We walked around the market for a long time comparing fruits, vegetables and prices. The youth and I spoke about the items in her basket and how she would use them for healthy snacks and salads. The youth was concerned whether the purchase would be within her budget.
At the check out the staff member announced the total to the youth as $17.00. The youth was shocked and asked the staff member if this was correct, which it was. The smile on the youth’s face was really great to see. As we walked back home to ROP she spoke about how she did not know she could buy so much healthy food for so little money. She literally had 3 bags full of groceries.
That afternoon the youth posted pictures of herself on her Facebook page and was asking her friends to try and guess how much she had spent. She was very proud of herself, her new shopping skills and her improved budget.
Overall it was a really educational and fun outing. Supported life skills activities are crucial within our program, as they assist youth in learning how to provide for themselves and in turn growing into independent young people.
