Mentorship plan helps open doors for black youths
Sandwich Teen Action Group hoping to bring provincial initiative to Windsor
Fifteen-year-old Moses Barutwanayo has always dreamed of becoming a police officer.
“When I was a kid I always wanted to help people and stop crime,” the Windsor teen said Wednesday at the Sandwich Teen Action Group centre. “I’ve always been interested in policing.”
Now Barutwanayo is hoping Ontario’s new black youth mentorship program can help him make those childhood dreams a reality.
Ward 2 Coun. John Elliott, executive director at Sandwich Teen Action Group, said the province’s announcement to invest $9 million over four years as part of its Ontario Black Youth Plan Action is exciting news and he’s pushing to bring the initiative to Windsor.
The program — Together We Can — is geared toward helping black youths gain confidence and develop skills for school and work. The province will support up to 25 locally developed mentorship initiatives. There are already four up and running the Greater Toronto Area.
“It’s good to see the government is going around the province and seeing where the gaps are with the black youth,” Elliott said from the community centre on King Street. “We do a lot of mentoring and we target all the youth. But when there is only so much money to do the mentorship thing — you work with what you have.”
Barutwanayo, who works through a New Beginnings program at STAG, said a new mentorship program would help start him on his chosen career path.
“I would absolutely want to be involved,” he said. “It would be nice to have a program where you can get an idea about a career and what’s involved ahead of time.
“Now I’m realizing I can achieve that goal.”
The Together We Can program is designed to respond to local needs, which could include activities like job skills training, tutoring or artsbased activities.
Elliott, who has worked at STAG since 1993, would like a mentorship program that would grow into job opportunities for the youths.
STAG offers programs that enable youths to find support, cope with problems and lead healthy lives and the centre is billed a “safe place” for male and female youths between 13 and 19 years of age.
And while there are some programs in place, Elliott said more needs to be done to remove some of the barriers black youths face. He is convinced the provincial initiative will help.
“The mentorship program is also looking to eliminate systemic racism,” he said. “I hopeful that this funding will change those mindsets by digging down and helping some of these kids that are dealing with racism.
“The barrier with the black youth an
“A lot of them and their families just do not trust the police. It’s all about the mindset and what these kids are learning at home.”
According to statistics, black youths across the province are unemployed at nearly two times the provincial rate and black students are leaving high school early at a higher rate.
Elliott suggested the best way to tap into the funding is to apply as a collaborative group. He plans to approach other local groups that deal with black youths.
“Being a stand-alone organization and applying for these types of grants, I don’t know if it’s gonna cut it. But when you say these are the different groups we have involved ... I think they’ll look on it differently.”
Since May, more than 25 engagement sessions on the Ontario Black Youth Action Plan have been held in 13 communities across the province.