Steinbach Deputy Mayor Michael Zwaagstra is commending the work being done by Youth for Christ (YFC). This follows a presentation by Rueben Singh, YFC executive director, at a recent Strategic Priorities Committee (SPC) meeting.
What is an SPC meeting?
Zwaagstra explains that SPC meetings provide an opportunity for community organizations to present updates on their work. “These are meetings that are open to the media and essentially what we do at these meetings is take the opportunity to hear from community organizations that will often report to us on things that they're doing.”
He adds, “Any decision made in an SPC meeting still has to be ratified at an official Council meeting, but you can almost think of the SPC meetings as a bit of a brainstorming session that's done in a public setting, and then the formal Council meeting is where we're making our decisions on specific issues.”
Youth for Christ Steinbach influences local teens
During Singh’s presentation, he highlighted the long-term impact YFC has had in Steinbach, noting his 20 years with the organization. Zwaagstra says this longevity allows staff to see how their work influences youth into adulthood.
“When you look at the staff members at YFC, a lot of them have been there for many years,” he says. “It’s about helping teens at that particular age, but the investment that you put in the lives of these young people pays off dividends in the years and even decades to come.”
In his presentation, Singh shared some examples of youth he worked with years ago now living productive lives and appreciative of the support they received from YFC all those years ago. He noted that while youth “age out” of YFC programming at around 19 years old, they still occasionally return in search of resources that can support them through challenges they face as an adult. That is something Singh says indicates the level of impact they are having on youth even after they leave the program.
More youth access YFC programming
Singh also shared that the number of youth attending YFC programs each night has increased significantly over the years. This has placed a greater demand on staffing and volunteers. “They need at least three volunteers any given evening in order for them to be open, and ideally they need five or more,” Zwaagstra says. “When you have youth, you need a reasonable number of adults there so they can actually have one-on-one time with the teenagers and not just simply be doing crowd control.”
Zwaagstra emphasizes the importance of supporting organizations like YFC that work with young people. “We should be very thankful for the work that YFC is doing with our teenagers,” he says. “Being a teenager is difficult, especially in this day and age, and all of our young people matter.”