Young Community Leaders Youth Forum

Youth Gather in Sudbury to Discuss Issues Affecting Them

May 8, 2009

A second youth forum was held by the Young Community Leaders Project (YCL) as part of National Youth Week.

The forum was held on Monday, May 4, in Sudbury and took place from 5 to 8 p.m at YMCA Employment Services.

The YCL Project now has 9 volunteers that are involved in planning events such as forums and focus groups.

Youth Forum Informs Sudbury's Youth

The forum was open to the public and took on a different format than the previous one, which was held on March 14 of this year, where guest speakers made presentations about the organizations they were representing and asked participants to ask question about what they heard and raise new issues.

The most recent forum (the first part) was held the way a job fair might be held, with small booths set up by representatives of organizations such as the Sudbury and District Health Unit, S.A.Y C.E.A.D.A.R, and Le Centre Victoria Pour Femmes.

Participants were invited to sit down with the representatives and speak with them one-on-one to find out what resources and programs each organizations offer.

Organizations Represented at the Youth Forum

Rene Trudeau was on-hand representing S.A.Y C.E.A.D.A.R (Salvation Army Youth Community for Education, Development And Reintegration) to inform the youth that were present about the programs and services available to young men between the ages of 16 and 19. "They are often coming from bad situations," he said during a one-on-one interview during the forum. It is because of this reason the organization helps them find safe shelter, get back into school, get a job, and deal with their court cases (if needed).

Nicole Brazeau, who was representing Le Centre Victoria, informed participants about the services they have available relating to domestic violence. She says one of their goals is to get the community involved in reporting cases of domestic violence. This organization has offices in Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Wawa and Elliot Lake.

The organization is also offering a three-day summer camp in July for youth. Through this camp, programs promoting self esteem and self defence will be offered. There is also a twenty-four helpline available to anybody in need of someone to talk to, which is, 1-877-336-2433.

The Sudbury and District Health Unit was represented by Desiree Chartrand, a Public Health Nurse who promotes health (healthy eating, physical activity, etc) within the community, which includes agencies or groups and the community in general.

The second part of the forum gave the participants the opportunity to discuss some of the issues Sudbury's youth are facing, or may be facing. Some of the issues discussed were:

After discussing these issues, participants were asked to discuss possible solutions. Some of the possible solutions were:

The Young Community Leaders Project is still in its first phase. The second phase of the project, according to Stephanie Chevrette, Regional Co-ordinator for the YCL Project in Sudbury, will include projects that youth may feel are a necessity in the community (ex: skate parks). The YCL Project is committed to helping youth raise awareness about common issue youth face, but also become aware of issues that may be hidden such as homelessness and domestic violence. The Project is also committed to helping youth find solutions to those issues, which is what makes these forums and focus groups very important.

The copyright of the article Young Community Leaders Youth Forum in Youth Development is owned by Jennifer Hansford. Permission to republish Young Community Leaders Youth Forum in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.