Youth Empowerment and Support Services

What Youth Empowerment and Support Services does

Youth Empowerment and Support Services (YESS) is a Canadian non-profit organization founded in 1981 and headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta. It provides temporary supportive housing for young people, operating in the youth homelessness and at-risk-youth services segment. The organization currently employs between 51 and 100 staff, placing it in the mid-sized tier of Canadian charitable service providers.

The organization's core service is residential — shelter and short-term housing — for vulnerable youth in the Edmonton area, supplemented by the kinds of wraparound supports (counselling, referrals, basic-needs assistance) standard for this service category. It operates as a registered charity/non-profit rather than a for-profit enterprise, so its revenue mechanics are grant funding from provincial and municipal government sources, charitable donations, and possibly United Way or similar federated giving campaigns, rather than fee-for-service pricing.

Available source data is materially thin: the firm's own web presence returned only a verification/loading page during data capture, and most structured fields (management team, financials, partnerships, certifications, technology stack, products) are unpopulated. Consequently, this description reflects only what is verifiable from the input — primarily the firm's name, legal structure, founding year, location, headcount band, and stated service line. No technology platform, proprietary product, or differentiated operating model is documented in the available data.

Name

Youth Empowerment and Support Services

Website

https://yess.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Youth Empowerment and Support Services is a Canadian non-profit founded in 1981 in Edmonton, Alberta, providing temporary supportive housing for at-risk young people. It operates with 51–100 staff.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Supportive Housing

NAICS

Temporary Shelters (624221), Child and Youth Services (62411), Community Housing Services (62422)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Homelessness Prevention, Shelter & Supportive Housing Services (BPAIANAC), Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB), Youth Justice, At-Risk Youth & Violence Prevention Nonprofits (BPAGADAM)

Keywords

• Youth supportive housing
• Youth shelter services
• Homeless youth support
• Social services nonprofit
• Temporary youth housing

Headquarters

HQ city

Edmonton

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Core offering

Youth Empowerment and Support Services provides temporary supportive housing for young people in Edmonton, Canada. The organization operates as a nonprofit social services provider, offering youth a place to stay along with related supports aimed at addressing housing instability among young people.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Temporary Supportive Housing for Youth Temporary supportive housing provided to young people in Edmonton, Canada. Delivered as a direct, in-person residential service by a nonprofit organization (YESS) with 51-100 staff. Target beneficiaries are youth experiencing housing instability or homelessness; access is free at the point of use.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights1 record

Direct peers

• Boyle Street Community Services: Edmonton-based non-profit providing housing, outreach, and wraparound supports to people experiencing homelessness and poverty, with youth-specific programming. Direct competitor for grants, donations, and clients in YESS's home market.
• Covenant House: One of North America's largest networks of youth shelters and supportive housing providers. Directly comparable to YESS in providing temporary housing, crisis services, and wraparound supports for at-risk and homeless youth.
• Wood's Homes: Calgary-based children's mental health and youth housing agency serving children, youth, and families through residential and community programs. Comparable in delivering residential supports and counseling to at-risk youth.
• Kids in Need of Direction (KIND): Edmonton non-profit serving youth facing homelessness, addiction, and mental health challenges through outreach and shelter. Direct peer in target population and service model.
• The Mustard Seed: Major Alberta-based non-profit operating shelter, transitional housing, and supportive programs. Comparable in funding model, scale, and service mix, with overlap in serving homeless and at-risk populations including youth.
• Old Strathcona Youth Society: Edmonton-based non-profit focused specifically on youth housing and supportive services. Highly comparable in mission, geography, and target population to YESS.
• Hope Mission: Edmonton-based Christian non-profit offering emergency shelter, meals, and housing programs, including dedicated services for youth. Operates in the same city and directly competes for both funding and at-risk youth clients.

Emerging players

• Avenue Edmonton (Kickstand): Edmonton-based youth mental health and housing provider under the Boyle Street network. Comparable in delivering integrated supports to at-risk youth, though smaller in scale than YESS.

Regional players

• Boys & Girls Clubs Big Brothers Big Sisters of Edmonton: Edmonton-based youth-serving charity providing after-school programs, mentoring, and family supports. Comparable target population and funding channels, though focused more on developmental programming than shelter.
• Calgary Drop-In Centre: Large Alberta-based emergency shelter and housing provider. Regionally comparable to YESS in addressing homelessness and vulnerable populations, with overlapping donor and government funding pools.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/YESSorg
• Facebookfacebook.com/YESSorg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Youth Empowerment and Support Services