ST. PAUL – To give the youth a voice, and to allow youth to share their perspective, is behind the creation of the St. Paul Youth Council (SPYC), established around 2015 under the St. Paul Family & Community Support Services (FCSS).
It is important for a community to not only have adults or seniors engage with the community, but the youth as well, said Lynn Smid, director of St. Paul FCSS, “and realize that they can have their input and make a difference – that is of their choosing.”
“The notion behind it was to encourage youth to be engaged in their community and become connected,” said Smid, explaining that this includes the opportunity to speak directly to municipal government, and volunteering in various capacities with community organizations.
It also allows youths gain experiences related to being part of a board, which involves skills in strategic thinking, communication, decision-making, leadership, as well as logistics, said Smid. In addition to community engagement, the youth council is there to also encourage youths to be positive leaders to their community and to foster a sense of connection with the youth.
“So that they understand that there’s more than just their school and work life and that there are other things that they can get involved in as well, and really make an impact wherever they want to, and that their ideas are valuable,” said Smid.
According to Smid, since the youth council’s inception, members of the youth council have been engaged in a variety of activities and campaigns, which includes making an impact on the environment, or with events pertaining to the youth.
Grade 12 student Katie Ryning has been with SPYC for two years. She said that the youth council is an opportunity more than anything for the youth to gain skills and experiences at various levels.
“At each of our [monthly] meetings, we come up with an event for the next month,” said Ryning, which involves promoting the event, figuring out the logistics of the event, and making sure everything runs smoothly at the day of the event.
She spoke of her experiences, including how the youth council have been involved with organizing many events in the community, like the St. Patrick’s Day Dance held last year. Ryning recalled, “I was there for the second half of it... and there was just a lot of people,” which she did not expect due to COVID-19.
Ryning said that COVID-19, has been one of the biggest challenges SPYC has faced. Events were more difficult to plan as it was difficult to predict and plan around how many might attend.
But since then, “it’s been a little better,” she said.
“I think sometimes, I see that we’re almost a bit disconnected now,” Ryning said, adding youth are not as active in the community as they might have once been because “we’re a lot busier than we used to be,” due to school and high expectations.
So, “it’s nice to be with [SPYC] and it’s a chance for us to try something new, and to get out there and be involved,” she said, explaining the youth council is flexible and is not a commitment that would otherwise take away from other commitments its members may have.
Smid said youth are asked if their experiences with the youth council are valuable and if it helped them be or feel more connected and involved with the community. “Did it give [them] a feeling of understanding what volunteering or leadership is, and have [they] grown from the experience?”
To which Ryning affirmed, “There’s been some that reach more people than others, and there’s some that are more interactive,” within specific demographics. So, “I’d say they’re a success because they do bring different people from the community together and give us a chance to get involved in an event – the planning and its execution.”
SPYC is for the youths Grade 7 to Grade 12, and in the future, Ryning said she plans to come back to the community and be more involved. Ryning also encourages other youths to be involved with the youth council, speaking about the opportunities that come with it.
For those wanting to join the youth council, application forms are up at: stpaulfcss.ca/spyc
