Centre helped Joel grow up
UNITED WAY Jericho programs serve York Region Man now plans to help others
Growing pains.
Joel knows all about them.
Diagnosed at an early age with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder, school at age 10 was excruciating. The kids laughed at him, called him names and teased until it hurt.
Joel put up with it because he wanted to be accepted and fit in. The only time the kids were nice was when he was dishing out candy he’d stolen from the local variety store.
“ I was trying to bribe them, to buy them off to be my friends,” Joel, now 20. “ I wanted to hang around with the cool people. Looking back, they weren’t so cool.”
Joel’s five- finger discount days came to an abrupt end after he was caught red-handed. His principal recognized Joel wasn’t a bad kid but that he needed guidance and positive reinforcement to get back on the right path. He recommended Joel join the Jericho Youth Centre.
It was the luckiest day of his life, the young man said.
“ It started off as something to do after school,” said Joel, who asked that his real name not be used. “ Everyone at the centre was really friendly and the counsellors were great. I could talk to them about anything, even about my dad being an alcoholic.”
Joel enjoyed it so much, he eventually began volunteering at the centre. While in high school, he worked there parttime. “ Now I’m looking to get back to school to be a youth worker.” With the help of counsellors, Joel came to understand his father’s addiction was an illness. “ It was really hard for me,” he said of the years his father was drinking. Thankfully, his dad got help and is a recovering alcoholic. Father and son have now developed a close bond.
“Jericho gave me the confidence to help myself,” he said.
Jericho Youth Centre began in 1982 as an informal recreation group for youth who met in the homes of Georgina residents. Over the years, it has become a focal point in the rural town on the shores of Lake Simcoe in north York Region where social services are sorely lacking yet are so desperately needed by families who are struggling. A town of Georgina study last year showed household incomes were lower than in the rest of the region with 6.4 per cent of the population reporting an annual family income less than $ 20,000. Thanks to the United Way of York Region, the agency is able to run free programs attracting more than 3,000 youth to its centres in Sutton, Pefferlaw and Keswick, said executive director Shirley Woods. Programs are also offered in local schools and co- op housing rec halls. The United Way of York Region has set a target of $ 7.25 million for this year’s campaign. To donate call 905- 474- 9974.