them.”

Fraser Valley Realtors Step Up

In the post-pandemic era, the competition for fundraising dollars among BC’s non-profit organizations and registered charities is more challenging than ever. Inflation and high interest rates have made it more difficult for the youth-based charities and non-profits to raise funds and resources. With individual and private giving strained, they look to organizational funders like the Fraser Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation (FVRCF) to fill the gap.

Incorporated in 2016, the Foundation began awarding grants to youth-focused charities and organizations in 2023. To date it has distributed $190,000 to 18 charities in the Fraser Valley region.

“We couldn’t have chosen a more opportune time to start giving,” said John Barbisan, Chair of the FVCRF Board. “The fundraising pressures faced by charities is greater than ever these days and unfortunately, it will be those who need it most—vulnerable and at-risk youth—who will bear the brunt of the shortfall.”

Chris Hodson, Executive Director of the Foundation believes that targeted giving through organizations like the FVRCF offers a key advantage. “Cumulative donations allows for a bigger gift to be channeled through a trusted intermediary and then given in its entirety to the specific areas of need.”

The Foundation’s roots date back to 1969 when five realtors from the FVREB purchased a parcel of land in the Guildford area of Surrey. Years later they sold the land back to the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board at the original purchase price under the condition that it be used for the benefit of the community. The land was subsequently sold, and the proceeds used to establish a charitable foundation.

The Board landed upon creating a foundation that would serve the vulnerable in society, in particular vulnerable and at-risk youth. For the grantees, the support helps pay for staff and programs. But just as important it helps create awareness about a critical societal issue.

“When we visited Mackie’s, it was the first time a corporate donor had ever visited the charity,” says John. “The genuine appreciation by the youth there was overwhelming. One child asked me for an autograph—I was moved beyond words.”

In 2024 the Foundation will more than double the grants it awards to $400,000 and explore the possibility of adding a school bursary program to support skills training that gives young people a head start.
“The magnitude of the problem is such that it is easy to get overwhelmed and wonder if you’re making a difference,” adds Hodson. “The way we see it, even if you make a difference in just one life, it is worth it.”