Our Vision and Mission

Our vision is one of a welcoming place where young people acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors that help them realize their full potential and participate actively in their communities. Our mission is to provide integrated social and developmental activities within an accessible, safe, and supportive environment.

The programs of The Door are founded on voluntary participation. Activities are structured to maximize the opportunity for young people to engage in terms of their unique development capacities and needs. Every program operates within a framework designed to:

• Strengthen personal knowledge and skills.
• Promote healthy behaviors and lifestyles.
• Develop interpersonal skills and practices of understanding, tolerance and inclusion.
• Contribute to a sense of civic responsibility and engagement in community.

Who We Are

The Door was modelled after The Door New York, a youth centre located in the heart of New York City. Art Stinson, the former head of the School of Social Work at Carleton University felt that there was a need to offer a place for youth to interact with each other as peers, to make new friends and to access services. It was this vision that led to opening of The Door in May 1994.

The centre has evolved and is primarily a place for youth to access educational and employment support, health promotion and recreational programs. We also work to establish links to other youth-oriented programs and services throughout the community. Most important, it is a place where youth can feel good about themselves and their place in the community!

The Door is the only youth centre in the Centretown West area, thus fulfilling a need that is otherwise unmet. Working with youth in our city we see youth that may have a stable home environment and others may be high-risk. They come from a variety racial and ethnic backgrounds, some of them new Canadians. There is a range of gender diversity and also those who identify as members of the LGBTQ2S+ community. The Door is a place youth can benefit from a safe environment to learn, contribute and share or simply enjoy a safe place to hang out with friends.

Each youth is expected to help out in some small way at the centre, whether it’s taking out the garbage, cooking dinner, working the front desk, basketball court, and/or participating in the decisions about how The Door operates on a day-to-day basis. This ensures that The Door is truly a facility of and for young people.