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Environmental Youth Centre Project
The Thompson Boys and Girls Club, together with The Manitoba Metis Federation, INCO Ltd, Thompson Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation and The Thompson Zoological Society, has created a tree planting program at Soab Creek in Manitoba to offer youth-at-risk summer employment and training opportunities, while teaching them about environmental stewardship, protection of the natural environment, work ethics and workplace safety. The six-week program includes 2 weeks of volunteer work in exchange for meals, transportation and professional training in G.P.S. orientation, map and compass reading, first aid and CPR and resume writing workshops. Upon completion of the program, each youth receives $1,000 for their work.
Circle of Friends
The need for young people to be able to understand and express their feelings in a healthy way is critical. In response to a need in the community, the Boys and Girls Club of Kamloops created Circle of Friends, a program for children ages 5 - 12 years old, who are coping with some type of loss -- whether it be the death of a loved one, a pet, parental separation or divorce, moving, adoption or a change in health. The program provides children with the opportunity to share, identify and address their feelings in a safe environment through participation in games, crafts and activities. Circle of Friends began as a pilot in 1998, supported by the local Ministry for Children and Families. It is not a professional counseling program, but rather a group support program for children who have had similar experiences.
Youth Leadership Program
The Youth Leadership Program, run by the St. John’s Boys and Girls Club in Newfoundland, was started in 1999 with the goal of targeting members between 13 and 18 years of age, who were at-risk for school drop-out and/or criminal activity. It has three areas of concentration, education, teen issues and skills training. The exercises and activities in each “stream’ help to build communication skills and confidence. The education element exposes members to such opportunities as college class sit-ins, while skills training provides job-shadowing opportunities, helping teens to build their own career paths. All participants receive an honorarium to help purchase school supplies in the fall. The Youth Leadership Program has been instrumental in attracting at-risk youth. The club has experienced a 34% increase in teen membership since 2000, helping the St. John’s Boys and Girls Club extend its reach further into the community.
Robert Meek Youth Centre
In 1999, the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Kingston began an investigation into securing a program facility for youth. The Robert Meek School had been vacant for four years, was constantly vandalized and its grounds served as a spot for drinking, drug use and prostitution. It had the highest crime rate of any police zone in the city, making the neighborhood and schoolyard unsafe for children, and an eye sore for everyone. Today, the Youth Centre operates 6 days a week from 7:00 a.m. – 9:00p.m. The playground has been rejuvenated with an outdoor skating rink, basketball court and community garden. Neighbours are given keys to access the grounds, even when the partnership agencies are not on site. Inside the building there are recreational and social service programs, three community school classrooms, an early years centre and a technology lab. The local crime rate has been reduced by over 20% for youth aged 10 – 14 and more than 300 new members have joined the club since the facility opened in 2001.
Media Team
The Media Team program was developed by the Boys and Girls Club of Grand Manan in 2001, to broaden the skills and knowledge base of Grand Manan youth, thereby enhancing their life opportunities. The program encouraged youth teamwork in completing the production of a television series and/or short film on PEI stories and social programs. Six students met twice weekly and learned the academic as well as the practical side of media and journalism. The students were taught a variety of skills from how to properly conduct an interview to how to film and edit video. A young journalist was hired to run the program, teach, and act as a role model for the students. The media Team has produced several television productions including a Halloween Special, a student special, and has acted as journalists for the Island news program. The project provided youth with a venue for learning new skills, while improving social relations between different groups within the community.
The Meal Program
The Meal Program at Bruce Campbell Youth Centre (a unit of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Edmonton) is a unique life skills program that addresses the needs of homeless youth and youth at risk of becoming homeless. By budgeting for food, making healthy menu choices, preparing meals, and learning about cleanliness and food safety, youth are empowered with the skills to make healthy lifestyle choices. Six days a week, about 40 youth prepare and eat a balanced and imaginative hot meal consisting of a main entrée and either a salad or vegetable. The need for such a program was identified by the Youth Centre and its partners who found that youth were coming to the drop-in program hungry – for some, the Meal Program provides the only meal of the day. During meals, the music goes off, hats come off at the table, and as a group they ‘cheer the cook’. The friendly family atmosphere combined with the life skills learned has led to the tremendous success of the program.
MN8 Sound
The MN8 Sound program of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Vancouver is making the music and performance dreams of Vancouver youth a reality. Primarily serving youth who are at-risk for substance misuse, MN8 Sound provides an outlet for youth to communicate their experiences, emotions and dreams. MN8 Sound is the only youth-driven record label and recording studio in North America that gives its members the opportunity to write and record songs in addition to developing technical skills in sampling and mixing and new media skills. Inevitably, youth gain confidence, self-esteem and learn a variety of job and life skills through their involvement in the program.
One-80
One-80 was launched by the Boys and Girls Club of York Region as the premiere youth newspaper across Ontario’s York Region in the spring of 2002 publishing articles written for youth, by youth. With over 350 freelance contributors, and 47 youth editors, the newspaper has had incredible impact. Distributed monthly, One-80 gives youth a forum to voice their thoughts and opinions, builds relationships between adults and youth, builds self-esteem and provides opportunities for skill and career development. In addition to the positive impact it has on its contributors through its workshops and employment skills development, One-80’s content challenges its readership of 100,000 to get involved and have their voices heard.
Survival Centre for Youth
The Survival Centre for Youth was developed by the Charlottetown Boys and Girls Club to address the needs of youth who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Housing a Teen Health Clinic and Wellness Centre, the Survival Centre offers life skills training, community kitchens, and emergency basic needs such as food and clothing. The Teen Health Clinic is offered one evening a week and is staffed by public health nurses and a physician. By helping youth to meet their immediate needs in a comfortable, encouraging drop-in environment, youth are better able to make healthy choices about their lives and find the support that they need. Through collaboration with many community agencies, the Survival Centre for youth is able to successfully offer referrals and connections to services that youth may be too intimidated to use otherwise.
Healthy Choices
The Healthy Choices program, created by the Winnipeg Boys and Girls Clubs, is designed to engage youth at risk for substance abuse in positive, empowering relationships and activities that build skills and resiliency. Serving predominantly Aboriginal youth, the program encourages participants to identify a skill that they are attracted to and helps them develop that skill. Participants also do volunteer work in the community and take part in group information sharing sessions where they develop strategies to deal with the challenges they face. The youth-driven approach has succeeded in increasing involvement in positive, non-school activities, increasing a sense of belonging and decreasing negative risk-taking behaviour such as drug use and crime.
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