We recently presented, in collaboration with other community groups across the city, a powerful know your rights event focusing on Anti-Black racism in the education system during remote learning. Some of our venerable youth have been asking us to provide support and advocacy during this quarantine. This platform was an opportunity to share the same resources by partnering with Black Led agencies to an audience of 116 people. Pivoting our work during a time where we cannot gather in spaces means it’s even more important for us to empower our youth through a strong anti-Black racism strategy.

This document is for you, a Student’s Guide to schooling during COVID-19. The
information below comes from documents from school boards, letters to students,
parents and community, and the ministry of Ontario.

CLICK HERE: Student’s Guide During Covid 2020

Check out the cooking session led by one of our youth. During the quarantine, Isajiah got some treats for us!  CLICK HERE

Don’t forget to also subscribe to our YouTube channel

This is how we are addressing an emerging need by pivoting the work we do. We still maintain the same principals we have by intentionally bringing young people together during a quarantine. On this screen you can see programs that are developed by youth, led by youth for youth. Our aim is to build important social relationships while being physically distant.

In response, to COVID-19 and the global pandemic, our work at SBL has pivoted to ensuring youth have the resources they need to succeed – both educationally and socially – during this difficult time. We are supporting young people in the following ways:
 Staying connected to youth through regular check-ins. Identifying needs and finding supports to meet those needs such as: food security; overall mental well being; and sharing some key information, along with supports, provided by the government.
 Helping our youth to complete their school work. School is already challenging, and now
having to work from home creates even more challenges for our youth. Some families
do not have access to a computer or internet. We are connecting with partners and funders
to help meet those needs and reduce the digital divide in our community. With a staff team committed to the success of our youth, we have identified young people in need of laptops and provided them to engage in digital learning; we have provided families with gift cards towards the purchase of basic necessities; and youth placed with SBL will receive their Co-op credits during this challenging time.
 We have taken our Youth Space online and created virtual programming all designed and
delivered by our youth leaders we call Mentors.
Other supports have included:
 Connecting with our alumni through the JF Innovation Hub
 Supporting youth with scholarships
 One on one tutoring
 Getting much needed resources to young people and their families
 Information sharing with agencies in the Black Creek community
We are also excited to announce the most recent additions to our Board of Directors. Joy
Gooding and Sophia Ruddock have strong commitments to improving the lives of our young people and we are happy to have these invaluable members on our board. At this time, we can appreciate the level of resilience we’ve seen from community members, residents and supporters like you. Let’s continue to stay safe and stay connected.

Thank you,
Success Beyond Limits

New Social Innovation Hub gives Jane and Finch students a space to call their own

York University students from the Jane and Finch neighbourhood have been voicing a need for a place of their own on campus, to gather, build stronger connections with each other, foster mentorship, share resources and continue to build their leadership skills. That’s how the new Jane Finch Student Innovation Hub, designed for and by the students whose unique needs it serves, was born.

Launched on Jan. 30 at an event attended by faculty, staff, partners and members of the community, the hub will provide students with access to study groups, tutoring, information workshops and trips, all with an eye to helping them navigate the academic, social and administrative elements of university life.

The hub, located in the Centre for Public Sociology in Ross Building (N141) at Keele Campus, is a result of a partnership between York University Faculty Association’s (YUFA) Community Projects Committee, the Resource Centre for Public Sociology, Success Beyond Limits and the Department of Sociology at York. It builds on the work of Success Beyond Limits and York University – TD Community Engagement Centre’s First Year Network which focuses on supporting youth in their transition from high school to post-secondary education.

Lorna Erwin, Co-Chair of YUFA Community Projects, spearheaded the initiative to bring together the partners to collaborate to develop the hub. The new space will help students with a range of academic supports and help incoming students navigate university life.

“Through the support of our partners we finally have a space on campus that is dedicated to supporting the transition and leadership abilities of students form our local high schools,” said Talisha Ramsaroop, Community Project Coordinator with the TD Community Engagement Centre. “I’m excited to see the new opportunities and innovative ideas that will grow out of the space.”

Khadar Hilowle, is a forth-year history major at York University and the Jane Finch Innovation Hub Coordinator. He was motivated to take on a mentorship role because he remembers the challenges he faced as a new student. “It’s kind of like a pay it forward, because when I came to York University, my first year, I had a lot of help because my sisters came here beforehand, and I was able to tap into the resources that they had,” he said.

To learn more about getting involved with the Jane Finch Social Innovation Hub, contact the York University – TD Community Engagement Centre’s Community Projects coordinator Talisha Ramsaroop or Success Beyond Limits Executive Director Mohamed Ahmed.

A full calendar of events organized by the York University – TD Community Engagement Centre can be found on the centre’s website. Visit York’s community engagement website to discover the many ways York University engages and serves the community.

Read Full Article by clicking HERE

Our Youth Space is dedicated to the young people who need it. Operating out of this space, located at Westview C.S.S, we run various programs aimed at engaging youth. Each month we aim to go on a different trip. Those who participate in our homework club get first dibs on any events/trips that we go on.

We went to Skyzone; a place for youth to have fun playing dodge ball while jumping on a trampoline. A familiar trip for us but it is always refreshing to have a new group of youth each year! The obstacle course was a challenge but one of the best workouts for everyone who came.