Leah has been working with youth since she completed her Youth Care Worker Diploma. in 2016 This line of work has quickly become her passion while spending the last six years working in a group home setting with youth ages 12 17. She enjoys supporting and connecting with youth. Leah is continuing on to complete her Social Work degree. She hopes that The Youth Transitions program can make a positive impact to many youth within the community and to youth she works with.
Sheredin is a recent graduate of Saskatchewan Polytechnic with a Diploma in Youth Care Work. She has a background as a youth support worker with Quint Development Corporation, Saskatoon Tribal Council, and EGADZ. She has experience as a program coordinator with H.O.P. Youth Engagement Services. Sheredin hopes The Youth Transitions Program will benefit her community and its members by providing lifelong skills and abilities, that were not available to her as a youth, to younger generations.
Sheralee has been working at the YMCA of Saskatoon for 10 years. She has been involved with program delivery over the years at the YMCA and is excited to see a program like the Youth Transitions Program being offered in the community. She believes the program will help provide youth with opportunities for learning and connection.
YTP serves youth ages 12 19 at critical transition points, as well as throughout their secondary and post secondary journeys. Clients can interact with the program, facilitators, and mentees through the Remind App. YTP is a voluntary program and clients can enter and leave the program when they are ready. There is no defined start or end time of a client’s involvement. Clients can participate in all activities or just be involved in one stream of the program.
YTP clients foster a sense of belonging through mentorship, one to one support, and workshops. YTP encourages the development of life skills to youth to be healthy, stable adults. Through a trauma informed and strengths based approach, students develop life skills, gain resiliency, cultivate a positive mental wellbeing and develop the capacity to reach their fullest potential.
Our objectives:
Empower students to reach their fullest potential by building their capacity to engage and succeed in their educational studies and transition to higher levels of education
Strengthen and enhance student’s social networks and foster a sense of belonging through peer mentorship, counselling, and mental wellbeing supports and activities
Build student’s educational resiliency and aspirations, supporting their learning experiences and personal growth through workshops, and individualized support and mentorship
Improve connectivity and access to technology through a flexible and inclusive delivery model
Clients seeking one to one support are matched with a Youth Support Worker. Clients can complete an initial assessment and intake with a Youth Support Worker. After this is completed, the client meets with the YSW on an on going basis and together create a service plan to overcome barriers to positive mental wellbeing and academic achievement. YSWs provide holistic and comprehensive support, available when clients need a safe, trustworthy adult to talk to. YSWs utilize motivational interviewing techniques, trauma informed practice, resiliency theory and the trans theoretical model of change framework. They provide one to one supportive counselling, community referrals, and advocacy services.
Youth Support Workers meet with clients based on their level of need.
Youth Support Workers monitor, record and update client’s progress, adjusting their Individual Action Plan as required, including determining and documenting outcomes and conducting a follow up.
Coordinators meet clients in public locations that can reduce barriers to transportation at school, local park, coffee shop, YMCA, etc.
Youth who participate in case management and life skill workshops consistently are assessed by program coordinators for the opportunity to potentially receive a Chromebook to be connected to technology and assist them in their studies.
The objective of How to Adult is to provide tools and knowledge on various “adult” skills that are not always taught in school or by parents. Transitioning from adolescence to adulthood can be intimidating, and not everyone is prepared. Throughout the modules, we discuss various topics that help build the life skills for young people to be successful. There are twelve modules in total; seven main modules we cover and other five optional modules can be added on if desired. Each module is approximately 60 to 90 minutes.
Participants will practice effective communication skills and active listening.
This module focuses on how youth can properly care for themselves in relation to selfcare, hygiene and sleep.
Lesson three:
This module will teach participants basic nutrition principles so they can take steps to live a healthier lifestyle
Lesson
This module reviews career pathways as well as educational options and participant aptitudes. The module offers participants a multitude of pathways after high school not just post secondary education.
This module reviews financial literacy topics such as budgets, loans, credit and credit cards. The module will provide participants the tools for financial literacy but does not provide financial advice.
This module focuses on resume and cover letter building and provides a step by step guide. By the end of the module, participants should have a completed and up to date resume and a completed cover letter.
This module discusses the basic skills participants need before moving out as well as tenancy laws, how to find rental properties, how to determine how much to spend on rent and more. Participants will review tenancy acts for their province.
The goal of anger management is to reduce both the emotional and the physiological distress that anger causes. YMCA Anger Management is developed from a proven curriculum, as well as other trusted resources, to create an informative and tangible program that will provide youth with the skills needed to appropriately address their feelings of anger. Anger Management is designed to empower youth to address their feelings of anger appropriately and consistently. Anger Management is a journey; it requires ongoing reflection and practice to address situations that could cause anger. This workshop consists of eight modules and covers various topics such as coping mechanisms and communication tactics.
Understanding the concept of anger management
Understanding how to best express anger
Gain knowledge on personal values
Understand what values are
Gain knowledge on how values can impact our anger and vice versa
Gain knowledge of triggers
Understanding personal triggers and how to cope
·Knowledge of cognitive distortions
·Gain understanding strategies to handle
Knowledge of cognitive distortions
Gain understanding strategies to handle
Gain knowledge on how to express emotions in a healthy way
Understand the purpose of conflict resolution
Gain understanding of empathy
Increase knowledge of how to actively listen
Gain effective communication skills
Understand how to use assertive communication techniques
Increase understanding of masking emotions
on how to appropriately
Learning to Breathe is a group mindfulness series that cultivates emotional regulation, attention and performance in a safe and supportive environment. Clients engage in six weekly sessions that focus on the six areas of mindfulness: body, reflections, emotions, attention, tenderness and habits. This workshop uses various meditation methods, affirmations, and self awareness techniques to empower youth to listen to themselves and their bodies.
You Can Go is a workshop designed to inspire and promote comprehensive information about access to post secondary education for youth (Post Secondary Education defined as Universities, Colleges, Trades and apprenticeships and vocational institutions). This workshop cover topics such as introduction to post secondary studies, choosing your post second program, financing post secondary studies, and transitioning to postsecondary education.
Our S.O.A.R. workshop stands for skills, opportunities, achievements and results. It provides information and coaching related to the benefits of post secondary education and the selection of suitable post secondary options.
Module 1 – Introduction
Module 2 Choosing post secondary institutions
Module 3 - Preparing for your journey
Module 4 Soaring through turbulence
Peer Mentorship is one approach YTP takes with those clients transitioning from high school to post secondary. The goal of peer mentorship is to establish a safe and supportive environment between the mentor and the mentee. Mentees, through the peer mentor relationship, can experience outcomes of improved school success, reduced anxiety, and increased sense of belonging. Volunteer peer mentors enrolled in post-secondary educational studies are recruited and may be matched with clients or may help with program delivery to clients who are transitioning from high school to post secondary.
Mentors must apply to be a volunteer with the YMCA of Saskatoon, complete a vulnerable sector check, and must be in post secondary or trades. For youth to access peer mentorship, they must go through an intake process with program coordinators. Youth are then matched to a mentor and may meet weekly or every two-three weeks, varying on the support they need. Peer mentoring activities include:
One to one discussions and group discussions that support academic preparedness, aspirations, challenges of transitioning between high school and post secondary, and coping mechanisms
Homework/Employment Support Club
Post secondary school tours (in person or virtual)
Youth can volunteer to leave the program once they feel they have achieved the support that they need.