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Monthly Message: Family Transition Place highlights Youth Education Program

April 24, 2025   ·   0 Comments

In response to the need of our community to have an increased awareness of healthy and unhealthy relationships, Family Transition Place (FTP) began delivering Youth Education in schools in 2001. Within the current divisive world climate, we are reminded of the importance and essential need of these programs – now, more than ever.

Since its inception, more than50,000 students in over 40 schools have participated in our skill-building and attitude-changing programming.At the culmination of the 2023-24 school year, another 1943 students were added to the growing number of youths who have benefitted from these programs. This year alone, our Youth Educators completed 648 in-class lessons comprised of 81 8-week programs in classrooms across 18 schools, and an additional 14 independent lessons delivered to high school classes and after school and community groups where we were privileged to educate 87 additional participants, including parents.

Delivered in partnership with the Upper Grand District School Board, FTP’s Youth Education Programs increase the ability for youth in our community to form and maintain healthy relationships. These programs increase respectful, empathetic and caring behaviors and increase youth self-esteem. This is achieved through a multi-year approach (grades 5-8) through 8-week multi-lesson curriculums. These four grade-based programs are strengths based and interactive and provide violence prevention education, role modelling and leverage current media and technology to generate awareness and understanding of social issues, supports and services – in Dufferin County and beyond. Below is a summary of the various programs we offer.

Grade 5: Stereotype Busters Program

This program explores the link between stereotypes, discrimination and unhealthy relationships. Students learn and practice skills to facilitate behavior change.

Grade 6: Inspire Program

Students explore and practice the use of empathy to build healthy relationships. Students examine key issues that empathetic behavior can assist with, including diversity, family issues and unhealthy relationships.

Grade 7: Power Program

This program promotes personal safety through the development of healthy relationships. Students learn to build and maintain healthy relationships through effective communication, emotional self-regulation and the safe use of communications technology.

Grade 8: I am Program

Examines the importance of having a positive personal image using self-esteem-building activities. Students will explore topics that can impact an individual’s self-esteem and how that can affect daily decisions.

Our Youth Educators use scientific evaluation tools, collect data in an ethically sound manner, and conduct surveys before, during and after our individual programs to gauge participant progress and content understanding.

Throughout the program, students will experience attitudinal and behavioral change, resulting in making healthier decisions for themselves and accepting people’s differences. They have increased self-awareness, self-management and social awareness skills. We see an improvement in positive social behaviors, responsible decision making and increasing abilities to maintain healthy relationships.

Each of our lessons include pre-program and post-program analyses. The statistical results were very encouraging and indicate significant progress is being made in the areas of relationship knowledge, empathy levels, self-efficacy skills, self-esteem, feelings of hope, classroom climates and a reduction in stereotypical attitudes. Our 2023/24 year-end results were very encouraging.

The long-term goals of the program are to reduce incidents of aggression and violence, students increase their ability to form and maintain healthy relationships and respect for themselves and others. They have improved emotional wellbeing – physical and mental health – and a deeper belief in self and self-awareness.

FTP is the only agency providing this type of education and support within our region and it is imperative, if we want to end gender-based violence, that our youth understand what it means to be good friends, siblings and partners. By educating youth – our next generation – FTP ensures we are closer to realizing our vision: a future free from abuse, where all individuals are treated with compassion, equity and respect, and live their lives in healthy relationships.

Of all of FTP’s programs, our Youth Education Program is the only one offered exclusively through donor support and fundraised dollars. While schools and community groups pay a modest cost recovery fee to receive programming, we receive no government or ministry funding to deliver these essential programs. For 25 years, the Youth Education Program has been and will continue to be a fundraising priority for FTP.

To learn more, including how you can support this vital program, or secure this programming within your school, please contact Brennan Solecky at brennan@familytransitionplace.ca or at 519-942-4122 ext. 240.

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