Building Opportunities for Youth in Rexdale (BOYR)
Building Opportunities for Youth Rexdale (BOYR) supports youth in Rexdale by building pathways to employment, strengthening life skills, and creating opportunities for leadership, resilience, and community connection.
About the Programme
Building Opportunities for Youth Rexdale (BOYR) is programme led by the United Nations Association in Canada in partnership with Rexdale Community Health Centre. The programme focuses on youth aged 16 to 19 and is designed to help reduce the factors that can contribute to violence and gang involvement by creating positive opportunities for growth, learning, and employment.
BOYR responds to the realities facing many young people in Rexdale, where systemic barriers, unemployment, and exposure to violence can limit opportunity and increase vulnerability. By combining pre-employment support with trauma-informed and community-rooted programming, the programme helps participants build confidence, strengthen decision-making skills, and connect with positive peer and community networks.
What the Programme Offers
- Pre-employment training and support to help youth prepare for the world of work
- Life skills and decision-making workshops that build confidence, self-awareness, and practical skills
- Peer mentorship opportunities that foster trust, belonging, and positive support systems
- Model United Nations training and a youth conference focused on crime prevention, community issues, and leadership
- Support with resume development, job searching, interview preparation, and pathways to employment
Why This Work Matters
Young people in Rexdale face intersecting barriers related to race, income, access to opportunity, and community safety. BOYR is designed to respond to these realities with programming that is practical, culturally responsive, and rooted in local partnership. Rather than focusing only on prevention in the abstract, the programme invests directly in the skills, relationships, and opportunities that help youth move toward safer and more stable futures.
The programme also recognizes that leadership, belonging, and community engagement are essential protective factors. By creating space for young people to build their voices, contribute ideas, and explore solutions to issues affecting their communities, BOYR supports both personal development and broader community resilience.
Partnership Approach
BOYR brings together UNA-Canada’s experience in youth engagement, leadership development, and civic participation with Rexdale Community Health Centre’s trusted local presence and expertise in trauma-informed, culturally relevant programming. Together, the two organizations are delivering support that is community-based, credible, and responsive to the lived realities of young people in Rexdale.
The programme also builds on strong foundations. It draws from UNA-Canada’s experience through Youth Break Barriers to Employment and benefits from the localized knowledge and relationships of Rexdale Community Health Centre’s Pathways to Education work. This helps ensure that participants receive support that is both aspirational and practical, with a clear link between personal growth, employability, and long-term community well-being.
Funding
In January 2026, the Government of Canada announced $1.89 million in funding to the United Nations Association in Canada for BOYR through Public Safety Canada’s Youth Gang Prevention Fund.
