Edmonton’s iHuman Youth Society says more funding and later hours has helped staff connect with more vulnerable youth that are harder to reach.

Beryl Bacchus, executive director for iHuman, told CBC News there has been more success in reaching youth in gangs or who are struggling with higher levels of substance use.

“That’s really where our team has been able to step in, our [registered social workers], our navigators, to kind of give an alternative to that lifestyle,” Bacchus said in an interview on Monday.

The iHuman Youth Society operates at 9635 102A Ave, just east of downtown Edmonton. According to its website it is dedicated to “altering the trajectory of at-risk youth through wrap-around services, arts programming and mentorship.”

Mayor Andrew Knack put forward a motion last November to increase day spaces by a one-time allocation of $1 million from an existing city fund. The funding allowed three organizations that work with people experiencing homelessness to extend hours at four existing sites between Dec. 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026.

One of those organizations was iHuman, with the others being the Mustard Seed Community Impact Centre and Boyle Street Community Services.

With the extra funding, iHuman has been able to provide 120 daytime shelter spaces and is able stay open until 9 p.m. and address a growing waitlist for social workers and counsellors.

The city said about 5,000 people are experiencing homelessness in Edmonton, including more than 1,000 youth.

“What [iHuman] saw is later at night, they’re seeing youth come in, including youth who sometimes were caught up in the gangs,” Knack told reporters during a general announcement of the city’s downtown action plan in late February.

“And [they] are finding this is a way to be able to get refuge from that and be able to get connected to other supports and services.”

Knack said anecdotal evidence like that is useful and the city will look at quantifying the impact in a forthcoming report to help inform any future funding as part of the four-year budget.

Prior to extending their hours, iHuman operated from from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m, and saw about 500 youth a week.

However in February alone, Bacchus said iHuman supported 1,954 youth visits because of the extended hours.

Gio Henriques, 36, relied on iHuman’s services when he was a teenager who struggled with homelessness and substance use.

Henriques told CBC News he is able to have a fulfilling music career and family because of the support offered by iHuman.

“I’ve met a lot of people, traveled around Canada doing shows. Just recently, last year, I was advocating to get a Latin category into the Junos, and it was a success. We finally got it done,” Henriques said.

“There’s a lot of things that I continued doing after leaving iHuman … I was able to get clean. Have a family. I have two little daughters … iHuman, they really help me.”