A gala fundraising event in support of vulnerable Tri-Cities youth will not be impacted by a strike at the Hard Rock Casino in Coquitlam after an agreement was reached to not disturb third-party events like the gala.
The Evening of Inspiration Gala will go ahead as promised Saturday, June 16, to raise much-needed funds for outreach services as demand for supports for teens rises. The 400 casino workers, members of the BBC Government and Service Employees’ Union, have been on strike since May 11.
The gala comes as Access Youth Outreach Services (AYOS) finds itself operating in an increasingly challenging time for small organizations needing ongoing funding, said Jerome Bouvier, executive director of the organization.
In 2017, AYOS connected with 1,600 kids through its mobile bus program, another 1,100 at Coquitlam Centre through a partnership with Morguard and met with 83 youth, double the year previous, to provide one-on-one support services.
Yet the local organization is constantly struggling to obtain funding, according to Bouvier.
"We've always been a small organization that's relied on local funding as well as grants, fundraisers and donations," he said.
Bouvier estimates in the last year or so revenue dropped 35 to 40% on an annual budget that runs between $300,000 to $350,000. He added that as a youth agency it's traditionally challenging to find funding, but over the years the organization has been able to do so mostly through grants and fund-raising events.
Until this past year.
He lists various foundations changing mandates and a high number of grant applications competing with other organizations as contributing factors.
"We've been looking for more support, maybe municipally, provincially, federally," said Bouvier. "That's part of the frustration that goes with the continual funding hunting process. You would hope you would get more funding sources. The question is what do we value and how do we value our young people?"
Bouvier said Access prefers to get one-time grants from the government ministries and hopes the election of the NDP provincially a year ago will help.
"We're not in danger of folding. It's putting us in a situation that by the end of the year it puts us in a more challenging position than we'd like to be. We haven't been in this position for many years. That's what we're hoping to avoid," said Bouvier.
"We're confident those individuals that oversee different ministries will recognize the importance our service plays in these communities and the impact it would have if we had to cutback services in our communities.
"We're not asking for ongoing [funding] and being completely reliant on government sources. We're just looking for a little help now and then."
Bouvier said dollars put into prevention programs like Access usually mean less money spent to deal with the problems that develop. So having to cut back the service will be costly, in his opinion.
"We don't want to get into a situation where we have to cut back. It's the kids that suffer," said Bouvier. "A young person not being able to access the bus or a mall worker, then that leaves them on their own. And when they're on their own they may be making choices that are harmful to themselves or someone else."
"They say it takes a village to raise a child, however, we've come to discover it takes the troubles of youth to raise a village. Hear them and they will guide us. Are we listening?" says Bouvier.
For tickets and more information about the Evening of Inspiration Gala, visit accessyouth.org.
