A Survey Assessment of the Vancouver Native Youth Initiative by Youth and Volunteers

Abstract

A Survey Assessment of the Vancouver Native Youth Initiative (VNHYI) by Youth and Volunteers was conducted. The VNHYI was a drop-in available to all youth in Vancouver's downtown eastside (DTES) and were focused on providing health information and resources. Data was collected via multiple choice surveys. The average age was 22.4 ± 1.0 years and the majority were female (59%).Overall, youth felt the VNHYI helped them overcome barriers to health care (65%) likely because the VNHYI created a safe (88%) and non-judgemental atmosphere (82%), while providing youth with access to a physician at the VNH clinic with little or no wait time (76%). After their experience at the VNHYI, volunteers were more likely to further volunteer in the DTES (100%) and pursue a career in inner city medicine (75%).