Youthquest has closed one drop-in centre and may have to close more if it doesn’t find a regular source of revenue soon.
“Lack of funding and volunteer support have forced the closure of the Aldergrove location, and the Coquitlam and New Westminster locations are now at risk.” reads a Sep 8 Youthquest press release.
Society chair Ray Lam says it’s not as bad as it sounds, but encourages people to donate.
“Aldergrove was shut down because we weren’t getting enough youth there,” he says. “Coquitlam is operational and will continue to be operational. New West and Surrey were suspended until January because we received five or less youth throughout the summer. It just didn’t seem to make sense to keep our resources there.”
Lam says Youthquest doesn’t need to be bailed out, but is looking for steady ongoing funding and is hoping a fall fundraising campaign will help to relieve some of the financial pressure.
“We’re not looking for a quick fix right now”, he says. “We’re just looking for community support. In the past, we’ve had three or four fundraisers and that’s what’s keeping us going right now. We’ve probably received less than a hundred or so dollars in community support money since I’ve been on the board.”
Xtra West asked what Youthquest needs in terms of community support: “Donations. Our programs, our services, everything is run on donations right now. Without immediate funding we can’t maintain our programs,” says Lam.
Why you can trust Xtra
