Sometimes, all it takes to change a young person’s life is for someone to believe in them.

Just ask Jay Smith.

Growing up in Ottawa, he knew more about fear, anger and chaos than any kid should. Home wasn’t always a safe place, and by his teenage years, he was acting out and spending more time in holding cells and the youth justice system than he was in high school.

At 16, he was sentenced to a year in custody. It could have been another chapter in a downward spiral. Instead, it became a turning point, thanks to the people he met through Ottawa’s Youth Services Bureau (YSB), a charitable organization that helps young people navigate challenges such as homelessness, mental health issues, involvement with the youth justice system, while also providing employment and educational support.

YSB saw something in him that he couldn’t yet see in himself, he said. “It was the first time anyone ever said these words that meant so much to me: ‘I believe in you,’” Smith recalled in a video shown Thursday at YSB’s Rise & Thrive charity breakfast, held at the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne.

The 90-minute event, held under the theme Justice For All Youth, brought together supporters of YSB and its work to help vulnerable young people, including a citywide push to end youth homelessness by 2030.

As for Smith, those four words changed the course of his life.

He went from being a high school dropout to attending Algonquin College, earning two university degrees and eventually becoming a college professor, a dream job he held for more than a decade. Today, he’s helping young people through YSB.

“I’m at a point in my life where it’s more about service than anything else,” said Smith, who also spoke in person at the breakfast. “I’m able to give back in ways I never could have imagined.”

Jay Smith was one of the speakers at the Rise & Thrive breakfast held at the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in support of YSB Foundation. Photo by Caroline Phillips

YSB CEO Nina Gorka spoke about the organization’s commitment to ending youth homelessness in Ottawa, improving mental health and well-being, and creating a more equitable community for young people. None of it, she emphasized, can happen without the support of community partners, funders and government.

“It’s not work we can do alone; it requires all of us here,” she said.

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe also spoke about the pressures young people face today, drawing on his own experience as a father of two teenagers. Even under the best of circumstances, he said, young people have plenty to deal with, from school and friendships to social media, jobs and decisions about their futures.

Now imagine having to navigate all that without a safe place to call home. “For too many young people in Ottawa, that is their reality today,” he said.

Sutcliffe praised YSB and its supporters for their commitment to ending youth homelessness by 2030, a goal that will require continued cooperation across the community, he added. He was joined by colleague Allan Hubley, who represents Kanata South. Hubley has longstanding ties to YSB. Following the death of his teenage son Jamie by suicide in 2011, the family established a mental-health scholarship in his memory through the organization.

The fourth annual breakfast raised money for YSB’s programs and services, with donations approaching $315,000 toward a $400,000 fundraising goal. The presenting sponsor was Ottawa-based real estate development, investment and property management company CLV Group.

From left, CCSR Advisory Services president and CEO Robert Rhéaume, a volunteer leader with Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa and YSB Foundation; Amanda Gordon, chief talent officer at CLV Group; and Anthony Scaletta, vice president of private equity at CLV Group, at the Rise & Thrive fundraising breakfast held at the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa CEO Nina Gorka at the Rise & Thrive fundraising breakfast held at the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Algonquin College public relations student Miila Hamilton; her mother, Jodi Hamilton, regional operations manager for local radio and TV at Bell Media; MOVE 100.3 radio personality Katherine Dines; and her daughter, mental health worker Emery Dines-Craig, at the Bell Let’s Talk table for the Rise & Thrive breakfast in support of YSB Foundation. Photo by Caroline Phillips

YSB Foundation board chair Rebecca Murray at the Rise & Thrive: Justice For All Youth breakfast hosted by the YSB Foundation. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Kevin Yemm, vice president of land development at Richcraft Homes, and Ottawa city councillor Allan Hubley (Kanata South) at the Rise & Thrive: Justice For All Youth breakfast hosted by the YSB Foundation on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Stephanie Spruston, chief operating officer at Ottawa Rapid FC; Isabelle Perreault, a founding community owner of the women’s professional soccer team; Heidi Bloomfield, chief growth officer for the team, and Chloë Wade, vice president of partnerships for the soccer club, at the Rise & Thrive: Justice For All Youth breakfast hosted by the YSB Foundation. Photo by Caroline Phillips

The audience heard further about ways that Smith has been giving back. As co-owner of Thunder Gardens, he’s been teaching young people about growing food. And it turns out that growing vegetables and helping young people grow have a lot in common. “Planting a seed in the ground is just the beginning,” he said.

Smith talked about the satisfaction of watching young people discover what they’re capable of, sometimes through something as simple as harvesting a pepper they’ve grown themselves.

This year, they grew enough chili peppers to produce six batches of hot sauce, ranging from mild to Carolina Reaper, for those who can hack the heat. Guests even found packets of seeds at their tables, along with information about the project and how to purchase the hot sauce. All proceeds from sales support YSB programs.

Asked what he would tell his younger self, Jay said he’d want that frightened, angry teenager to know he was loved and worthy of love. “I didn’t feel loved. I didn’t feel lovable,” he recalled, explaining how the encouragement he received from YSB helped him see himself in a whole new light.

Longtime YSB supporter Scott Lawrence emceed the breakfast with former keynote speaker Cassandra Bourgeois. The young woman experienced homelessness at 16 and received help from YSB before going on to establish her own construction and project management business. She also leads PIY Services to assist vulnerable youth.

Scott Lawrence, a longtime YSB Foundation board member and past chair, co-emceed the Rise & Thrive: Justice For All Youth breakfast with Cassandra Bourgeois at the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Lawrence spoke about why the organization continues to inspire him after 15 years of involvement, recalling a young woman arriving at an emergency shelter with everything she owned in a plastic bag. Within a couple of hours, she had a room, a hot meal and someone willing to listen. Another young person, “thrown to the curb” by his family, found stability through transitional housing, completed his high school credits and enrolled in college, he said.

Lawrence also touched on YSB’s Tamarack Trades Training Centre, where at-risk young people gain hands-on experience in fields such as carpentry, welding, mechanics and electrical work. A dozen sets of handmade cutting boards and pens sold quickly at $150 apiece.

And then, of course, there was the hot sauce.

It might seem like a small thing, a group of young people growing peppers and turning them into something they can proudly share with others. But Smith sees something much bigger in those little packets of seeds. “That seed has everything inside to make it flourish,” he said. “And that’s what YSB did for me when I was a young person. They brought me into their programs and gave me the right conditions to grow.”

Patti Murphy, executive director of the YSB Foundation, and Ottawa Community Foundation president and CEO Michael Maidment at the Rise & Thrive: Justice For All Youth breakfast at the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne. Photo by Caroline Phillips

An on-stage conversation during Youth Services Bureau’s Rise & Thrive: Justice For All Youth breakfast, held at the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Jennifer Cross, director of regional development at Chandos Construction; Senators Community Foundation president Jacqueline Belsito; YSB Foundation board chair Rebecca Murray and fellow board member Stacey McMillan, corporate strategy partner at Modern Niagara; and Melissa Somers, senior director at United Way East Ontario, at the Rise & Thrive: Justice For All Youth breakfast, hosted by YSB Foundation. Photo by Caroline Phillips

YSB CEO Nina Gorka addressed the room at the Rise & Thrive: Justice For All Youth breakfast, hosted by YSB Foundation. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Cameron Miller, vice president of community impact at Ottawa Community Foundation, and Glenn Sheen, regional director of marketing and citizenship at RBC, at the Rise & Thrive: Justice For All Youth breakfast, hosted by YSB Foundation. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Rachael Wilson, president and CEO of United Way East Ontario, at the Rise & Thrive: Justice For All Youth breakfast, hosted by YSB Foundation. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Johnny Karmaker, private banker at BMO Private Wealth; Josh Raganold, business development manager at Welch LLP; Bryden McMaster, partner at Welch LLP; Ian Bambrough, senior staff accountant at Welch LLP; Kathrina Grant, also a private banker with BMO Private Wealth; and Kamal Mahey, senior manager at Welch LLP, at the Rise & Thrive: Justice For All Youth breakfast, hosted by the YSB Foundation. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Steve Grandmont, CEO of Richcraft Homes, and retired BDO Canada partner Robert Rhéaume, a longtime volunteer leader with YSB and its charitable foundation, at the Rise & Thrive: Justice For All Youth breakfast, held at the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Ottawa International Airport Authority vice president of communications and public consultation Krista Kealey — one of a dozen people who bought a cutting board and pen made by youth involved with YSB’s Tamarack Trades Training Centre — alongside Shannon Lambert, director of operations at Vibrance Medical Rejuvenation Centre, and Jenny Noonan at the Rise & Thrive: Justice For All Youth breakfast as guests of table captain Bobbi Faulkner. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Cathy McCallion, stakeholder and community relations director at Ross Video, and her husband Jim Lothrop were out supporting the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa at the Rise & Thrive: Justice For All Youth breakfast. Photo by Caroline Phillips

An on-stage conversation during Youth Services Bureau’s Rise & Thrive: Justice For All Youth breakfast, held at the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne. Photo by Caroline Phillips.

From left, Sylvia Patterson, director of consulting and deals at PwC Canada, and Ellen Corkery-Dooher, retired partner at PwC Canada and a YSB Foundation board member, at the Youth Services Bureau’s Rise & Thrive: Justice For All Youth breakfast, held at the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Kanata South Coun. Allan Hubley, his wife Wendy Hubley and Senators Community Foundation president Jacqueline Belsito share a laugh during some friendly competition over a handmade cutting board being sold to raise money for YSB Foundation at its Rise & Thrive breakfast. Photo by Caroline Phillips

This article is made possible through sponsorship from Star Motors, WEALTH (WCPD), Syntax Strategic, RBC, Marilyn Wilson Dream Properties, ExecHealth, Altis Recruitment, Bell Canada, First Avenue Investment Counsel, Welch LLP, Brazeau Seller Law, Westland Benefits and Ottawa Rapid FC.

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