Our Youth Internship Program is designed to help youth grow their confidence, knowledge and skills to start their journey into the daunting world of employment. Coming into the program, our interns typically have little or no work experience, many battling mental health and significant confidence issues. It is wonderful to see a youth, who comes into the program with various degrees of apprehension, later graduate with a new sense of accomplishment, pride, confidence and hope.
Here is Khéna's post-placement account, shared with permission:
I came into this program believing I would have to struggle to keep my head afloat. It's only one day a week, 4 hours a shift but still, with how low my confidence was walking into this, I only thought I would fail in some way, shape, or form. Kevin looked around for opportunities that would suit not only my needs but also looking for a workspace that was safe for me to work at, being a non-binary person that uses neopronouns (ze/zim/zir). I was pleasantly surprised to not only find a place where people respected my identity and pronouns without batting an eye but I even found myself enjoying my time at work despite having social anxiety and low energy. This experience not only gave me the skills I was looking to add to my tool belt, but I also watched my confidence skyrocket and came out of this with the hope that things are going to be okay. I'm endlessly thankful for the apprenticeship program and to Happy Goat Coffee https://www.happygoatcoffee.com/ for giving me the chance I needed.
If you have any questions about this exciting program, please don't hesitate to give me a call at 613-237-6031 or email me at kevin_oim@rogers.com. We are always looking for organizations to partner with for work placements, and your on-going prayers for these amazing young people are always cherished.
~Kevin, Youth Internship Program Coordinator

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