Focus on Youth Celebrates a Successful Summer of Growth and Community Support
On Friday, August 27, the Student Leaders of the 2021 Focus on Youth (FOY) program will attend their end-of-the-year social to celebrate and reflect on their hard work and contributions to the Hamilton community over the past seven weeks.
Community Agencies Student Leaders Connor and Nuha prepare activities at BCG Hamilton-Halton.
Every summer since 2008, FOY has partnered with not-for-profit groups in the community to support them in delivering programs that keep young people safe and active. Our Student Leaders have the chance to develop valuable life and leadership skills through meaningful work and training experiences that are focused on literacy, numeracy, sports, the arts, mentorship, mental health and more.
Similarly to last year, the FOY program shifted to reflect the restrictions posed by the pandemic. Although these restrictions created some limitations, they also gave the FOY Lead Team the chance to get creative in developing new activities and initiatives that had not been done before. Our Student Leaders worked virtually and/or in-person in three streams to help deliver programming in three program streams. These included the Community Agencies, HWDSB Summer Learning Programs and the Senior Connectedness Program streams.
Connor Cunningham, a Student Leader from our Community Agencies stream, shared, “During my time at Focus on Youth, I not only met new people but also experienced new challenges and solutions which I feel will help me succeed in my future career. This opportunity allowed me to create the foundation for where my life is headed, while also helping me decide on what things I liked and disliked.”
SCP Student Leaders Water Crops at Victory Gardens.
In the Community Agencies stream, our Student Leaders were placed at various not-for-profit organizations throughout Hamilton to help facilitate camp-like programs in sports, dance, coding and the arts, as well admin and caretaking roles. Our HWDSB Summer Learning Programs students worked alongside HWDSB educators to help facilitate activities at Camp Power, Gap Closing and ELL Camp.
Student Leader Safia Urooj, from HWDSB Learning Programs, shared, “I learned a lot of new skills plus improved the skills that I already have. Some of the main skills are leadership skills, organizational skills, management skills, teamwork skills and many more.” She continued to say, “The teachers in my placements also gave me really good opportunities to express my skills and also provided me with feedback after every activity I led as I asked for it. Those feedback really helped me improve myself and also help me make new connection with amazing people.”
SCP Student Leaders prepare letters to send to seniors.
The Senior Connectedness Program (SCP), which became a part of FOY in 2020, continued to develop this year with additional horticultural and community outreach initiatives. In its first year, the program focused on connecting students with seniors through phone calls and letters, and brightening their day by creating personalized succulent planters. Student Leaders continued with this initiative this summer, while also working at Victory Gardens and McQueston Urban Farms. Partners from Victory Gardens told our FOY Lead Team that without the help of FOY Student Leaders, they would not have been able to grow and harvest as much as they did this year.
Bahjo Nur-Warsame, SCP Student Leader, said, “My favourite part of the program is hiking and visiting new places in Hamilton and making virtual field trips for the seniors.”
SCP Student Leaders have also participated in community clean-ups at various parks in Hamilton and have set up community libraries throughout the city. The Student Leaders reached out and built a partnership with the City of Hamilton to set up locations to install the libraries during their final weeks of placement.
Michael Selbie, one of the SCP Student Leaders, said, “I have never had a summer job before, and to be honest, it didn’t feel like a summer job. It felt like going to see a group of friends and helping the community out at the same time.” Selbie continued to say, “I would recommend this program to anyone with disabilities, or anything out of the ordinary. Everyone is welcome here.”
SCP Student Leaders work hard at Victory Gardens.
This year’s program had a large focus on mental health and well-being. During our training week and learning communities, students participated in multiple mental health workshops and attended seminars led by HWDSB’s Social Work Team, as well as mental health and wellness professionals from our community. Student Leaders discussed various ways to diminish stigma around mental health and mental illness, build resiliency, manage stress, and maintain their own overall health and well-being.
Using the Youth Mental Health and Addiction Champion (YMHAC) framework, Student Leaders also created community focused initiatives to help others, become confident leaders and advocates for mental health and wellness, and bring student voice into projects throughout the community and their schools.
“It’s good program, it gives a lot of opportunity for the youth and a lot of experiences,” said Najama Ahmed, SCP Student Leader.
FOY continues to be a staple of growth and opportunity for everyone involved and we are so proud of the work that the Student Leaders, Lead Team and community partners have put in to make this year’s program a success. Be sure to visit the Focus on Youth webpage for more information and follow its Instagram account for other updates.
Updated on Monday, July 08, 2024.