The Manitoba government will invest $270,000 over two years to support programs for at-risk youth, including refugees from Syria expected to arrive in the province soon. This announcement was made by Children and Youth Opportunities Minister Melanie Wight.
“This investment will help increase school engagement and achievement and positive development for students who are newcomers and inner-city youth,” said Minister Wight. “These years are a time of significant growth and development for these children and after-school programs, leadership and mentorship opportunities for young people are essential.”
The youth include newcomer refugees from Syria, children and young people who attend programming offered by the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba (IRCOM) and also those involved with CanU Canada.
The minister said programs and funding will include:
- $90,000 to provide trauma-informed mental health supports to refugee youth including those displaced by the conflict in Syria.
- $90,000 through the First Jobs Strategy for employment readiness and job supports for war-affected youth.
- $60,000 to IRCOM’s Homework Education for Youth (HEY) program, which offers homework support, five nights a week from 4 to 8 p.m. for approximately 180 newcomer students 12 to 18 years old. Students also participate in employment, leadership, sports and arts programs.
- $30,000 to the Summer Internship program offered by CanU Canada, an after-school program that began in 2010 and provides Winnipeg children with opportunities for career exploration and skill development. Its summer internship program offered a six-week summer leadership and career exposure experience for youth, aged 13 to 16. The program ran up to eight hours a day, five days a week and included community service, mentoring, leadership development and career exposure.
“After-school programming makes a real difference to newcomer youth, particularly in academic and school success. This funding will help ensure that some of our most vulnerable youth will continue to have access to the services and supports they need to integrate successfully.” said Shereen Denetto, interim executive director, IRCOM.
“Thanks to the generous support of the province, we were able to launch a successful summer pilot program,” said Roger Berrington, executive director, CanU Canada. “This summer, students – most of whom are newcomers to Canada – participated in career exposure, academic and leadership development activities. They also had the opportunity to give back to their communities through participation in community service projects.”
The CanU Summer Internship program was a pilot project this year and IRCOM’s HEY program started in 2011.
