New health and dental centre in downtown Toronto offers free care to vulnerable youth
With the help of volunteer healthcare workers and private donations, The Yonge Street Mission expands its Evergreen Centre for Street-Involved Youth to help young people in precarious living situations.

On February 27, The Yonge Street Mission (YSM) opened the Richard and Lorelei Jenkins & Family Health and Dental Centre located at its Evergreen Centre for Street-Involved Youth in downtown Toronto—one of six centres provided by the organization. 

Currently, the Richard and Lorelei Jenkins & Family Health and Dental Centre is operating through its temporary health centre on the second floor until its current area is completed, which is set to finish sometime in March. 

Funded by three million dollars in private donations, the new health and dental centre, which is located at 365 Spadina Avenue, will occupy an entire floor in its six-story building and serve street-involved youth between the ages of 16 and 24 years old. Youth looking to access these services are not required to provide their name or identification. 

While the YSM previously operated a health centre for several years, the Richard and Lorelei Jenkins & Family Health and Dental Centre is a significant expansion. It now spans 4,600 square feet, a substantial increase from the previous 700-square-foot space.

In an interview with The Medium, YSM President and CEO Angie Peters says the centre is a result of community effort, driven by concern for the well-being of youth. “This centre is entirely a work of the community because we care for these youth.”

With the help of experienced volunteer practitioners, the centre will offer free eye exams, physiotherapy, mental health care, podiatry, chiropractory, and more. It will also have a nursery with drop-in services to accommodate street-involved youth who have children aged zero to four.

The expansion also features extended operating hours, more volunteers, and more treatment rooms, including two dental suites to allow for simultaneous services.

A safe space for vulnerable youth

The Richard and Lorelei Jenkins & Family Health and Dental Centre aims to provide a space where youth not only receive free care but also feel accepted. “It’s really important for them to have access to the kinds of services that we have where they are understood and not judged,” says Peters. 

Peters explains says it’s important “to make sure youth get the healthcare that they need quickly before it becomes a problem.”

Aside from helping youth transition to primary care providers in the future, one of the centre’s long-term goals is to help youth escape homelessness and prevent them from getting used to living on the streets. 

Empowering street-involved youth through access to free care

According to Peters, people who have spent several years on the streets become accustomed to street culture and survival tactics and often endure trauma, which makes it difficult for them to diverge from homelessness. “If we can get youth right away and get them off the street before they hit that mark, we are turning off the tap to adult homelessness.” 

Access to basic healthcare services is pivotal in mitigating the effects of homelessness for youth. According to sessional lecturer Maykal Bailey from the University of Toronto Mississauga’s (UTM) Department of Sociology, “It is important for street youth to have access to basic healthcare provision to help alleviate some of the impacts of being unhoused. Surviving on the street takes a significant toll on people’s bodies and overall health and wellbeing.”

Bailey, who teaches several courses at UTM, including Youth Justice (SOC310), says it’s important to have services like the Richard and Lorelei Jenkins & Family Health and Dental Centre that cater to those in precarious living situations. 

“Having healthcare services designated specifically for people facing precarious housing can help reduce this stigma and incentivize youth to seek help in treating their healthcare needs, such as wound care, dietary education, mental health, physical rehabilitation, and other important elements related to overall health and wellbeing.”

As someone who has recently transitioned out of homelessness, René Chavez shares a similar sentiment when it comes to the importance of having access to free care. Chavez says one of the most important roles of providing free health care to youth is the preservation of life. “You can’t help people who are not alive,” he says. 

While free services like health and dental care are paramount for the welfare of vulnerable youth, their provision relies heavily on the support of volunteers.  

Peters emphasizes the importance of community effort, especially through organizations like YSM that are committed to helping those in need. “I believe community is the solution to poverty,” says Peters. “Each and every one of us has something to give.”