ACT FOR YOUTH FALL 2011 NEWSLETTER 1

ACT FOR YOUTH PROJECT NEWSLETTERISSUE #1: FALL 2011

ABOUT ACT FOR YOUTHThe Assets Coming Together (ACT) for Youth

project brings together a multi-sectoral alliance of

community stakeholders and an interdisciplinary

network of researchers in a program of applied

research, capacity building, knowledge transfer,

and evaluation that is focused on youth in urban

communities, using as a case study the Jane/

Finch community. ACT for Youth seeks to develop

a comprehensive youth strategy that articulates

how urban communities like the Jane/Finch

community can energize community assets that

support positive youth development.

IN THIS ISSUE1. Community-Based Research Summer

Institute

2. Jane-Finch Research Forum

3. 2011 Youth Interns & Youth-Led Committee

4. Poet Lemn Sissay

5. Key Research & Findings To Date

ACT FOR YOUTH FALL 2011 NEWSLETTER 2

YOUTH CONNECT, DEVELOP SKILLS AT COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH SUMMER INSTITUTE

ACT for Youth made a commitment to the

Jane/Finch community during the project

development phase to provide youth with the

opportunity to develop their research skills

and engage their interest in the possibilities

of post-secondary education and/or graduate

education. The Community-Based Research

(CBR) Summer Institute is an initiative of the

ACT for Youth project’s Youth Researcher

Program. The idea was inspired by a research

training series that took place from April to June

2010. By designing an institute to take place

over the summer, more youth would be able to

participate, and ACT for Youth would also be

able to prepare participants for the youth intern

positions available with the project.

Last summer, youth living in and around the

Jane/Finch community participated in the

CBR Summer Institute, which served as a

training program on the theory and practice

of CBR. Through lectures, presentations, and

action-oriented group work, youth were able

to ask and answer questions of importance to

their community. Fifty-six applications were

received for the program, 36 from within the

Jane/Finch community and 20 from outside

the community. Of those who applied, 22

students were accepted to the Institute and 18

youth successfully graduated. Recognizing the

commitment required, youth received a stipend

of $500 each for their participation.

“ You are exposing the youth to spaces some of them never thought they would occupy. And I am indebted to you in that regard”

- Anonymous, Youth Worker and

Community Partner

ACT FOR YOUTH FALL 2011 NEWSLETTER 3

The Institute was coordinated by Varun Vig, a

Masters of Environmental Studies practicum

student with ACT for Youth. It began with a

launch event on July 7th, featuring remarks

by Dr. Narda Razack, Associate Dean, Faculty

of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York

University; Sue Wilkinson, Community Co-

Chair, Partnership Group; and Antonius Clarke,

Community Co-Chair, Youth-Led Committee.

Over the course of the next eight weeks,

participants took part in 50 hours of research

sessions, including an orientation to library

research at York University’s Scott Library and

a series of engaging guest presenters. These

guests included spoken word artist and past

Youth Research Intern Lola Lawson; Felix

Cabrera of the Black Creek Income Security,

Race and Health Project; Dr. P.E. Perkins of York

University; and Alexander Lovell of Queen’s

University. The sessions also highlighted various

research projects related to youth. Susan

Fletcher of SPACE Coalition presented research

on youth accessing public spaces, and Iram Ali,

Mamoun Awan, and Fozia Khan of We Belong

Youth Group discussed their youth-led asset-

mapping research project.

The participants were divided into five groups,

and each group was assigned a mentor, one of

the participating graduate students, including

Zorana Alimpic (MPhil), Rebecca Houwer (PhD,

Education), Annika Ollner (MSW), Jen Ryan

(PhD, Communication & Culture), and Enzo

Verrilli (PhD, Psychology). The groups worked to

produce a final research project with guidance

from their mentor. These youth-led research

projects focused on issues concerning food

security, community resources, and the use of

statistics and surveys. One group produced a

video on reframing the discourse of the Jane/

Finch community.

Each graduate received a stipend and

certificate of participation upon completion of

the program, and was celebrated on August

25th at a graduation ceremony attended by

youth participants, mentors, and proud family

members. Certificates were handed out by Kofi

Frempong, Community Partner, Youth Voices

Working Group. M. Mwarigha, Co-Chair of ACT

for Youth’s Research Advisory Committee,

delivered the opening remarks, and the closing

remarks were made by Byron Gray, Co-Chair,

Youth Voices Working Group.

In her keynote address, Kizzy Bedeau, Manager

of the Community Partnerships Office at George

Brown College, summarized the program’s

vision for graduates: “Through this program,

I hope you have recognized that research is

not only used in the world of academia, but

also equips you with many other skills related

to informing policy and taking action… You

have the skills, tools, and vision to not only

be enlightened, but also enlighten others

through your personal experiences, knowledge,

and brilliance… Each of you is on a path of

“ Each of you is on a path of knowledge-seeking and making; you are our future leaders”

- Kizzy Bedeau, Keynote Speaker

ACT FOR YOUTH FALL 2011 NEWSLETTER 4

knowledge-seeking and making; you are our

future leaders.”

ENGAGING IN RESEARCH, ENGAGING IN COMMUNITY

Some of the graduates of the Community-Based

Research Summer Institute share their personal

reflections:

“What I got from this experience is simply this: ‘Learning to do something in theory is easy, but doing it in reality is much more difficult!’” – Taneese Jones

“I could have never guessed how influential this summer program would have been in my life, it has inspired me to take things to the next level and be the difference in my community.” – Nnali Simon

“The CBR program has given me a greater understanding of my surroundings, particularly my community – Jane & Finch – and some of the issues we are trying to overcome… This program has taken a different approach to finding and resolving the issues we face daily in the community by using youth [like] myself from the community as being part of the solution.” – Mahindra Persaud

“Researching was one of those things that I hated in school, but after being a part of the ACT research group it has now become one of my favourite things that I love.” – Stephen Brown

ACT FOR YOUTH FALL 2011 NEWSLETTER 5

SHARING KNOWLEDGE AT JANE-FINCH RESEARCH FORUMOn September 24th, partner organizations

York University – TD Community Engagement

Centre, Black Creek Community Health Centre,

Seneca College, and The Spot held the Jane-

Finch Research Forum to highlight the various

community-based research projects happening

in the Jane/Finch community. This forum

was presented by the York University – TD

Community Engagement Centre, directed by

Sue Levesque, Co-Chair of ACT for Youth’s

Knowledge Mobilization & Communications

Committee.

Two presentations at the Forum were given by

ACT for Youth and included youth presenters.

The first was presented by youth research

interns Talisha Ramsaroop, Asim Aziz (both

graduates of the Community-Based Research

Summer Institute), and Henry Appiah, and was

titled “Youth Speak: Our Voices, Our Stories”.

This presentation highlighted preliminary

research findings on youth perspectives on well-

being and violence, understanding barriers and

facilitators to youth employment, and reframing

public discourse on the Jane/Finch community.

The second presentation was given by Aziz and

fellow youth intern (and Community-Based

Research Summer Institute graduate) Grace

Francis Good, and shared an evaluation of the

Youth Research Internship and Community-

Based Research Summer Institute, as well as

the experiences of youth on the project. These

presentations were supported by mentors (and

graduate students) Jen Ryan and Rebecca

Houwer, and by ACT for Youth Project Manager

Tka Pinnock.

ACT for Youth is committed to hiring and

training youth as co-researchers – youth

research interns, youth survey assistants, and

youth research assistants. The first internship

cycle ran from March 2010 to March 2011, and

the second cycle is now underway. The interns

play an invaluable role in the research process,

contributing their skills and expertise in the

outreach and recruitment of potential research

participants, in data collection, and in assisting

with data analysis.

ACT for Youth is committed to hiring and training youth as co-researchers – youth research interns, youth survey assistants, and youth research assistants.

ACT FOR YOUTH FALL 2011 NEWSLETTER 6

MEET OUR 2011 YOUTH INTERNS

Abdi Mohamed is in his final year of the

Community Service Worker program at George

Brown College, and plans to pursue his Bachelor

degree in Community Economic & Social

Development.

Asim Aziz is assisting in editing an article, and is

conducting preliminary research to compose a

media literacy workshop targeted at youth.

Grace Good is a mother to her five-year-old

son, and is currently in her final year in the

Community Worker program at George Brown

College. She hopes to pursue an undergraduate

degree in Social Work.

Nnali Simon is an aspiring social worker

currently enrolled in the undergraduate program

at Ryerson University.

Talisha Ramsaroop is a second-year university

student, working towards a major in Sociology

and a minor in English. She hopes to pursue a

career as a youth counsellor and teacher in high

schools.

MEET OUR 2011 YOUTH-LED COMMITTEE (YLC)The Youth-Led Committee (YLC) is made up of

ten local youth, including representatives from

secondary schools and research interns from

ACT for Youth.

In the coming months, the YLC is developing a

theatre production. Live theatre is a great way

to bring people together, and to share ACT for

Youth’s research with youth audiences. The idea

for the play is to examine some of the issues in

the community through a love story involving

a young couple from Jane and Finch. The play

will follow the story of how they met and fell

in love, in the neighbourhood they love. The

performance is planned for the spring of 2012,

and the YLC will write, produce, and perform

the play.

Members of the YLC are also involved in the

ACT Research Working Groups, and some

members of the Sub-Committee are helping to

plan a youth-focused conference for next spring.

The YLC participated in the all-day Research

Advisory Committee meeting on December 9th..

Read more from the Youth Interns and our Youth-Led Committee on JustChat, the ACT for Youth blog! Visit actforyouth.apps01.yorku.ca for weekly updates, and share your comments.

ACT FOR YOUTH FALL 2011 NEWSLETTER 7

“WE CAN DO ANYTHING. WHO TOLD US WE COULDN’T?” - POET LEMN SISSAY

On October 20th, ACT for Youth’s youth

interns had the opportunity to participate in an

intimate dialogue with UK performance poet

and playwright Lemn Sissay. Visiting Toronto for

the first time, Sissay gave the Wendy Michener

Memorial Lecture at York University the night

before, and received a standing ovation from

all in attendance. Sissay is the author of five

poetry collections, and has worked on more

than two dozen radio documentaries. York’s

Faculty of Fine Arts and Faculty of Liberal Arts

& Professional Studies partnered with the Assets

Coming Together for Youth project and York

University – TD Community Engagement Centre

in providing an opportunity for youth in the

community to meet with Lemn and to discuss

his life and work.

Spoken word artist and past Youth Research

Intern Lola Lawson welcomed Sissay following a

performance of one of her own works of poetry.

This led to a lively discussion about the history

of black poetry, and about art as an essential

part of our lives and communities. As Sissay

said, “Poetry is at the heart of our community,

not at the periphery.” He also described poetry

as a gift that can be shared with others, and

spoke about a new television program he is

developing that would profile his work to write

poems celebrating real people in various life

circumstances. Most meaningful to the youth

was Sissay’s own life story. Fostered by a

white, religious family until the age of 11, then

institutionalized in children’s homes until he was

17, Sissay did not learn his real name until he was

18-years-old, and was unable to find his mother

in Ethiopia for another three years. The group

discussed the ways in which we make ourselves

through our families, and the importance of

these bonds. Sissay encouraged the group to

express their own challenges in life, explaining

that those parts of our lives that we don’t want

to talk about are the very parts that will help us

connect with others.

Sissay ended the 90-minute session with a

reading of his poem, “Suitcases and Muddy

Parks,” and with the empowering statement:

“We can do anything. Who told us we couldn’t?”

He then gave each participant a free copy of

one of his books of poetry, and stayed behind to

have dinner with the youth and to sign posters

and books for everyone who attended. The

youth left feeling inspired and grateful to have

come to know such a generous and talented

artist.

ACT FOR YOUTH FALL 2011 NEWSLETTER 8

KEY RESEARCH AND FINDINGS TO DATEACT for Youth has: • brought together a multi-sectoral alliance of

community organizations that can transform

our findings into policy and action;

• engaged youth extensively in our research

and knowledge production;

• accumulated a wealth of qualitative and

quantitative data about Jane/Finch youth;

• created a rich portrait of the assets and

resources of youth in Jane/Finch; and

• developed a deep understanding of how

the negative discourse of the Jane/Finch

community impacts youth.

The five working groups have collected an

incredible amount of rich data that will inform

the action component of ACT for Youth’s work

in the second half of the project. The data range

from photographs, narratives, interviews, and

the Photo-Voice component of Youth Voices, to

interviews with academics, policymakers, and

media, and a Critical Discourse Analysis of both

mainstream and alternative media output from

the Reframing Discourse Working Group.

To date, the project has collected:• 50 short interviews with youth from the

Mobile Speakers’ Corner, speaking to issues

of violence, well-being, and ‘turf’.

• 22 individual interviews, 10 focus groups

with 22 participants, and 110 photos (each

with narratives) from the two Photo-Voice

projects on issues of violence and well-being.

• 2 focus groups with 16 youth on youth’s

labour market attachment.

• 36 in-depth interviews with youth on their

labour market attachment.

• A focus group with 12 front-line workers in

the youth employment sector.

• 30 in-depth interviews with youth,

academics, policy-makers, media, and

community stakeholders on discourse

consumption and production.

• Critical Discourse Analysis of 148 mainstream

media texts.

• Evaluation data from project team members,

students, and youth.

ACT FOR YOUTH FALL 2011 NEWSLETTER 9

YOUTH SURVEY WORKING GROUP

The Youth Survey of Student Resources and

Assets was developed to understand

what resources and assets youth in urban

communities have, and to explore possible ways

that communities can increase the development

of assets for youth using socializing systems

within the community.

The survey was conducted in five of the six

middle and high schools in the community, and

in three high schools outside of the community

that are attended by students who reside in the

Jane/Finch area. The project mailed a total 4,563

consent letters in nine languages to parents and

students in the respective schools. Of the 1,756

students granted permission to participate in the

survey, 1,706 students completed the Survey of

Student Resources and Assets. In the end, 1,592

of the surveys were usable. Data from the survey,

which combines two frameworks for positive

human development, offers a rich portrait of

the assets and resources of youth in Jane/Finch

that help us understand the challenges youth

face and the supports they engage in order to

overcome these barriers. These findings suggest

strategies for long-term goals, targeting youth,

mobilizing the public, and supporting existing

efforts.

YOUTH VOICES WORKING GROUP: MOBILE SPEAKERS’ CORNER

The Mobile Speakers’ Corner was set up at two

shopping malls (Yorkgate and Jane/Finch)

on two days during the summer of 2010, and

50 youth (aged 14 to 29) participated. The

participants were given tape recorders and were

asked to record their answer to one of three

questions:

• What are the perspectives of youth

concerning their needs and well-being?

• How do youth understand “turf issues” in

their community?

• How do youth experience violence in their

lives?

“ We as a community should be able to take a stand and say, ‘This is our community. We have a problem. We are going to deal with it.’ We shouldn’t be laying back and saying, ‘Okay, I’m going to let the police do it’. We have a mind. We have a voice. This is our community.”

- Youth Testimonial from the Mobile

Speakers’ Corner, Summer 2010

The initial results of this project can be found on

our website (www.yorku.ca/act/reports.html)

in the e-zine Jane-Finch Youth Speak Out: Turf,

Violence, Well-Being.

ACT FOR YOUTH FALL 2011 NEWSLETTER 10

YOUTH VOICES WORKING GROUP: PHOTO-VOICE PROJECT

Photo-Voice enables participants to record

and reflect their community’s strengths and

concerns, to promote critical dialogue and

knowledge about important issues through large

and small group discussions of photographs, and

to reach policymakers.

Two ACT for Youth Photo-Voice projects have

been conducted, with 11 participants (aged 16 to

21) in each. Each Photo-Voice project was framed

by a question:

• What are the perspectives of youth

concerning their needs and well-being?

• How do youth experience violence in their

lives?

Participants were asked to take pictures

representing issues that are important in their

lives, and to attach a narrative description,

developed through critical analysis in focus

group sessions. Each participant took part in

five focus groups to learn ethics and technical

skills, to discuss the research questions, to

share their photos, to discuss emerging findings

from the photos, and to decide on an action

strategy for the findings. Participants were given

$100 and were allowed to keep the camera if

they completed all five focus groups and the

individual interviews.

Visit the ACT for Youth website (yorku.ca/act) in

the coming months to view the complete online

gallery.

UNITY “We can easily break the lone toothpick, while the bundle of toothpicks needs more energy to break. If our community works together as one, we can all bring incredible changes. People from different ethnicities tend to have distant relationships with their neighbours. The community needs to join together and become aware of all the wonderfully diverse people around them.”

(IN)SECURITY “A security camera is just another reminder that “you are not safe.” No matter where you go, a security camera says “you can’t be trusted” and “I’m watching you.” With a very active and controlling police force, feeling safe is the only thing you can feel, unless it’s unease.”

IN STONE “These three words represent the strengths of the Jane and Finch community. They are written in stone where we can’t erase them. These words tell the future generation how we should live. Think about the future of Jane and Finch. Will it be a better community?”

ACT FOR YOUTH FALL 2011 NEWSLETTER 11

Through collaboration with community partners

(Black Creek Community Health Centre,

The Spot, Driftwood Community Centre,

JVS, PEACH, and the York University – TD

Community Engagement Centre), 36 in-depth

interviews with youth, and two focus groups

with youth, were conducted to explore youth’s

perception of barriers and opportunities in

labour market attachment and integration. To

investigate employers’ perceptions of youth

and their employability, 25 interviews were

coordinated with employers from different

sectors.

“ Because there is a difference between a job and a career. A job is just something you do for maybe the money to pass time, while a career is something you do, but you love it at the same time.”

FindingsThe interviews and focus groups with youth

revealed that potential barriers to employment

can include:

• not being able to access internships and

volunteer opportunities;

• having a criminal record;

• lacking confidence, self-esteem, and support

systems;

• having a sense of entitlement;

• experiencing discrimination tied to race and

class;

• not having the benefits of ‘location’ and a

rich family;

• not having appropriate interview clothing;

• the stigma of having a ‘Jane/Finch’ address.

The top three resources that youth mentioned

they rely on to find employment were internet

resources, community agencies, and dropping

off resumes at potential employment sites.

They described how their current employment

experiences, both negative and positive, have

helped them prepare for future careers, gain

skills and experiences, and be exposed to

new people and experiences. Because of their

employment experiences, some youth shift

their focus from employment to the education

system, by returning to high school for course

upgrades or by entering transitional-year

programs.

“ Because when you have education, you looking from a wider perspective. When you don’t have education, you only think narrow-minded – like your mind is only one track, you know? But, with education, you kind of, somewhat think over your options … try to, you know, choose the best options that present itself. Without education, you don’t even think about – you’re only thinking going out there.”

Youth consider education at the top of their

list for charting a path towards employment

success. However, they also described the

multi-dimensional importance of education that

goes beyond the economic benefits. Though

acknowledging the importance of education to

careers, youth said that they are not sufficiently

engaged by their education, and that the

current system is not reflective of their needs

YOUTH PERSPECTIVES ON EDUCATION & EMPLOYMENT

ACT FOR YOUTH FALL 2011 NEWSLETTER 12

and interests. Youth were especially critical of

teachers who didn’t seem to care, and who had

low expectations.

“ Sometimes they look at your address and that becomes a big issue when looking for a job, and I know that the address caused me not to get a job.”

While living in the Jane/Finch community builds

resilience for youth and is a cited source of

support, it also remains a source of stigma.

REFRAMING DISCOURSE WORKING GROUP

The Reframing Discourse Working Group is

exploring questions about how the Jane/

Finch community can reframe discourse to

support positive youth development, and how

the current discourse (both in content and in

form) being used to frame youth relates to

policies, programs, and funding that impacts

the community. The group also examines how

and who benefits from negative discourse, how

youth in the Jane/Finch area get information,

and how the distinctions between mainstream

and alternative media are understood within and

outside of the community.

ACT for Youth is now in the early stages of

integrating findings from the data collected.

Although this remains a complex process, one

of the overarching themes emerging from the

abundance of data is the impact of the negative

discourse about the Jane/Finch community

on youth. This negative discourse is a form of

violence against youth from Jane/Finch that

results in stigmatization, discrimination, and, for

some youth, a limited sense of what is possible.

While many youth continue to resist this single

portrait that is painted of their community by

the media, policymakers, and others, some

appear to have internalized the negative

messages about their neighbourhood.

There are very real material consequences to

framing a population based on need, deficit, and

deviance. Our research refers to these effects

as ‘the violence of low expectations’. When a

community is framed as lacking or dysfunctional,

expectations for youth – both from within

and outside the community – decline. Once

expectations are reduced, youth are no longer

challenged or given the opportunity to reach

their full potential (by education systems,

service providers, community members, the

media, etc.). The negative discourse has the

potential to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

For example, young people who have not been

sufficiently prepared for life after high school

are more vulnerable to falling into the traps that

are exploited in sensationalized understandings

of Jane and Finch. This finding will be central

as the ACT for Youth project moves into the

mobilization and dissemination phase.

ACT FOR YOUTH FALL 2011 NEWSLETTER 13

EVALUATION & MONITORING WORKING GROUP

An evaluation of the ACT for Youth Research

Internship Program was conducted in 2010. An

e-zine outlining the experiences of the 2010

ACT for Youth interns was put together by PhD

candidate Enzo Verrillo, summarizing interviews

conducted with five youth interns and offering

insight into how the project can move forward.

Download “My Internship Story: An Evaluation of

the Assets Coming Together For Youth Research

Internship Program” on our website: yorku.ca/

act/reports.html.

The Partnership Self Assessment Survey

revealed the need for increased contact between

academic and community partners, the need for

better communication among partnership group

members, more community visibility for the

project, and more links between research and

policy. We hope that this newsletter will help

us to better connect and communicate, and we

invite your input.

COMING SOONLook for a formal announcement in our next

issue about the research conference for youth

researchers, organized by youth researchers, to

be held in spring 2012 and supported by ACT for

Youth.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Is there a topic, issue, group or event that you

would like to see profiled in a future issue? Let

us know. We want to hear from our partners and

supporters, and need your input to make future

newsletters representative of our work together.

For more information, contact Tka Pinnock,

Project Manager, at actadmin@yorku.ca.

Compiled and edited by Kathe Rogers,

kjrogers@yorku.ca, with writing and support

from Grace Good.

www.yorku.ca/act

www.facebook.com/ACTforYouth