Choices for Youth is a 5-star charity. It is financially transparent and has above-average results reporting and overhead costs within Ci's reasonable range.

Founded in 1990, Choices for Youth (CFY) helps young people in St. John’s, Newfoundland secure stable housing, employment, and education while improving their health and family stability. Working with youth, the charity hopes to prevent long-term homelessness and poverty in adulthood. CFY takes a "housing first" approach, first finding people a stable place to live and then helping them with employment, family relationships, and other needs. In Canada, there are approximately 65,000 homeless youths. In St. John, 23% of the homeless population is 16-24 years old.

A Charity Intelligence 2023 Top 100 Rated Charity

To work towards breaking the cycle of poverty and homelessness, CFY runs four programs: Housing Programs and Services; Social Enterprises and Youth Employment; Health, Outreach and Young Engagement; and Family Programs and Services. In F2022, CFY reported helping a total of 1,075 youths. Its head office is in St. John, Newfoundland.

Social Enterprises and Youth Employment – 38% of program cost: Its goal is to help youth find employment or further their education. CFY runs three social enterprises that generate revenue while providing its clients job opportunities, including Impact Construction, Neighbourhood (a gently used clothing store), and The Shop (a manufacturing and shipping service). In F2022, the charity helped 84 youths get a job, with more than 36,000 hours of insurable employment.

Housing Programs and Services – 37% of program cost: CFY has three homeless shelters that offer emergent shelter for males and gender non-conforming individuals (Choices Shelter) and longer-term housing options for youth in need (The Lilly and RallyForward). In F2022, CFY housed 89 youth. With 54 housing units, it had 3,074 shelter night stays with an 86% occupancy rate. It also served 9,980 meals during the year.

Family Programs and Services – 13% of program cost: Its goal is to connect and stabilize families to create healthy homes. In F2022, CFY supported 84 moms and 128 children through this program. It provided 108 counseling sessions for families.

Outreach and Young Engagement – 11% of program cost:  Through its Outreach and Youth Engagement Centre, CFY offers youth hot meals, mental and physical health support, and recreational programs. In F2022, there were 618 engagements with its medical team. The charity also trained 25 individuals on Naloxone usage.

The remaining 1% of program spending went to Homelessness Partnership Strategy in F2022. 

Choices for Youth received $2.4m in donations in F2022. CFY also received $8.0m in government funding, representing 71% of its total revenues. Administrative costs are 12% of revenues (less investment income), and fundraising costs are 11% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 23%. For every dollar donated, 77 cents go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

Choices for Youth has $4.2m in gross reserve funds and $508k in interest-bearing debts. The charity could cover about six months of program costs using net funding reserves.

This charity profile is an update that has been sent to Choices for Youth for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on May 31, 2023 by Krystie Nguyen.