St. Lawrence Youth Association

06/15/2026

Last week, SLYA was proud to collaborate with community trainers from Maltby Centre and Kingston Pathways to Education to deliver a two-day ASIST workshop, helping build a su***de safer community. 💙🤝

Thank you to our trainers, Heather Cota from Maltby, Joanna Frost-Howard from SLYA, Tanya Downey from Maltby, and Chris Driesfeld from Pathways to Education, for sharing their time, knowledge, and expertise.

We were also grateful to have participants from SLYA, Maltby, LDSB, Resolve Counselling, KNCLN, and Dawn House join us for this training. Collaboration across community partners strengthens our collective ability to support youth, families, and individuals in our community.

06/11/2026

A huge thank you to the incredible United Way Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington volunteers who joined us at Beacon Harbour for their Day of Caring! 🌿We are so grateful for their time, energy, and continued commitment to strengthening our community.

Their team built a brand-new garden bed and helped spruce up our existing garden spaces, bringing new life and care to our outdoor space. Thanks to their hard work, the youth we support are already enjoying this refreshed outdoor area and the welcoming environment it creates.❤️

06/09/2026

Celebrating Susan, Wendy, Keagan, and Brett, our SLYA Excellence Award recipients! Your dedication, kindness, and everyday impact help make SLYA such a meaningful place to work and grow.

A heartfelt thank you as well to all SLYA staff for your continued support, commitment, and care every day.

06/01/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for SLYA’s 51st Annual General Meeting!

We are grateful to our staff, Board members, community partners, and supporters for taking the time to come together and reflect on another meaningful year of service, growth, and collaboration. Your continued commitment strengthens our work with youth and families across the region and helps us move forward with purpose.

A special thank you to Eric Friesen for serving as our keynote speaker and for sharing his insight and perspective with attendees. We would also like to extend our sincere appreciation to everyone who contributed to the planning and delivery of this year’s event.

We look forward to building on this momentum and continuing our work together in the year ahead.

05/26/2026

Our staff had an incredible experience delivering the 2nd session of Rewire at the St. Lawrence Youth Association’s Sundance Facility!

The youth were highly engaged, thoughtful, and open throughout the session—especially during our discussions on Gottman’s “4 Horsemen.” They brought energy, honesty, and meaningful questions that made the conversations truly impactful.

Programs like Rewire are most effective when participants show up with curiosity and a willingness to reflect, and this group did exactly that. A huge thank you to the team at St. Lawrence Youth Association for the warm welcome and for creating such a supportive environment for growth.
Looking forward to continuing this important work together! 💡👏

REWIRE is a gender-based violence prevention program that supports youth (12+) in breaking patterns of violence and building healthier relationships.

05/25/2026

We are honoured to have been nominated for the Social Impact Award at the 2026 Kingston Business Awards, hosted by the Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce.

We’re so grateful to have been recognized alongside so many incredible organizations making a positive impact in our community. Thank you to the Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce for hosting such a wonderful event, and to KEYS Employment & Newcomer Services for sponsoring this important award category.

Congratulations to The Keep Refillery Kingston on this well-deserved win!

05/22/2026

May is Asian Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the rich histories, cultures, and contributions of Asian communities across Canada.

This month also invites reflection on the resilience of Asian Canadians, whose experiences have helped shape Canada’s past, present, and future. At SLYA, we recognize the importance of embracing diversity, promoting inclusion, and continuing to build communities where everyone feels valued and respected.

05/14/2026

Thank you to Adam Walker from the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area for giving St. Lawrence Youth Association the spotlight to highlight the great work that we are doing to serve justice involved youth.

What does it take to change a young person's trajectory? For the St. Lawrence Youth Association, it starts with showing up.

SLYA has served Kingston-area youth for more than 50 years, supporting young people through custody programs, probation services, and intensive community programming. Now, with support from the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area, they're launching SOAR, a new therapeutic group program designed for justice-involved and justice-vulnerable female youth aged 12 to 18.

As SLYA Executive Director Amy Gibson puts it: "The youth are doing the work. We're just giving them the tools and the programs to do it in a safe space."

This May, we're sharing stories of Youth Futures being built right here in our community. Read about the hope SLYA is creating, one young person at a time.
https://cfka.org/impact-stories/hope-and-safe-spaces

05/12/2026

Happy Nurses Day to our incredible nurses, Heidi, Julie, Adheena, and Joanna! 🩺🤍

Thank you for the compassion, care, and dedication you bring each day in supporting the youth and staff at SLYA. Your patience, professionalism, and kindness make a meaningful difference every single day, and we are so grateful for all that you do.

05/06/2026

We’re looking forward to our upcoming Annual General Meeting and are excited to officially announce this year’s guest speaker, Eric Friesen! A respected broadcaster, writer, and cultural leader, Eric has held senior roles with CBC Radio and Minnesota Public Radio and continues to contribute to arts and literary communities across Canada and beyond.

Currently Chair of Kingston WritersFest and actively involved with several cultural institutions, Eric also co-hosts a book club at Collins Bay Institution, bringing meaningful dialogue into correctional spaces. His depth of experience and perspective will bring a unique and engaging element to this year’s AGM.

Join us as we reflect on the past year, share what’s ahead, and hear from an inspiring speaker. Be sure to RSVP by May 13 to secure your spot.

📅 Wednesday, May 27, 2026
🕣 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
📍 817 Division St, Brookside Rooms, Kingston