Hayride - 2009
West Broadway Youth Outreach Inc. is a free recreational and life skills program for children aged 4 - 12 in the West Broadway area. It has been around in one form or another since 1974. It started out as a couple of staff walking the neighbourhood with books, games and sidewalk chalk playing with the children of the neighbourhood and has since become what it is today. Since incorporation in 1985, the program has had a home base where the children come to us as opposed to us going out to them. Despite this, our program still recognizes the importance of having a physical presence in the neighbourhood.
Our catch area is bounded by Portage Avenue and the Assiniboine River, Osborne Street and Arlington Street, although we still get children who have moved out of the area (West End, North End, Maples, Transcona, etc.) bussing to program. We are located in room 203-222 Furby Street, (Crossways building) on the corner of Furby and Broadway.
Many children in the area are from low-income families and many are from single parent homes. The staff makes frequent home visits, either when walking children home after program or for longer visits at more convenient times. Staff works closely with the schools and with staff and volunteers of other agencies in the area. This provides continuity to the programming in the area, avoids duplication, as well as being an excellent opportunity to link school, home, and recreation programs. WBYO is unique in our approach; we provide recreational programs for children, but we also do extensive street work, and have made these links with the children's families. We also have educational, health, and life skills components to our programming. The program is always evolving, as different opportunities become available to broaden our program’s horizons.
PURPOSE & OBJECTIVES
The main purpose of West Broadway Youth Outreach Inc. is to ensure that local children have opportunities for recreation in a safe atmosphere that satisfies their basic emotional, social, recreational and educational needs. The programs are designed therefore to provide not only simple fun, but also allow the children to learn and grow in experience, and to offer social outlets and emotional support. Staff closely supervise all programs and activities, and provide positive adult role models in an open, caring, and accepting way. We emphasize accountability and responsibility in the children. We encourage positive behaviour and caring, respectful relationships with the staff, volunteers and with each other. We help develop the children's leadership abilities and unique skills.
We provide stability by offering consistent, well-planned, imaginative programs structured to meet the needs of each child. These programs are well-supervised by our staff and volunteers, who provide responsible, caring and accepting leadership. The staff also intervenes in destructive behaviour, offers viable alternatives, encourages positive behaviour and provides any emotional support needed by individual children and their families. The staff reaches hundreds of different children and their families annually through regular programming, street work, home visits, school visits and special outings. We frequently receive positive feedback from the parents, schools, other community organizations and local businesses with whom we interact.
The afternoon and evening programs serve a great number of children in a week with anywhere from one to one hundred children attending each program. Although our official mandate states that we serve children from the age of 4 – 12, youth over the age of 12 are welcome to continue to be a part of any of our programming if they choose to act as junior volunteers/ positive role models for the younger children. In fact, two of our most regular and committed volunteers are adults who started with the program in grade 4, grew up with us, and now serve as excellent role models to the rest of the children.
We provide nutritious snacks with all programs. As many of the children have not shown a strong interest in good nutrition, the snack offers an opportunity to talk about healthy eating habits, nutritional content, etc., as well as satisfies hunger for children who might not have had the opportunity to eat throughout the day.
West Broadway Youth Outreach Inc. ensures that we provide adequate individual attention to each child through program, school, and home visits, special outings, and street work. Because of the links with schools and homes, we are able to relate to the unique needs of each child.
Through year-round street work, staff encourage children, both old and new to the area, to attend the structured programs. This also gives an opportunity for staff to meet the parents of child participants, and encourage them to take part in the program as well. We keep records of attendance for every program.
As well, staff are equipped to provide referral services to those individuals who seek support beyond our mandate, in order to connect them to other resources in the community. Staff also encourage and facilitate the involvement of West Broadway community residents, wherever possible, in any aspect of the operation of WBYO (i.e. as a participant, volunteer, staff, Board or committee member).
Each month we put out a calendar and permission slip so that children and families are aware of upcoming events. All programs which we provide are at no cost to the child or their family, with the exception of a refundable deposit of $20 to ensure attendance at our summer camp program. This deposit ensures a serious commitment from families for their children to attend camp so that available seats in vehicles and spots in tents are used to their maximum potential.
During any of our programming, there are very simple expectations laid out. The children know that their job is their behavior and the staff’s job is their safety. When both of these jobs are achieved, wonderful things can, and do happen. There are only three simple rules pertaining to the children’s behaviour: 1) Treat others the way you want to be treated 2) Use appropriate language 3) Keep your hands and feet to yourself
A child's potential ends . . . just beyond infinity.
Summer Staff 2010
