As the new manager for YOUTHLINK’s Inner City programs, I have been deeply impressed with the passion and commitment shown by my new co-workers, whether they be direct service support workers, counselors, administrative support people, or managers.
Woven through every conversation and every program update has been an excitement about what we can offer to youth.
There are many words used to describe the youth for whom we provide support services – street-involved, homeless, vulnerable, atrisk, marginalized, system shy – and while these terms are useful to help people understand a bit about the circumstances that may have led the youth to our doors, none describe the strength, courage and tenacity they have demonstrated in order to survive.
The social exclusion faced by many of the youth because of generational and/or situational poverty, mental health issues, racism, abuse, neglect, cognitive and/or developmental challenges, family conflict, substance use, and/or conflict with the justice system is profound.
Many youth have a history filled with reasons to be wary of service providers. And yet, every day I see youth opening up, trusting in the staff at Inner City and Youth Skills Zone, accessing support and creating the links they need to move from simply surviving, to thriving. The youth are compassionate, intelligent, caring people whose lives have often been filled with heart-breaking challenges.
The dynamic support flowing through all aspects of services provided by the staff members of Youth Skills Zone and Inner City Drop-In makes a huge difference in the lives of the youth.
At Inner City, our message to youth is, “you don’t have to leave your past at the door—it is a valuable asset in building your future.”
The Peer Educator Program is just one example of how Inner City programs honour the youths’ pasts and help them use the skills developed through crises as
strengths they can build on to move forward in their lives.
I believe strongly in our ability to reach young people through our Inner City programs with this message and to provide real opportunities for them to develop these strengths. We are providing essential services for youth who have rarely, if ever, found the support and acceptance they have needed through mainstream systems.
As we continue to enhance our programming through computer training curriculum development, health promotion programs and new partnerships to support youth living with mental health issues, we will be reaching out to public, non-profit and private sectors for support.
We want to show street-involved youth that there is a wider community that believes in them as much as we do.
--Sabina Chatterjee, Manager, Inner City Drop-In and Youth Skills Zone
http://www.youthlink.ca
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