March 25, 2024 – Calgary, Alberta – Indigenous Services Canada

Addressing the local needs of urban Indigenous youth through the mobilization and collaborative participation of regional communities and partners is reconciliation in action.

Today the Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth (USAY), a Calgary-based, Indigenous-led not-for-profit organization, celebrated the groundbreaking of the start of construction for the youth centre, and a significant step towards supporting a vision of success for Indigenous youth now and for future generations.

Through this collaboration between USAY and Indigenous Services Canada, USAY will receive $3,920,000 from the Indigenous Community Infrastructure Fund to build a safe, healthy, accessible and energy efficient space that will expand culturally appropriate programs and services for Indigenous youth in Calgary. This facility will offer a wide range of services and programs designed specifically to meet the unique needs of its clientele.

The Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth (USAY) was created in 2001 with support from Family and Community Support Services of the City of Calgary, United Way, Métis Nation of Alberta and Alberta Community Development.

By reducing social and economic inequalities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, and closing the critical infrastructure gap by 2030, Canada and community organizations like USAY, help to deliver culturally appropriate services based on expressed community needs.

As we embark on a new era guided by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, funding initiatives like this will help address the social drivers of health and advance self-determination.