FCSSGW 2018 Community Grant Recipient
On October 10, The Guelph Community Foundation executive director Chris Willard announced that FCSSGW’s Breaking Free: Better Choices + Better Relationships program was among this year’s recipients of its 2018 Community Grants at an event at The Life Centre.
In his address, Willard said, ““This year, The Guelph Community Foundation’s Grants Committee used its Vital Signs report and findings to determine where community grants could support the needs of our community. We supported organizations that could work together to move the needle on where it’s needed most.”
FCSSGW executive director Joanne Young Evans attended the event and said that the $6,000 grant will ensure the continuance of the program for at risk male and female youth affected by abuse.
About the program
FCSSGW created the unique Breaking Free: Better Choices + Better Relationships program for both male and female youth between the ages of 12 and 17 who have been abused or have witnessed abuse in the home and are heading down the same path in their lives – acting out with aggression, bullying and violence. The eight-week group program teaches healthy, appropriate strategies for managing stress and resolving conflict.
The students who graduate from this program work as peers for other students and are extremely passionate about the program and the facilitators. They know they are being heard, respected and are learning alternative methods to bullying and violence – and they demonstrate these new behaviours daily.
Breaking Free assists teens learn to break the cycle of abuse and violence so that they learn to make better choices for themselves.
