Hope 4 the future

Our Youth Education Program is designed to teach youths in Grades 6-8 about healthy relationships to help eliminate violence in our community. It is a preventative program that uses self-esteem building activities to highlight the importance of having a positive personal self-image. The desired program outcome is that young women and men who receive the curriculum will have improved self-esteem, better resiliency and coping skills, and overall healthier relationships which in turn will act as a significant protective factor for them from experiencing or perpetrating domestic violence.

Programming Offered

The I AM program is a self-esteem building program for youth aged 12-14 that creates opportunities for participants to examine the messages and stereotypes portrayed both in our lives and through the social media messages we receive.

The program provides tools to build healthy relationships with ourselves and those around us.  The 8 session program is fun and interactive.  Learning and conversations are facilitated through games, music, tik tok videos and popular shows.

The INSPIRE program is an empathy building program for youth aged 10-13 that creates opportunities for participants to learn more about building healthy relationships, bullying, and changes in our lives.

The program provides tools to promote healthy communication, how to show empathy as well as some of the barriers present.  The 8 session program is fun and interactive.  Learning and conversations are facilitated through games, and popular shows/movies.

“I AM” is a FREE eight-week program available to all schools and community centres within Waterloo Region. The program curriculum meets the Ontario Ministry of Education guidelines and includes various forms of media to address all learning styles and engage students’ cognitive, behavioural and emotional learning processes. Pre and post evaluation tools are used to measure the success of the program.

Healthy relationship research shows that having healthy relationships builds self-esteem, improves mental and emotional health, and helps people live a fuller life. These interactive and engaging programs strive to teach youth the importance of healthy, respectful relationships that are free of violence.

Impact of the Program

Findings show that youth who have been a part of the program…

• Have higher self esteem
• Are better able to resolve conflict non violently
• Have more empathy for one another
• Find that the relationship with their peers improve
• Have high caring and cooperative behaviours

Register for a Group Session

Learn More

For inquiries about the program, please contact:

Angela Stahlbaum
Outreach Worker (Youth Education Program Contact)
angela.stahlbaum@wcswr.org or by phone at 519 741 9814 x2005.