Project Summary:

UMAYC CHOICES for Youth draws on the leadership of local Aboriginal Youth in role modeling and otherwise supporting all Aboriginal youth in the area.  CHOICES for Youth offers cultural, learning, career and recreational activities while mobilizing key public organizations to create a regional focus on support to urban Aboriginal youth.  The project houses a Youth Joint Advisory Committee comprised of local professionals, foster parents and other adults who support the Youth, serving in many cases as mentors for young people.  The CHOICES for Youth program is also home to the All Nations Youth Council, which acts as the organizing committee for planning and implementation of the program.  This program uniquely features Youth ownership in all aspects, and program implementation is established through goals and objectives defined by the Aboriginal Youth themselves.

Anticipated Results:

Through the UMAYC B Choices for Youth program, the overall situation for Aboriginal Youth in our region has improved substantially for Youth, both individually and collectively.  The Home Work Club, which meets from 3:00 p.m. B 5:00 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, has assisted many Youth to upgrade their academic motivation and performance.  With increased involvement in the public school system and the partnership that has been formalized with the University College of the Cariboo (Williams Lake Campus), academic supports and outcomes for Youth will continue to improve.  Peer Counseling is provided to Youth who have come into conflict with the Courts.  These Youth find positive alternatives to destructive behaviours, and have a sense of belonging due to the strength of the All Nations Youth Council.  The Youth have also organized teams for sports activities.  These include floor hockey, basketball, and baseball.  Individual sports are also encouraged, with swimming nights every second week, and bowling nights every second week.  A partnership with the local branch of the BC Foster Parents Association is currently being formalized with a view to establishing an Aboriginal Youth Bin-Care Network.  At the same time, Youth are not stigmatized as to their involvement with the courts or the foster care system.  How the Youth-in-Care initiative is implemented will depend on how the Youth in foster care choose to organize for support to other Aboriginal Youth in foster care.  This initiative is one that has been specified by the program staff and the ANYC.  Specific outcomes that are expected include:

$       Improved academic motivation, learning, and performance through Home Work Club, use of computer lab for research activities, and tutoring from students enrolled at University College of the Cariboo (Williams Lake Campus);

$       Demonstrated decrease in Aboriginal Youth street crime, including drug and alcohol B related incidences;

$       Established follow-up, or re-integration services to Youth who have completed treatment at Punky Lake Wilderness Camp, an Aboriginal Youth Justice project in the remote area of the Chilcotin Territories;

$       Peer support group for Aboriginal Youth, including Youth as parents, career and social development- focused Youth activities, and Youth with sexual orientation issues, among others;

$       Implementation of Aboriginal Youth-in-Care support system, including cultural orientation for non-Aboriginal foster parents and advice to Cariboo Friendship Society and others about raising the number of Aboriginal Foster Homes through public awareness campaigns that are Youth oriented.  This will be done in consultation with the Williams Lake branch of the BC Foster Parents Association;

$       Aboriginal Youth experience increased self-esteem and improved self-image through regular visits with local Elders and cultural activities.  Youth are currently involved in making their drums and learning to sing.  They will then be available to sing at various gatherings and ceremonies;

$       Heightened awareness of public health issues and access to the local "Street Nurse@ who is a public health nurse.  This includes awareness of STDs such as HIV/AIDS, herpes, early pregnancies, nutrition, and other health-related topics.  The Street Nurse visits the Youth Drop-In Centre regularly to work with the Youth, and makes presentations to them on health topics;

$       Increased involvement by, and role for Aboriginal Youth in providing advice to all service organizations in Williams Lake to more effectively address service requirements of Aboriginal Youth;

$       Healthy alternatives to negative street involvement through the CHOICES for Youth Drop-In Centre.  The CHOICES Drop-In Centre hosts, for example, pool tournaments, video nights with snacks, and is fully equipped to accommodate Youth who would otherwise be Aout there@ on the streets and vulnerable to many high-risk activities.  Youth have told us that most of the Youth crime, as well as alcohol and drug involvement stems from being bored and having a sense that nobody is interested in them.  Positive results from the focus on Aboriginal Youth needs are clearly evident in Williams Lake due to the UMAYC B CHOICES for Youth program;

$       Demonstrated decrease in the high numbers of Aboriginal Youth who tend to emigrate from our region to large urban centres where they become vulnerable to predatory adults.  CHOICES for Youth facilitates Youth empowerment and skill-building so that Youth can make a good life for themselves in their home community;

$       Youth awareness of culture is heightened through regular contact with Elders in the program.  They are then able to model effective Youth leadership in the schools, and in the public more generally;

$       Access to all youth-serving agencies is maximized, and youth receive peer support while engaged in obtaining support services;

$       Support for Aboriginal Youth as parents will be established by forming a Young Parents support group.  These plans are currently being considered by the program staff and the All Nations Youth Council;

$       Youth will increase their opportunities to make recreational trips/ventures such as a skiing trip out of town through specific fundraising activities;

$       Relationships between Aboriginal Youth and significant adults, including public authorities, will improve to the advantage of Aboriginal Youth;

$       The UMAYC B CHOICES for Youth project provides a focal point for organizing toward improving the situation and potential of Aboriginal Youth.  A city-wide focus on meeting the needs of Aboriginal Youth while involving them in planning as positive contributors to services that affect them has evolved in Williams Lake as a direct result of having the UMAYC-CHOICES for Youth program here.   Working together in the ANYC, Youth have accomplished a lot in debunking the negative stereotypes about Aboriginal Youth.  These Aboriginal Youth have garnered widespread respect from adults/adult professionals and a considerable public audience as they are frequently asked to provide advice to other non-profit, government, and even corporate agencies as regards working with Youth.  The positive response from the Williams Lake community to the UMAYC-CHOICES for Youth staff and ANYC members has had a ripple effect throughout the community-at-large, and consequently, has had a positive impact on professional inclinations to involve the Youth in addressing issues and concerns typically associated with  Youth.  These activities have been strong, positive esteem-building activities, and they continue to motivate our Youth to be excellent role models for the younger ones who are coming up behind them.  Youth report they are gaining a stronger sense of having a role in meeting the challenges of the future.  Youth report they are finding and expressing their Avoice@ in ways that have positive and lasting effect.