Building Resilience: How Supporting Young People Strengthens Our Community

Every young person deserves the opportunity to experience safety, stability, and hope. In this presentation, Julie-Ann Hunter, Executive Director of the Victoria Youth Empowerment Society (VYES), will share how VYES supports more than 1,000 youth and families each year through a continuum of prevention, early intervention, housing, mental health, family support, and crisis services. The presentation will explore how VYES's individualized, relationship-based approach helps young people build resilience, strengthens families, and creates healthier communities, while highlighting the partnerships that make this work possible

Speaker: Julie-Ann Hunter is the Executive Director of the Victoria Youth Empowerment Society (VYES), where she leads an organization supporting youth and families across Greater Victoria through prevention, early intervention, housing, mental health, and crisis services.

A Registered Social Worker with an MBA specializing in Social Enterprise, Julie-Ann has dedicated more than 20 years to working alongside young people and their families. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Collaborative to Prevent Youth Homelessness, bringing together community partners to develop long-term solutions that help young people thrive.

Julie-Ann is passionate about building strong communities by ensuring every young person has the opportunity to experience safety, stability, connection, and hope.