YouthReach

from Boys' Town Campus Annual 2022

Principal's Address

YouthReach was invited to collaborate with Boys’ Town Adventure Centre (BTAC) to run Accessible Expressive Arts workshops with students from Zheng Hua Secondary School. Students had the opportunity to participate and shine in drama, visual arts, and music as they were empowered to think outside the box, improvise and use creative means to perform in unique ways. YouthReach observed students coming out of their shells as they realized their creative potential through these workshops.

Project Seasons

Project Seasons harnesses the Expressive Arts in exploring key themes with youths transitioning out of residential care. The first run was conducted with Boys’ Town Residential Services Group Home boys. Through mediums such as art, theatre, movement, writing, music, photography and videography, the participants could reflect upon their experiences in residential care, dialogue about key issues in their lives and articulate their perspectives through the arts.

MSF Minister Visit

YouthReach hosted Minister Masagos and Parliamentary Secretary Eric Chua, Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) for a visit to Tampines. The YouthReach team shared about the youth landscape, as well as the strategies, interventions and success stories. They also received a tour of the space. Overall, the visit was full of great conversations, energy and quality dialogue.

Project PRISM

YouthReach launched a new project in late 2021 called Project PRISM, which stands for Paving Roads into Students’ Minds. YouthReach sought to understand the mental well-being of students in this time of rising concern for students’ mental health. The virtual element involves conducting zoom sessions with students through interactive activities and the showcasing and discussion of short mental wellbeing films. Overall the students have provided positive feedback regarding Project PRISM.

Football Youth Development Programmes and Camp

YouthReach organized our first physical football camp since the pandemic. The turnout was great, with nearly 40 boys participating. The camp was also supported by senior boys who had graduated from the football team. YouthReach tapped on a blend of games and expressive art forms - visual arts, music, theatre, and writing to increase the youths’ teamwork skills and strengthen their relationships.

Social Media Outreach

Social media has been the main engagement tool for outreach during the pandemic. Our Instagram page went through a revamp to keep it fresh and fun, with content ranging from YouthReach happenings like in-house game series and YouthReach Programmes to youth-centric matters such as Physical and Mental Well-being, Youth Features, and Lingo of the Month. Platforms like TikTok and Tellonym were also tapped on to provide more avenues for the workers to reach the youths and vice versa.

Street Outreach

YouthReach has resumed physical street outreach once restrictions eased. The outreach team reinstated their weekly sessions combing the streets of Tampines and Toa Payoh to uncover new youth hotspots and engage new youths. Due to the pandemic, the team had to innovate new strategies to reinforce old relationships and develop new engagement tools. One of the strategies was to organize a Waffle Party where youths could drop by for free waffles and learn basic social dancing.