A Place to Belong Changes Everything

When Robert first walked into the All in for Youth space at Eastglen High School, he wasn’t looking for anything life-changing.

He had heard about the after-school program from friends as a place to relax, play games, and connect. So he gave it a try. “It was just a good place to wind down,” he says. “It was a fun experience.”

But over time, it became something more.

At a stage in life where everything felt uncertain, All in for Youth gave him something steady.

“It gave me a place where stress wasn’t really a thing. I didn’t have to be anxious. I could just sit and be calm and think about what was going on.”

There were staff who took the time to get to know him—people who cared and he could trust. “When I needed help, to ask questions, or to just feel supported, there was someone I could talk to.”

When he needed help applying to university, someone sat down with him and walked through it step by step. “I didn’t really know how to do it,” he says. “But they helped me through the whole process.”

Robert with the walking school bus, helping students make their way from school to after-school programming.

This year marks ten years of All in for Youth—ten years of showing up for students in moments like these. And for Robert, that support changed the direction of his life.

Today, he’s a student at MacEwan University and works as a youth worker with BGCBigs, supporting young people in the same way he was once supported. Without All in for Youth, he’s not sure he would be here. “If I didn’t have that experience, I don’t think I would be doing what I am,” he says.

Now, he’s the person young people turn to when they need support.

“I like being able to help others the way I was helped,” he says. When a young person is struggling, his approach is simple. “I just listen. Just let them vent about whatever problem they may be facing.”

For many of the youth he works with, that kind of support isn’t always available elsewhere. Being someone they can rely on matters.

“It’s important for kids to have a place where they feel like they belong,” he says. “Where they know someone cares about them.”

Looking back, Robert sees how much that space shaped his path—and how that impact continues to grow.

Young people who are supported today grow into the people who support others tomorrow.

If he could speak to his younger self, walking into the program for the first time, he knows what he would say:

“Take advantage of it as much as you can. Having a place you feel safe other than at home is important. It provides you so many opportunities.”