The township has allocated $5,000 in support of the ongoing efforts of an organization that aims to engage and assist local youth.
On Feb. 13 youth resiliency worker Gabby Ieropoli provided Mapleton council with an update on activities coordinated through the North for Youth initiative.
Ieropoli explained that in 2013, the North Wellington Coalition for Youth Resiliency conducted consultations with local service providers and community members to better understand the needs of local youth. It found a need for youth engagement efforts to improve youth well-being and reduce substance misuse in northern Wellington.
As a result of the coalition’s efforts, North for Youth was launched and a Community Forum in Kenilworth in February of 2015 identified a number of priorities, including:
– increased awareness of opportunities/programs/services;
– need for increased collaboration and youth engagement by establishing a Youth Action Council;
– increased accessibility of programs;
-increased opportunities for community interaction; and
– ensure momentum continues by forming a “glue group.”
Initiatives have included: Northern Wellington Youth Connections Day, local leaf cleanups, employment information provision, workshops on a wide range of youth-oriented topics, a distracted driving video contest for local teens and a new Youth of the Year Awards program.
Youth Action Councils have also been formed in both Mapleton and Minto.
The group has also conducted research with a north Wellington focus on such topics as: rural transportation options, youth harm reduction, and rural youth homelessness from a Wellington County perspective.
Ieropoli notes that rather than just working from existing research from sources like the University of Guelph, the group did its own hands-on research.
“We actually went out and talked to youth in the community with lived experience,” she explained.
“The first one was with harm reduction, the second was youth homelessness because I think the big thing is, as service providers, we’re pretty good at saying what needs to happen without actually talking to people that have been in that situation.”
She added, “So we actually went out and held focus groups with youth who may be precariously housed or know someone who has been homeless and talked to them. What are the supports? What do you actually need? Because sometimes sending someone down to Guelph to the shelter is not really ideal, so we’re trying to find ways to support them better up here in the north.”
Ieropoli noted municipalities, organizations and individuals have been quick to help North For Youth with its work.
“It really does take a village, because there really are so many organizations and individuals that are passionate about this work and about working with our youth,” she said.
Looking ahead, Ieropoli said the group plans to offer youth unemployment and entrepreneurship assistance, skill development training and workshops, experimental volunteering programs, mental health and wellness programs and develop an online youth hub website.
She asked council to continue supporting the Mapleton Youth Action Council by continuing to designate at least one staff member to act as a liaison for youth initiatives and provide financial and in-kind support to continue the Community Youth Resiliency Worker position.
Council advised Ieropoli that $5,000 has been set aside in the township’s 2018 budget to support the organization.
“I attended that community forum you held in Kenilworth about three years ago and it’s amazing to see how far you’ve come since then,” said councillor Marlene Ottens.
