Let’s Chat: We need leaders

By Linda Tooth on July 17, 2024.

We know as a community that people are dealing with many challenges.

Have you ever wondered how this community’s young people are coping with these challenges?

Maybe it is parents who are going through a divorce, witnessing or living with substance abuse, violence at home, homelessness, sexual violence, relationships that have been broken, questioning gender roles, and the list goes on. It is concerning to think of the sadness and anxiety they are dealing with.

Sanare Centre has committed to helping young boys in our community by creating a program that focuses on positive youth development. The EvolveMENt program was created in 2019.

Part of this amazing concept is EvolveMENt Leadership. By providing guidance, mentorship, and resources they are giving young boys aged 12-18 the opportunity to thrive and develop the necessary life skills needed to become leaders in their communities.

They do this by using social-emotional learning as part of the curriculum. According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning website, social-emotional learning is defined as “the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions”.

SEL’s five core competencies include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. These core competencies are important in anyone’s life, especially young people.

The EvolveMENt education team at Sanare Centre was fortunate enough to take their social-emotional learning curriculum to the school in Foremost this past school year.

They shared their knowledge of SEL with junior and senior high boys through in-class activities and having conversations with them. Sometimes people, especially young people, want to have conversations with adults and feel their voices are heard and our team accomplished that.

It is the hope of Sanare Centre and the EvolveMENt education team that other schools would be willing to invest in this amazing program.

As a community, we must ensure that young people have the resources available to help them live productive and happy lives.