One thing that is important for the organization is preparing young adults for the successful transition to adulthood. Over the years, we have found that it is important to introduce them to a number of topics and opportunities to plant the seeds of adult life.

Passport to adulthood program updates

Last summer we introduced a program called “Passport to adulthood”, which is a combination of workshops and work experience. 20 young people participated in the activities. Monday to Thursday they obtained work experience through College and sports academy. On Friday they came together for adult preparation and workshops. We brought a guest speaker that talked about topics such as banking, civic engagement, healthy living, legal rights, and healthy relationships.

We have recently launched a new version with the following partners:

• Project Optimism facilitated a lot of workshops around leadership development sense of self, developing your self-worth, self-esteem.
• Greentech facilitated workshops around the green industry, what does it mean to go green and how do you obtain a career in the green industry.
• Health Education Council is facilitating a series of financial education, financial growth, and core relation between your personal finances and health.

Experience with PTA

Kayla is a student from the neighborhood that goes to the local high school. She heard about the Passport to adulthood program and applied. We had over 70 applicants but she was among the 25 chosen applicants. Her reason for applying was to gain skills to improve her life. She managed to do this, after participation in the PTA.

The Health Education Council was talking about finances, ways of bringing revenue, mutual funds and savings. At the end of the session, she said that she wants to start right away. She wants to be financially stable, so she thinks that this is a great opportunity. She is a leader among her peers, so she wants to share this information as well. PTA is all about educating and providing the tools for students like Kayla who want to learn how to equip themselves after they finish high school.

From the organization’s standing point, it is important because this is a good strategy for inclusive and economic development starting with our youth. When we take a look at the median income for the neighborhood we recognize that we need an asset development. We need to start young providing these opportunities to our neighborhood residents.