The York Region - sharing the word section of our blog gives York Region residents, youth workers, and organizations a platform for sharing their ideas about important youth related issues in our community. As an online tool, our blog strives to stimulate conversations and encourage knowledge creation across sectors.

We are interested in posting information, articles, resources, interviews and any important local developments that contributes to our goal of collaborating effectively in our work with youth. We would really like to hear from you about any new initiatives in your organization.  We will post your information in this section of  the blog or place an article in our sharing the word newsletter.

Through our online presence, Streetjibe aspires to enhance the collaboration activities and initiatives that are addressing youth poverty. In this section of our blog we are supporting these activities by posting articles about youth, practitioners, faith workers, teachers, organizations, local projects and resources that add to our collective efforts to reduce youth poverty in York Region. As a blog, we offer a platform for readers to make comments and enter into a dialogue about poverty reduction. Its a way for us to make our silos more porous, broaden our collaboration capabilities and share untapped knowledge that rests in the community.

In From the Edge - Workshop Series 2008-2009

Join us – Register today!

Many youth in York Region find themselves on the outer edges of community and society. Local organizations and groups also find themselves positioned on the outer edges as they struggle with organizational sustainability. The challenges of collaborating effectively to address the complexities of youth poverty and homelessness are significant. With the support of our funders we are able to offer our community capacity building workshop series free of charge.

Workshops:

Youth Poverty in York Region

Expanding Your Personal Tool Kit

Tools & Strategies: Building on the Strengths of Young People

Stigma – Reducing Barriers that limit Positive Youth Development

Thinking Critically to Improve Programming

Reflection & Action: Moving Forward

Streetjibe invites you to step in from the edge through our collaboration and knowledge sharing workshops. In the long term, Streetjibe aspires to create a cultural shift in the way individuals and groups develop new skills and collaborate together so that young people have improved access to opportunities and resources.

In From the Edge workshops will build capacity of practitioners including youth workers, teachers, mental health workers, faith workers and outreach counselors across sectors by:

• investing in practitioner assets
• providing space for effective networking and relationship development
• promoting a shared vision for collaborative youth work and
• integrating local knowledge to respond to emerging trends affecting young people.

You are invited to participate in our interactive workshop series to increase your skills and effectiveness in supporting youth. All workshops are designed to promote peer networking, sharing of resources between participants and the application of new tools and strategies. Bring your ideas, energy, skills and organizational information to any of the following:

• Fifteen workshops focused on new skill development, cross-sectoral networking, peer support and sharing knowledge
• Three workshops dedicated to compiling our collective learning in preparation for a best practices conference in 2009 and the creation and circulation of our “Community Learning Toolkit”

Join us in this groundbreaking initiative that builds on the strengths of our community and the collective desire of community residents and organizations to reduce youth poverty in York Region.

Register soon (space is limited) for one or all of the In From the Edge workshops. Participants attending five workshops will receive a Streetjibe Learning Community Certificate.

While visiting the Streetjibe Blog you are invited to have a look at our new Streetjibe – sharing the word newsletter. The purpose of our newsletter is to highlight the exceptional work that individuals, practitioners and organizations are doing in York Region.

Through our newsletter we are creating a platform to inform York Region readers about important developments that impact youth services. As a blog, the newsletter also invites readers to share their opinions, fostering ongoing conversations on important matters affecting young people. By registering as a reader you are able to participate in these conversations and contribute your ideas and opinions to the discussion.

Thank you to everyone that made our Tools & Strategies workshop such a success. We were at the Family Services Association of York Region - Attendance Centre in Richmond Hill. Jason Koenigbaur is our Streetjibe member and part of the counseling team at the Attendance Centre. Many thanks to Jason and the Family Service Association for hosting our second of three workshops on this topic. The next session will be on August 28th so please sign up early as space is limited.

If you would like to view our pictures from this session you can visit our Streetjibe Flickr site. We had a lot of fun yesterday. I also think these pictures reflect the high degree of collaboration and sharing that took place amongst participants.

Tara Lawrie and Rebecka Roes work for Loft - Crosslinks Housing & Support Services. Tara is a Mental Health Youth Worker on the Outreach Van and Rebecka is a Community Support Worker/Life Skills Facilitator. They are both founding members of Streetjibe - addressing youth poverty in York Region and support its goal of building youth worker skills and improving cross sector networking and collaboration.

Tara and Rebecka are highly regarded for their skills in working with youth experiencing or at risk of poverty and homelessness. They understand the importance of learning how to use Internet technology in their work with young people and welcomed an opportunity to participate in this podcast.

Using a podcast seemed like an excellent approach to share some of their experience and insights to others in the youth work field or to anyone interested in reaching youth at risk. The audio recording is about 25 minutes long, good audio quality and well worth a listen. I asked them a series of questions about their work with young people and the services they provide. Their responses will give the listener an excellent understanding about youth work and youth issues in York Region. As in all our posts you are invited to leave a comment about their presentation. You can click on the arrow below to start the podcast. Enjoy!

 

 Tara and Rebecka [29:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download