OUR BEGINNINGS WERE HUMBLE

In 2011 a young person named Jamie Hubley died of suicide after relentless bullying for being gay.

This urged youth in Kingston to find out what their peers needed to feel safe, supported and have a sense of belonging in their community. A group of youth, supported by adults, went out into the community to find out what the needs of youth in Kingston were and how the city could be more youth friendly and inclusive. This group called itself Youth 2 Kingston (Y2K).

Y2K surveyed over 700 young people, 100 adults and 40 community organizations through paper surveys, focus groups and interviews. This information was put together to create the Kingston Youth Strategy. It had 17 recommendations and a 60 action items to implement in the city. Young people and their allies took the Kingston Youth Strategy to City Council for consideration. On November 15th, 2012, Kingston City Council unanimously endorsed the Kingston Youth Strategy. As a result of this, work to implement that 60 action items began across the Kingston community.

In 2016, Y2K received four years of funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation's Youth Opportunities Fund to expand this work into the rural communities of Frontenac, and  Lennox and Addington. To reflect this growth, the group's name changed to Y2KFL&A.

As we enter the 2020s, we are continuing the movement of making Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox, and Addington more youth friendly and inclusive by providing youth with various platforms to express their needs and wants. If you would like to get more involved, please contact us through our website or social media!

Purpose

Our purpose is to find out what youth want and what youth need so that we can support and provide opportunities for their growth and development in the KFL&A community.

Mission

Our mission is to provide youth with a variety of platforms to express their needs and wants, and through youth-adult partnerships, build a supportive network for youth to engage safely and meaningfully with the KFL&A community. 

sponsors

Y2KFL&A is proudly funded through the Ontario Trillium Foundation. 

Y2KFL&A Report 2019