About the RELENTLESS Campaign
RELENTLESS is one of YOUCAN’s most critical programs, but also one of its least publicly understood. For years, much of this work has happened quietly to protect youth during deeply vulnerable moments. This campaign is about helping the community understand what is at risk, why this work matters, and how support can remain within reach for young people who need it most.
What is the RELENTLESS Program?
RELENTLESS is YOUCAN’s intensive outreach and intervention program supporting youth ages 12–18 navigating violence, trauma, gang involvement, exploitation, homelessness, and crisis. It helps them reconnect to safety, stability, and support.
Who are the youth in the RELENTLESS program?
RELENTLESS supports youth, some as young as 12, navigating violence, trauma, housing instability, justice-system involvement, gang activity, and crisis. Youth are referred through the Edmonton Police Service Youth Unit.
What support does the RELENTLESS program provide?
RELENTLESS provides crisis intervention, emotional support, transportation, food and essentials, mentorship, school and employment support, and help navigating systems like court, probation, housing, and mental health care.
Why does intervention matter before things get worse?
RELENTLESS intervenes before violence, instability or trauma become their norm. When support comes early, young people have a greater chance to heal, reconnect, and build a future beyond crisis.
What’s at risk right now?
Unexpected funding changes created an immediate gap in support. At the same time, staff are seeing younger youth becoming deeply involved in violence, substance use, and criminal activity. The need has not changed. Funding has.
How is RELENTLESS changing lives?
Each year, RELENTLESS supports about 100 youth, responds to 400+ crises, facilitates 30,000 outreach engagements, and connects youth to housing, education, and supports. Success can look like school, safety, stability, or hope.
Why “Still a Kid”?
Because behind violence, trauma, gang involvement, homelessness, and crisis is still a child. A child trying to survive, forced to grow up too soon, and still deserving of safety, support, and someone who believes in them.
What does my donation make possible?
Your donation helps provide transportation, food, clothing, crisis support, school and employment re-engagement, mentorship, and trusted relationships. It helps keep life-changing support within reach when youth need it most.
What happens if support disappears?
For many young people in the RELENTLESS program, this is not extra support. It is the support.
A trusted adult who answers the phone after a hard day, helps them get to court or school, drives them to counseling, advocates for them in systems they do not understand, or simply listens without judgement.
From the outside, support may look ordinary. A ride. A meal. A check-in. Help navigating housing, probation, school, or mental health support. But for youth navigating violence, trauma, instability, grief, exploitation, or justice-system involvement, those moments can be life changing.
When trusted intervention disappears, vulnerable youth are left with fewer safe adults, fewer supports, and fewer pathways forward. Without someone consistently showing up, instability deepens, school disengagement grows, and crisis becomes harder to navigate alone.
The need has not changed. The support at risk is what has quietly been working for years.
RELENTLESS at a Glance
Trusted intervention helping vulnerable youth move toward safety, stability, and a future beyond crisis since 2011.
- Crisis interventions each year
- 400+
- Youth supported per year
- 100+
- Outreach engagements and support connections each year
- 30,500+
