The only shelter in Kingston exclusively devoted to youth.
OUR MISSION
We provide a supportive, stable environment, and the tools and life skills to help youth emerge from their immediate or ongoing housing crisis.
OUR VISION
We believe that together we can reduce homelessness by giving youth the means to repair relationships at home or live independently during the transition to adulthood.
Kingston Youth Shelter (KYS) is a non-profit agency, established in 1999, that provides temporary emergency shelter for young women and men ages 16 through 24 years. It expanded its mandate in 2015 and provides transitional beds and life skills programming for youth ages 16-24.
KYS also runs a successful program called Kingston Youth Families, providing support to families to help address family breakdown, youth/parent conflict, and general communication difficulties that may leave youth at a greater risk of entering homelessness.
Additionally, KYS has a Prevention Diversion Worker who supports youth in the acquisition of safe, affordable and permanent housing.
All services provide a safe environment with in-house counselling services appropriate to reintegrating youth within the employment and social contexts. Particular attention is paid to those determinants of health critical to the support environment needed to meet Kingston Youth Shelter’s mission.
It is the only shelter in Kingston exclusively devoted to youth.
Meet our Board
Pam Devine
– Director
Matt Murphy
– Board Chair
Matt is a retired member of the Canadian Armed Forces and now enjoys giving back to his community through volunteer work. He is a regular member of the Royal Canadian Legion and Aboriginal Veterans Autochtones (AVA). A graduate of Queen’s University, the Royal Military College, and St. Lawrence College, Matt brings a wealth of experience to his volunteer efforts. He joined the Board of Directors for Kingston Youth Shelter (KYS) due to his deep commitment to combating youth homelessness. As a passionate advocate, Matt is dedicated to supporting KYS in its mission to reduce and ultimately eliminate homelessness, while providing essential resources to at-risk youth.
David Armstrong
– Director
Dave Armstrong is a retired Information Technology consultant now living in Kingston.
He has many years of experience working on and with teams of various types and was a volunteer when he lived in Ottawa and Edmonton. Dave moved to Kingston 7 years ago and was looking for ways to contribute to his community when he discovered KYS. Dave has been on the Board at KYS for 3 years and is currently filling the position of treasurer.
Charles Ackerman
– Director
Kathryn Ruttimann
– Director
Kathryn Ruttimann is a Branch Manager at Kawartha Credit Union where she has worked for the past 12
years. She calls herself a transplanted British Columbian, having moved to southern Ontario from the West Coast 16 years ago with her husband and 3 (now grown) children. When not relaxing in her backyard gardening or with a nose in a book you can find Kathryn Ruttimann hard at work at Kawartha
Credit Union where she manages a talented group of Financial Professionals. Kathryn has 30+ years of experience in the Financial Services Industry and cares deeply about helping people achieve their goals and learning about money.
Kathryn holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Calgary and Diploma in Adult Education from
Vancouver Community College. Kathryn joined the Board of the KYS in 2024 and is eager to assist in
helping KYS to execute on its Mission.
MacKaleigh MacAdoo
– Director
Michael J.
– Director