It’s 6:30am in west Saint John and 19-year old Ryland is waiting outside his apartment to catch the bus to work. A year ago he was living in a youth shelter after going through an addictions recovery program. A year before that, he couldn’t tell you where he was.  

“That’s the worst part about it. I definitely made a huge change. I’m a whole different person.”

Ryland is 1 of the more than 70 youth who have accessed the Centre for Youth Care (CYC)’s supportive youth housing shelter, Beacon Cove, since its opening in September 2022. 

Beacon Cove provides a safe place to sleep—no questions asked—alongside immediate support for those in urgent need. For youth ages 16 to 18, it becomes a refuge when there is nowhere else to turn 

Dear potential donor,

I am writing to share my story and support for the Centre for Youth Care’s urgent supportive housing project that will be the first of its kind for youth ages 19 to 25 in Saint John, NB. It is my hope that by endorsing and supporting this project, we will enable the Centre for Youth Care to help countless youth to establish a foundation for their future achievements.

In 1951, my two sisters, my brother, and I were placed in an orphanage north of Toronto. In 1953, at age nine, I was adopted. Within three years, my adoptive parents divorced. My adoptive mother, mentally and morally stronger than her petite stature might have conveyed, refused to shirk from responsibility. She raised her own son, and me, through our teenage years to adulthood.