Youth Unlimited North York » Our Stories

Scott M: A Visitor’s View

admin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:25:28 +0000

We were honoured to have Debra, one of our co-workers in Youth Unlimited Toronto, visit our annual “Rite of Passage” ceremony for the young men we work with. Here’s her story from the night:

I’m attending a “Rite of Passage” ceremony for six 18 year-old men in a notorious Toronto neighbourhood. Last October a young man was gunned down just one block away from where this ceremony is being held. Tonight, in the presence of mentors and role models, these young men share their dreams and plans for education and careers. Benjamin, one of our staff, has worked with these guys for close to ten years. A refugee from Ghana, he saw a desperate need in this community and started befriending and counseling youth.

Together with Benjamin, Paul, volunteers and community partners, these guys have cried, laughed, played basketball and lived a lot of life together. A couple of summers ago they ran a day camp for First Nations children in northern Ontario. Tonight they celebrate!

I feel honoured to be a guest, as traditionally only men attend this ceremony. Sitting among their mothers, aunts and grandmothers, I am challenged to be more than an observer, but to support, pray for and encourage these men on their life journeys. I consider and ask Benjamin and Paul, “What can I do to support and encourage this good work?”

Scott M: A Walking Tour of Inspiration

admin — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:19:54 +0000

As an Area Director overseeing multiple ministry sites, one can sometimes feel disconnected from the on-the-ground day-to-day work of our frontlines staff. Yesterday morning, as part of our work with World Vision in community development (CD), our CD team (Stewart and Karen) were able to lead us on a site visit in the Shoreham community, one of two neighbourhoods where our CD work focuses. Stewart and Karen have mobilized a group of residents, now called the “Shoreham Court Animators”, to advocate for change in the community and spur their neighbours on to foster peace and wellbeing in Shoreham. Two of the Animators joined us for the visit and led us on a walking tour. Their passion, courage, and perseverance were, and are, inspiring.

But it was the kind words of affirmation just as we were leaving that truly touched my heart. We were talking with one of the animators who has lived in the Shoreham community for 30 years and loves her community desperately. She spoke softly, and with tears welling up in her eyes, expressed to us that none of the positive changes that were occurring in her life and in her community could have been possible without the help of Youth Unlimited, and specifically Stewart and Karen. To the outside eye, these changes may be subtle, even virtually unseen, but to this animator, it meant the world. It meant the world that two people and a organization like YU were willing to walk alongside her, all for the sake of making her home a safer, healthier and more whole place. A place that reflects the justice, rest and wellbeing of God’s Kingdom. For me, it was a moment of reconnection and of knowing that we’re making a difference.

// Scott M

Scott M: Youth Voices

admin — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 20:36:12 +0000

YU North York is a proud partner of the Assets Coming Together for Youth project coordinated by York University. An essential part of the project is engaging youth rather than simply studying. We connect deeply with this as YU – always seeing young people as a source of hope and change in their communities.

Check out the 100 words 100 Jane-Finch youth used to describe their community, courtesy of the ACT Project:

Ben O: Grace

admin — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:20:48 +0000

This is a story about a girl named Grace from the Seeds of Hope Summer Day Camp. It’s a simple story about how a few simple words spoken by another girl brought joy into Grace’s life:

For some reason no one gets along with Grace. She has struggled to make friends at the camp and most of the girls gang up on her. When coming home from the trip to Ontario Place, I had difficulty getting other campers to even sit on the same seat with her. Last week, the campers were randomly placed in six groups to act a skit about the ‘fruits of the spirit’. Grace happened to be in my group and we had to act out a short play about Joy. When the other campers in the group saw that they had to work with Grace, they were reluctant to join my group. Katie told me bluntly that she didn’t get along with Grace, so she wanted to join another group . Then one girl, Sarah, said, “I don’t get along with her but I am working with her and I want to make friends with her.” A few simple words that were like music to Grace’s ears. Sarah’s words changed the stance of the other campers and they all joined the team to act the play together.

It is in these small victories that we celebrate. // Benjamin Osei

Scott M: Three-in-One

admin — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 10:40:05 +0000

Three-in-One. In some circumstances it might sound like a sweet deal, but when it comes to our city, Toronto, it speaks of polarization, division and exclusion. A recent articlesummarizes done by the University of Toronto:

As researchers at the University of Toronto’s Cities Centre have documented, over the last 30 years Toronto has become segregated by income into three distinct cities. City No. 1 consists of the richer and whiter downtown core and well-heeled neighbourhoods close to the subway lines. City No. 3 — or the Third City — includes Toronto’s low-income neighbourhoods, with high concentrations of racialized poverty. Generally found in the in the northeastern and northwestern parts of Toronto, incomes in these neighbourhoods have declined 20 per cent or more since 1970. City No. 2 consists of middle-income neighbourhoods that fall in between and are shrinking in size as Toronto becomes a more socio-economically polarized metropolis.

Here at YU North York, we often find ourselves in the ‘Third City’. We stand firm in our belief that young people in any city are filled with potential and have hope for a bright present and future. Every person, no matter where in the ‘three-in-one’ they live contains within them the make-up of the Divine.

But our heart is also to bring reconciliation and unity between ‘the cities’. To show that we are all in this together and we all need each other to create communities of safety, peace and wholeness. Where there is exclusion, we hope to bring unity. Where there is isolation, we hope to bring community. Where there is scarcity, we hope to reveal abundance.

Join us on the journey!

Rodway D & Jesse J: The Great Outdoors

admin — Thu, 19 May 2011 16:43:07 +0000

Last Saturday, the Revolution(s) group headed west to Rattlesnake Point – part of the Bruce Trail that runs along the beautiful and unique Niagara Peninsula.

It was the first time any of the youth had been to the trail and a rare occasion for many of them to get out of the city.

With much laughter and fun, it was a wonderful step in helping these young people discover new things, in the hopes of developing within them profound passion and purpose in life. // Rodway Daniels & Jesse James

Stewart V: Seeds of Encouragement

admin — Thu, 12 May 2011 20:09:35 +0000

Our new program space in Jane & Finch is truly an encouragement! The visibility we are experiencing is a plus for touching lives. Just yesterday, I was standing out front in the courtyard outside of our office enjoying the beautiful day. A young man walked by and did a double take of our name in front of the space…. then he looked at me and said, “You guys changed my life”! What an encouragement to hear such a brief statement from a young man with a smile on his face. It truly is an encouragement to encounter those lives we know in our minds are impacted by our lives of service. I’m reminded by the words of Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians, “And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.” // Stewart Vander Velden

Paul B: A Blueprints Documentary

admin — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:53:09 +0000

Watch the story of Mwanajuma, one of our recent Blueprints young entrepreneurs, in this documentary produced by Matthew, another Blueprints young entrepreneur!

Ben O: A new wave…

admin — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:29:45 +0000

An overwhelming number of youth we have been working with enrolled in various universities and colleges across the country this past fall. This is a dramatic turn-around from the early years of my time in Jane-Finch. A lot of them are from the Hoop 2 Hope program, Straight Talk and the WAVE boys and girls club. This generation of youth in Jane-Finch are now determined to do something positive with their lives despite the economic and social conditions in which they often find themselves.

Adam is one such youth. Adam is a regular member of the Hoop 2 Hope program. He was initiated in our Rite of Passage Ceremony in 2009 when he turned eighteen. Every Friday night he would ask us to drive him to a different address after the program. One day after the program, he told us to drop him at the McDonalds. After questioning him, we found out that he was homeless. A pastor that works with us took him home to spend the night and he found a youth shelter where he stayed until he completed high school. He is now pursuing his dream to become a forensic scientist at the University of Toronto. // Benjamin O

Jesse J: Ramps into a Community

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 19:47:46 +0000

There is a point where studying maps needs to transform into exploring the trails. My first two and a half months with YU have been spent primarily raising funds for my salary and expenses, but also researching the Willowdale community. Our team has decided to focus its first aim at outreach in the Willowtree community, using our passion for bikes to engage youth, near our partnering church.

On the day that I first went into Willowtree I had made plans to arrive with my tool box at around 10am. A long-time resident, also a friend, was to meet me and help introduce me to the community. But on my way I found out that she was going to the hospital with her sick daughter. I no longer had a guide.

While I was scared to go into Willowtree, I was frightened even more by the fact that my only contact with “them” had abandoned me. Would I get there and fail to meet anyone? Or, worse yet, meet youth who promptly rejected me? What was I doing!? Let me go back to looking at those maps!

Well, God is extraordinarily talented. There’s nothing like being forced to trust him. As I approached Willowtree and prayed that kids would be somewhere I could meet them and that I’d be given a way to get involved in their lives, God already had things pretty much worked out. And had maybe been prepping this for years.

When I was growing up my brothers and I would build bicycle ramps, get hurt, rebuild, get more ambitious, hurt ourselves, and then do it all over again. Well, when I arrived in the middle of all these buildings, the homes of the youth that I wanted to serve, and no kids were there, I got worried. Then I spotted a young guy on a bike and thought: hey, maybe he needs his bike repaired because I, conveniently, have a tool box that can do just that! So I followed him and saw that he was headed to the basketball court where he and his friends were building a small and rather dangerous ramp. I hesitated, turned around a couple times, pretended to be a little lost, then said aloud: “Do you want to make that ramp better? ‘Cause I could help you do that.”

And I was in.

After three days of repairing bikes, building and tearing down ramps, talking, playing manhunt and mediating between a wielder of a BB gun and the prospective human target, we can only begin to imagine with much excitement what lies ahead. // Jesse J