Our Story…

In April 1993, a meeting of over 30 BC community organizations was held to discuss issues related to youth and HIV. The need for youth-specific services was clearly identified and in February 1994, the Youth Community Outreach AIDS Society (YouthCO) was formed to provide education, support and advocacy for youth between the ages of 15 and 29 on issues associated with HIV & AIDS.

YouthCO is a social profit agency run by and for youth; all of our programming involves youth providing support and prevention/education services to other youth. We also follow a philosophy of harm reduction which means confronting the realities faced by youth in a non-judgmental manner and providing the information for them to make safer choices in their lives.

Originally the agency was entirely volunteer-driven but over time, staff members were added and Board membership became more clearly defined. As time has passed, the Board’s role has varied between that of a working board and that of a policy & governance Board.

In 1998, YouthCO staff identified Hepatitis C as an area of concern for an increasing number of the youth who use our services. It was estimated that 90% of our support clients in the Downtown Eastside were co-infected, meaning they were both HIV and Hep C positive. In addition, many youth living with one virus were at risk of co-infection because of drug use and factors such as poverty, homelessness, addiction and lack of resources. In November 1999, we prepared a proposal for our first round of Hepatitis C funding and this new focus has been part of our work ever since.

Any youth between the ages of 15 and 29 can access YouthCO’s services or get involved as a volunteer.

YouthCO strives to uphold the following values at all levels of organizational decision-making and programming:

• Inclusivity
• Harm Reduction
• Sex Positivity
• Anti-Oppression
• Youth-Driven