About YAVL

The Youth Against Violence Line was established in the early 1990's as part of the Taking A Stand campaign, an initiative of the B.C. Government. The campaign was designed to encourage young people to take an active role in preventing violence amongst their peers.

At that time, the YAV Line offered a voicemail and e-mail service where callers could be connected to the police to anonymously report incidents of youth violence and crime, without fear of reprisals.

In 2005, the government partnered with BC211 (formerly Information Services Vancouver) to expand the service by offering a toll-free 24/7 live help line where young people could talk one-on-one, in confidence and anonymously to a support worker. This new and expanded service began December 1, 2005.

bc211 is a non-profit agency that has been approved to operate telephone help lines for British Columbians. The staff at bc211 are certified professionals, trained to help youth who are experiencing threatening and violent situations, or other difficult life situations.