As a youth worker who began working in our Women’s Crisis Program after the move to the new 1302 Seymour building, I have had the opportunity to work closely not only with the youth assigned to me (youth have main workers to help build strong relationships) but with all youth living at our Crisis Program.
This has been a wonderful opportunity to connect with other youth and hear about some of their goals. One youth, Sasha requested I help her with a B.C Student Loan application for her school program, as her consistent youth workers were not from B.C and had not applied for one before.
I spent time sitting with Sasha, working through the application, which was quite time consuming and overwhelming. Sasha was very committed to working through any feelings of frustration, as the application timed out many times and sometimes, she did not have all the necessary information.
She gathered all the needed information and sought me out multiple times over a few days to help her, showing her commitment to her goals. Sasha did most of the work herself and I just sat next to her to offer some moral support and guidance. Sometimes all someone needs is a person willing to sit with them through a hard task and provide a listening ear.
Sasha was able to complete her application and register in her full-time college program to become an early childhood educator. Seeing a youth be able to work on their goals and the sense of accomplishment they get from achieving a goal they set themselves is one of the best parts of being a youth worker.
Sasha has now started at college and has moved into our Rights of Passage Program, where she is able to further work towards independence.
Shared by Camille a Youth Worker in our Crisis Program