Update from the Dryden Attendance Centre
Working with youth pays off! Our very own Johnny secured part-time work at a local restaurant. This is a collaborative venture that included our local employment office, local employer, teacher, and myself. The saying ‘it takes a community to raise a child’ goes without saying. Johnny’s parents played a key role in his success.
Johnny struggled with the mainstream system school and started attending the Dryden Attendance Centre in October 2017. Since that time, Johnny has earned four credits, two of which were accredited to a welding course. Johnny also enrolled in a Youth Job Connection Program offered by the Northwest Employment Works Office. Johnny was required to do online courses such as WHMIS and Safety in the Workplace.
Volunteer hours, which were supervised by a worker from the employment office, consisted of various tasks in the community. Upon completion of the program both Johnny and his employment counsellor determined that he was potentially suited for a position at a local restaurant. Johnny continues to do school work at the Attendance Centre. Progress not perfection!
Cooking continues to be a hit. A young mom and dad participated in the cooking class with joint efforts from both teacher Nancy and myself. Life Skills are ongoing and don’t ever get old. As youth in our community transition from remote areas and make Dryden home, they come with so many needs and desires.
The couple came to cooking class with their ten-month old baby. Baby enjoyed the attention and nap time was fast approaching and baby couldn’t wait!
I am a member of the DAIRS group – Dryden Area Impaired Reduction Strategy. The drinking and driving rates soared alarmingly several months ago. The group was formed to develop strategies to address the drinking culture in our community.
Living in an urban community comes with challenges that limit social outings for families. Common opinion indicates that there’s very little to do that is low cost and family oriented. Our group decided to offer a movie night in the community. We approached various organizations in the community for donations for the cost of the movie and facility. We are fast approaching our fourth movie night which draws approximately seventy-five people per screening.
Lorraine Lang