Youth Peer & Outreach
"The little program with a big heart"
Youth Peer & Outreach is a program that hums. Visiting one of the centres is like stepping into a beautifully functioning family. For youth clients, university, college and high school volunteers, junior and senior staff, management partners, and administrators, it is an enriching and nurturing place to be.
What is now called Youth Peer began in 1998 when EPIC adopted the program
from Island Community Justice. It has evolved and thrived to become a community
institution serving hundreds of families every year while also providing valuable job
and life experience for the young volunteer/mentors.
Outreach became a reality in 2016 with Youth Peer serving additional communities
in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality one afternoon a week. Outreach has since
been integrated into YPP.
To sum up in a sentence what can truly only be experienced: Youth Peer provides a supportive place for at-risk youth, ages 8 – 18, to be tutored and mentored by volunteers who are close to their age. It is this relationship—youth and peer mentor—that sparks the magic that happens here.
After an hour of one-on-one tutoring, the magic continues into the second hour with social mentoring, workshops, guitar instruction, creative art projects, and physical and educational games.
Socializing with university and high school mentors, staff, and other youth is a big part of the learning process for clients. Young people want to come back because they know they are welcomed and accepted unconditionally as “part of the family.”
YPP&O Staff
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Barry Waldman
PROGRAM MANAGER: Victoria Higgins
ACTIVITIES COORDINATOR: Kyle McCarthy
OUTREACH COORDINATORS: Indee Anna Loughlin, Breagha Embree,
MUSIC INSTRUCTOR: Mike LeLievre
PROGRAM ASSISTANTS: Kate MacDonald, Tessa Dixon, Payton MacDougall, Madison Melski, Victor Flores, Nibisha Nimales, Kiley Rich, Dilpreet Kaur, Lily Crowdis, Emma Larade
[not all are pictured]
1st Hour: Tutoring
One-on-one academic tutoring takes place during the first hour. The matched student/tutor quietly work on whatever that client most needs. Experience has shown that the student benefits more from the attention and caring of their peer mentor than from a sole focus on academics. The rooms during that first hour are calm and organized. Our Educator provides grade-based resources to support the student-tutor pair.
2nd Hour: Mentoring
Our volunteers stay with their student for this hour. Nutritional snacks are shared and the kids enjoy the company of their older friend while doing creative activities, art and musical instruction, educational games and just plain fun. This casual time together increases the bond between student and peer which benefits the youth's social-emotional growth and self-confidence. The volunteers also benefit immensely in learning about their own capabilities. Many come back year after year because the experience is so rewarding.
WHAT
An award-winning, free, after-school program with peer tutoring/mentoring by high school, college or university volunteers for the first hour and educational games, workshops, art, or music instruction in the second hour.
WHO
Kids 8-18 who have been referred
by a partner agency
WHERE and WHEN
All programs run from
late September to early June
YPP CENTRE
Sydney
290 Whitney Ave.
downstairs from the Adult High School
Office Hours: Mon-Thurs, 11 - 6, Fri: 11 - 5
Youth Peer Hours
3-6 PM Monday - Thursday
2:30-5 Fridays
OUTREACH
Sydney Mines
Community Cares
3:15 - 5;15 Mondays
Glace Bay
Ocean View Education Centre
3:15 - 5:15 Tuesdays
New Waterford
Undercurrent Youth Centre
3:15 - 5:15 Wednesdays
Northside
Memorial High School,
3:15 -5:15 Thursdays
For Information:
902 539-8228
Victoria Higgins, Program Director
epicyouthpeerprogram@gmail.com
Kyle McCarthy, Activities Coordinator
youthpeeractivities@gmail.com
credits:
original ‘bird/book’ Youth Peer logo by Blake MacLean, former volunteer.
“The little program with a big heart” is a quote from a Volunteer Canada article (no longer available online) about the Youth Peer Transformation project; written Spring, 2004; Volunteer Canada was one of the funders during the 2003-2004 year.