Through the youth project at our centre, we provide extensive youth programming to the community by offering high school programs for young girls and non-binary youth in multiple schools across Montreal. Our aim is to offer sustainable programs that are inclusive, promote safety, and create spaces for inspiration, creativity, and self-expression. Our participants consist of youth from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds. All of our programming is youth-led, peer-based and responsive to the particular needs and context of the youth.
Our high school programs run during lunchtime on a weekly basis from October to May. Each program consisted of 15-20 high school students, mainly from immigrant families. The program offers weekly educational workshops in at least one school per week, touching on topics like mental health, sexual health and sexual assault, gender-based violence, racism and prejudice, and representation of women/LGBTQ in politics and media. The programs also heavily engage the students in arts-based activities, and the students are encouraged to discover their interests in poetry, filmmaking and visual art.
School programs have remained a priority for our youth project because it targets a population with many barriers towards support services. Our workshops remain a source of education and self-esteem building activities that are structured to respond to the specific needs of the participants. These programs also support individual workshop facilitators, mostly young women and non-binary youth who were once participants in our programs, as we often invite them to facilitate workshops to our youth and are also a source of mentorship for the younger teens in our programs. For example, in the past we have invited past participants to facilitate filmmaking workshops, poetry workshops, and educational discussions on the relevant issues facing young women today.
Need a facilitator for your classroom? Contact us at sawcc@sawcc-ccfsa.ca!
Our current high school programs
Social Justice Club (Laurenhill Academy): Lunchtime program for LGBTQ students and allies. A safe space for dialogue, artistic expression and skill-sharing among high school students. This program also consists of educational workshops, on topics like mental health, racism, gender stereotypes, sexuality, and media representation. It is a space for learning the skills to support each other, and create safe and enriching spaces for ourselves.
Dîner des Filles (Robeval): The Dîner des Filles started in 2015 and continues to offer a space where the girls build confidence and express issues that affect them through the filmmaking and art.
Club de Filles (Lavoie): The Club de Filles has been a space for engaging in art and discussion in a nurturing environment. The workshops have centered on themes such as self-esteem and self-love, body image, bullying and abuse, sexism and racism in society, etc. Artistic expression has allowed the group to engage in discussion in new ways and express themselves in a space where all voices are heard and respected.
Highschool Poetry Workshops
We run workshops on poetry-writing, spoken word, and creative writing to high school students. The workshops are offered by our Youth Programs Coordinator and we also invite guest poets often from the community to offer workshops to the youth. The approach is very flexible and youth-led, and we meet the youth where they’re at.
Poetry-writing is used as a medium to engage youth in connecting with each other, as well as gaining the confidence in their stories and experiences enough to share them through writing. We also use poetry as a way to critique our social context, and often touch on social issues like racism, sexism, homophobia, and living the diaspora.
Highschool Sexual Health Workshops
Our youth workers are trained to offer high school sexual health education workshops. Topics include: gender and sexual orientation, holistic sexuality, STIs, contraception, consent, and sexual assault.
Looking for a facilitator for your classroom? Reach out to us at sawcc@sawcc-ccfsa.ca!