On Friday November 26th Effie Triantafilopoulos, MPP for Oakville North-Burlington joined the Our Kids Network as we celebrated the Halton Youth Initiative. 

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For three months, the HYI Service Learning team focused their efforts on creating an awareness and action campaign to promote the programs and services of ROCK (Reach Out Centre for Kids), our local youth mental health organization in Halton Region. 

A large team effort helped to create an equity team 101 toolkit.  Learn about the process.
 

This summer the Service Learning team of the Halton Youth Initiative continued learning from and volunteering in support of Silent Voice. 

In the summer of 2021 the Town of Halton Hills hosted Leadership Programs in both Georgetown and Acton.  Learn about the importance of volunteerism, how it connects to leadership and building connections in the Halton Hills community. 
 

On Tuesday, August 3, six HYI volunteers joined HYI Coordinator Lily at Coronation Park on Lakeshore Ave for a Wellness Walk event.

An act of domestic terrorism in the summer of 2021 resulted in Arshiya Alam, a Muslim student who volunteers with HYI, taking action.  Learn more.
 

Several of the breakout room leaders from the Halton Youth Initiative came together for the first-ever HYI Leader’s Circle. Led by SHSM co-op student and fellow breakout room leader, Amber Siddiqui, the leader's circle was a chance for folks to come together, learn from one another's experience and begin collaboration on a Best Practices resource. 
 

In April 2021, there was a student-led delegation to have the pride flags raised at Catholic schools in the region.
 

Volunteers from the Halton Youth Initiative had an incredible opportunity to participate in the Halton Youth Impact survey throughout the 2021 year. The Halton Youth Impact survey, coordinated by Our Kids Network, was one of four communities piloting a new child and youth well-being survey developed by UNICEF. 
 

The Menstruation Equity team was formed in January 2021 to tackle three goals:

1) Raise Awareness

2) Advocate for Change

3) Take Action
 

We chose to focus on mental health because we must be informed about mental health because struggling with it can easily happen to us - or someone close to us. As community awareness for mental health becomes normalized; stigma reduces and the chances of early intervention increase - leading to faster recovery.
 

The Equitable Spaces Team was formed in January 2021 to tackle these goals:

• Raise Awareness

• Take Action
   

Sharing information on movements organized by young leaders across the globe. We gathered thoughts on what youth feel you need to have/know to run successful community projects and began developing tools/resources to share with the public on this topic. 

On February 15, 2021, three Milton Youth Action Team volunteers delivered a one-hour presentation to the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies (OAAS) at their virtual convention.

The Climate Crusaders came together in January 2021 to raise awareness on Climate change, and to take action on Climate Justice. The group members included: Elijah Mulder, Joudie Albahdadi, Layan Haddadin, Nimra Ramzan, Ziad Sinno, and Isha Tokas.
 

A virtual fundraiser to raise money for Darling Home for Kids. Volunteers created crafts and jewelry to purchase, as well as accepted donations. 

On November 25, six passionate Black youth came together to share their experiences, answer questions form the community and outlined what needs to happen to create a safe, more equitable community for Black people in Halton Region.

Volunteers in the Halton Youth Initiative have shown an ongoing commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation journey. They recognize the importance of Truth, making space to reckon with that information and equipping themselves with solutions to build relationships and take action!

During the Fall of 2020, Josh Taylor-Detlor planned and facilitated another amazing Deep Dive series - this time focusing on the topic of environmental sustainability. 

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We’ve raised money for Links2Care, Darling Home for Kids, Bridging the Gap, Silent Voice, and ROCK (Reach Out Centre for Kids). Over the course of the fundraisers, we’ve raised over $3000.

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The purpose of the Deep Dive: Your ReconciliACTION challenge was to give HYI youth and social media followers an opportunity to engage in Indigenous content during National Indigenous Peoples month in a "gamified" way.

Josh our junior facilitator created an amazing Deep Dive series filled with thought-provoking questions and thoroughly researched talking points.

On For National Youth Week the Halton Youth Initiative
showcased youth art and voices in our community. The Virtual Art Show provided a venue to spread the opinions of youth and showcase the incredible talents they have.

The Expanding Possibilities Panels offered two panels, one with business and community leaders and one with arts and tech leaders.

The idea for the COVID-19 Virtual Response Team met two outcomes: create a safe space for youth to come together online and met our project goals by sharing these tasks with the community.  

The Communications Crew continued to express their interest in being part of the Truth and Reconciliation Journey.  Volunteers were tasked with finding a topic, story or person of interest and were asked to write a blog or create social media slides to share what they learned.

The first days of the pandemic were intense, emotional and overwhelming.  Youth were isolated in their homes.  This team got busy and prepared events and activities so that youth could connect.

The Milton Youth Action Team was dedicated to amplifying youth voices in their community. In addition to a strong social media presence and expressing themselves on the team and in their school clubs/council - they connected directly with the Town of Milton to ensure that young people were heard and included in decisions that affect them!

The Community Action Project Pitch was an opportunity for our group members to come up with ideas on what the Milton Youth Action Team would work on to support the community.
 

From the team's inception until the transition to virtual the Seven Somebodies interacted with their community at a number of events.

Learn about the experience of the Aldershot Youth Crew at the Alderfest celebration. 

The first project of the Milton Youth Action Team was suggested by the Town of Milton - Youth Coordinator, Michelle Dittmer. She asked MYAT to come together and plan two stages: a Battle of the Bands competition and a Rec Room on Friday September 27 of the Fair weekend.   

From May 1st to August 23rd, 2019, a series of 25 conversations were held across Oakville to commemorate The Oakville Community Foundation's 25th Anniversary. With the combined participation of over 330 community members, the 25 groups consisted of people from every age, 

On August 28, 2019 youth volunteers from our North Oakville Youth Development Council presented to over 300 students and parents for the Grade 9 Orientation Day at Holy Trinity Secondary School. 

We would like to acknowledge the incredible partnership with many departments in the Town of Halton Hills for their ongoing commitment to amplifying youth voices on decisions that affect them. Including youth in every step of the process allows for young people to feel connected to their community, have a sense of pride for building their community and better understand how local government works!
 

The depth of the relationships and the shift in both young people and the adults in the Milton Youth Action Team is the true marker of success.  Learn more about their journey.  

The depth of the relationships and the shift in both young people and the adults in the Aldersthot Youth Crew is the true marker of success.  Learn more about their journey.  

The depth of the relationships and the shift in both young people and the adults in the Aldersthot Youth Crew is the true marker of success.  Learn more about their journey.  

Exploring our community became a favourite activity of the Seven Somebodies.  On beautiful days in the summer we would switch up normal programming to explore the Acton area. 

Learn about the Spill the Tea
Activity hosted by the Aldershot Youth Crew at the Aldershot Wellness Fair.

Learn about the Piece Our Neighbourhood Together Event hosted by the North Oakville Youth Development Council on March 20th, 2019.  

View photos from the neighbourhood barbeque hosted by the North Oakville Youth Development Council in celebration of National Youth Week 2019. 

The Seven Somebodies (TSS) was established in May of 2019 at the Our Kids Network Community Hub.  The initial team consisted of seven youth and community partners from a variety of organizations. 

View photos from a Free Youth & Family North Oakville Skate Night took place at the River Oaks Community Centre on Saturday November 24th 2018 with over 100 youth and adults in attendance. 

View photos from the neighbourhood barbeque hosted by the North Oakville Youth Development Council in celebration of National Youth Week 2018. 

This Ted-Ex Talk-style event reversed the roles and had youth presenting to adults about issues that were important to them. Hosted by the North Oakville Youth Development Council. 

On May 25, 2017, before the Halton Youth Initiative came into existence, and even before the North Oakville Youth Development Council was around, there was North Oakville’s Our Kids Network Community Stakeholders Youth Forum with 30 different organizations that participated.