Youth Empowerment & Support Services

YESS first registered as a not-for-profit in 1978, although its youth shelter at 9310 82 Avenue in Edmonton did not open until 1982.[4][5]

An employee of Rainbow Metal Products works at YESS in 1986

In 2016, YESS introduced the tagline "YESS is more than a shelter." Although YESS provides housing for at-risk youth in the Edmonton Capital Region, the organization is also dedicated to providing individualized support that addresses both diversion out of homelessness and general prevention of homelessness.[6][7]

The YESS buildings are located at 9310 82 Avenue in Edmonton, including the main shelter, a gazebo, and several storage buildings.[8] The main building was built in 1905 as Edmonton Fire Hall No. 10 for the communities surrounding Mill Creek Ravine.[8] In 1926, the Salvation Army converted the fire hall into a shelter named Bonnie Doon Eventide Home, and in 1949, the main building became a single men's shelter.[8][9] Although Ken Lenz has stated that "the building was vacant for almost a decade beginning in the early 1970s," the Salvation Army did not actually sell the building until 1979, with YESS taking over the building in early 1980s.[10][11][12] In 1986, Edmonton company Rainbow Metal Products built eves, gutters, soffit, and fascia for YESS, whose buildings are now recognized for their Late Art Deco architectural style.[13]

YESS is located in Edmonton's French Quarter, also known as Bonnie Doon.[14][lower-alpha 1] The neighborhood is home to Edmonton's Franco-Albertan community and contains the only francophone university and the only Francophone high school west of Manitoba, namely the University of Alberta's Campus Saint-Jean and École Maurice-Lavallée.[16] Although YESS is a community organization located within a recognized ethnic enclave in Edmonton, it serves youth from throughout the Edmonton metropolitan region.

• Official website