UNYA's mandate is to provide meaningful opportunities for Native youth in the urban setting. Our goal is to be a safe place for Native youth to come and find out about programs and services at UNYA and in the broader community.
As of 2008, we offer twenty-one programs including four...
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UNYA's mandate is to provide meaningful opportunities for Native youth in the urban setting. Our goal is to be a safe place for Native youth to come and find out about programs and services at UNYA and in the broader community.
As of 2008, we offer twenty-one programs including four residential programs and have over one hundred volunteers, over ninety full and part-time staff, and 121 community partners.



We continue to focus much of our efforts on community development initiatives, as we believe that the strengthening of our community as a whole can have a tremendous positive impact on the lives of Native youth. Over the years, we have tried to contribute to the positive development of our community by creating our Full Circle and Helping Hands manuals, hosting community meetings and forums, offering training on youth issues to the community, serving on community steering committees, attending consultation meetings, conducting research, developing innovative programs, hiring and training youth, participating on the Metro Vancouver Aboriginal Executive Council, and creating partnerships that expand services for Native youth.
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UNYA is a registered not not-for-profit society registered with the Province of British Columbia and a charitable organization registered with the Government of Canada.

UNYA was formed in 1988 to address Native youth issues when it became apparent that growing numbers of young...
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UNYA is a registered not not-for-profit society registered with the Province of British Columbia and a charitable organization registered with the Government of Canada.

UNYA was formed in 1988 to address Native youth issues when it became apparent that growing numbers of young people were continuing to leave reserves for the city. A large number of First Nations youth end up on the streets with few job skills, minimal training or education, and little or no knowledge of where to go for help. Today, approximately 60% of the Native population lives in urban settings.

As of 2008, we offer twenty-one programs, including four residential programs. We have over one hundred volunteers, over ninety full and part-time staff, and 132 community partners.

We continue to focus much of our efforts on community development initiatives, as we believe that the strengthening of our community as a whole can have a tremendous positive impact on the lives of Native youth. Over the years, we have tried to contribute to the positive development of our community by creating our Full Circle and Helping Hands manuals, hosting community meetings and forums, offering training on youth issues to the community, serving on community steering committees, attending consultation meetings, conducting research, developing innovative programs, hiring and training youth, participating on the Metro Vancouver Aboriginal Executive Council, and creating partnerships that expand services for Native youth.
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The Urban Native Youth Association is committed to involving youth in planning and developing programs as much as possible. We have included youth through community meetings, surveys, on our Board of Directors, as staff, in practicum positions, as summer students, and in training opportunities.