Inner Hope Youth Ministries provides support, discipleship, life skills, and housing for inner city youth and families in East Vancouver.
WHY WE EXIST
Within the Vancouver area, hundreds of teens are in need of a supportive community. These youth find themselves lacking a stable home, a strong support network and healthy role models. Many of these youth have one or more parents who is struggling with drug or alcohol addiction and/or have a parent who is absent from their life due to death or abandonment. Lacking guidance in the home, a majority of these youth find themselves repeating these cycles from an early age. Many of these teens have spent part of their life in the foster care system or bounced between relatives. This high level of instability hinders healthy development and has long-term impacts. By the time these young people enter their teen years, they are often struggling academically in school, carrying a high level of anger and turning to substance use to numb the pain.
Inner Hope Youth Ministries believes that together we can reach out to these youth at this critical stage of their lives. Through caring and mentoring relationships, and for some the provision of stable housing, we can help them grow to their potential and pursue their dreams. The cost of not doing this, both for these youth and for society, is far too high. We aim to shatter multi-generational cycles of poverty, addiction, abuse and dependency on welfare. By God's grace, we will see His love transform these young people as we journey with them through their development into greater stability as adults impacting their families and community.
Since 2007, Inner Hope has offered support to hundreds of young people, often becoming a second home where youth can have a meal, do their laundry, celebrate their birthday or do their homework. We offer youth ways to pursue discipleship, encouraging them to grow in faith through church attendance, Bible studies, retreats and summer camps. Our life skills programs include Boundless, a one-on-one high school mentoring program and Post Secondary Support, focusing on helping young adults transition into college or the workplace after high school. Over the past 11 years, Inner Hope has provided housing for over 50 young people. Through all our programs, we share the hope of new life gained through the mercy and grace of a loving God.
We are funded primarily by private donors, businesses, churches and foundations across Canada who are excited to do what they can to provide hope to youth in East Vancouver. Inner Hope is a registered Canadian charity.
Inner Hope Youth Ministries believes that together we can reach out to these youth at this critical stage of their lives. Through caring and mentoring relationships, and for some the provision of stable housing, we can help them grow to their potential and pursue their dreams. The cost of not doing this, both for these youth and for society, is far too high. We aim to shatter multi-generational cycles of poverty, addiction, abuse and dependency on welfare. By God's grace, we will see His love transform these young people as we journey with them through their development into greater stability as adults impacting their families and community.
Since 2007, Inner Hope has offered support to hundreds of young people, often becoming a second home where youth can have a meal, do their laundry, celebrate their birthday or do their homework. We offer youth ways to pursue discipleship, encouraging them to grow in faith through church attendance, Bible studies, retreats and summer camps. Our life skills programs include Boundless, a one-on-one high school mentoring program and Post Secondary Support, focusing on helping young adults transition into college or the workplace after high school. Over the past 11 years, Inner Hope has provided housing for over 50 young people. Through all our programs, we share the hope of new life gained through the mercy and grace of a loving God.
We are funded primarily by private donors, businesses, churches and foundations across Canada who are excited to do what they can to provide hope to youth in East Vancouver. Inner Hope is a registered Canadian charity.
Registered Canadian Charity # - 83500 4557 RR0001
HISTORY
|
Inner Hope Youth Ministries (IHYM) was launched in 2007 by Carla Dickinson and Jenny Shantz who had been doing youth work in East Vancouver for over ten years.
During that time youth began turning up on their doorstep, and between 2001-2007 they provided short or long term housing to 16 children and youth. Inner Hope was established in order to expand their capacity to meet the housing need for youth at-risk as well as more effectively supporting community youth and past residents. See a timeline of our past 10 years! |
|
Milestones:
- June 2007 – Development of Board of Directors
- July 2007 – Secured "The House" as Inner Hope's first residence and community space
- October 2007 – Approval of Incorporation as a Non-profit Business, including approval from the Ministry for Child and Family Development to house minors
- August 2008 – Obtainment of Registered Canadian Charity status
- October 2009 – Partnership secured with World Vision Canada through which to develop and initiate the Boundless Hope Life Skills Program
- April 2011 – Inner Hope began an informal partnership with Reality Church, expanding our discipleship initiatives
- August 2014 – Opened "The Home," Inner Hope's second residence. "The Home" provides a private family style residence for up to four youth. Our original site, "The House", continues to provide a community space for our life skills, discipleship and support programs.
- April 2015 - Launched our Post-Secondary Program in partnership with World Vision Canada.