Saturday, March 30, 2013

Hope House Youth Charity and The Corner Toronto

I am very excited to share with you all our merging with Hope House Youth Charity and our new home at The Corner Toronto. We will finally have a full-time place for us to house all our programs and to open our doors and our hearts to as many local youth as possible! I wanted to also let you have a sneak peak at our media release!




The Josh Project is pleased to announce our new partnership with The Corner, formerly known as The Tikva House, in Toronto, Ontario. We have finally secured our first facility to run our multitude of youth empowerment programing and it is located in the Bathurst & Lawrence area of Toronto.

The director of The Corner, Yonah Budd and the director of The Josh Project, Joshua Stern, couldn’t be a better fit for each other and local youth. We like to call them the Batman & Robin of the Youth Empowerment sector. Yonah has over 30 years experience in rescuing youth from all types of at-risk and addiction scenarios and Joshua is the living, breathing example of how one can successfully turn their life around. Together they form the real life “Dynamic Duo”. The Old and the New have joined forces to assist as many youth as possible.

At “The Corner”, which is located at 3173A Bathurst Street in Toronto, Joshua’s vision of “Marion’s Place” will finally be coming to fruition thanks to the belief of Yonah.  This Drop-In centre will be available at all hours to give youth a safe, clean, positive and healthy environment to spend time at, as opposed to the streets or other unsupervised places. We will offer easy access to community and social services while providing free meals and a positive learning environment for youth in need.

Unfortunately the numbers are quite staggering when it comes to youth-at-risk and far too many young people are struggling. Whether it’s family issues, feeling isolated, addiction or lack of adult support there is definitely no shortage in the need department. We must realize that the typical school or work scenario does not apply to many of these youth that are struggling. For these individuals it is more about survival.

We take an approach of encouragement, guidance, consistency and discipline in order to help these youth during these extremely difficult times. Teens that find they struggle typically feel alienated, like their lives have no meaning or purpose and that they are unable to make positive choices and change. We are here to provide these youth with the ability to trust themselves and the ability to make good decisions. There are not many options for a lot of these youth and shelters or group homes don’t offer the support and growth needed to be successful.

At The Corner, The Josh Project is committed to creating a safe, peer-focused, learning and fun environment for our youth. We will offer a full range of support programs, addiction counseling and referral services for young adults. From understanding our emotions and addiction assessment to tutoring services, resume writing and job finding programs we will do everything in our power to support these individuals on their journey from youth to adult. We empower youth through relationships, mentors, peer support and life coaching.

The Corner and The Josh Project offers a safe space for youth to engage in positive programming to better their lives and the communities they live in. Our facility will be a great place for youth who are struggling, recovering or at-risk. We are here for you.

Thank you all for your ongoing love and support. Without it and you, we wouldn't be where we are today! Special mention to Yonah Budd, thank you for reaching out!



Thursday, March 14, 2013

Something That Shouldn't Be Missed


I recently had this sent to me and in an attempt to get it as much attention as possible I decided to post it in my blog.

I know it's been almost a month since my last post, but I'm happy to say its for good reason. On top of "Straight Up Saturdays", which was the feature of my last post, I have secured two more regular Programs, one taking place at Marshall McLuhan Catholic School and the other at Terrace Residents. Needless to say between my regular routine, working on my 3rd book and being dad to a fabulous 5 &1/2 year old, it has been difficult to find the time.

I plan on at least one post per month and hopefully as time goes on I will be able to do it more frequently. I would like to regularly update you all on the progress and success of our programs, so I believe this will definitely be the platform.

Have a moment to take a read and I think it's definitely something we should share with as many people as possible. With the exception of maybe the "Robbie" scenario, I think all of these are very accurate and quite frightening.

Let me know what you think and as always I appreciate all the support. Let's keep fighting the good fight.
SCHOOL  1950s-1980s vs. 2012


Scenario
 :
Johnny and Mark get into a fight after school.

1950s-80s -
 Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up best friends.

2012 -
 Police called, and they arrest Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it. Both children go to anger management programmes for 3 months. School governors hold meeting to implement bullying prevention programmes.

Scenario
 :
Robbie won't be still in class, disrupts other students.

1950s-80s -
 Robbie sent to the office and given six of the best by the Principal. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.

2012 -
 Robbie given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADHD – result deemed to be positive. Robbie's parents get fortnightly disability payments and school gets extra funding from government because Robbie has a disability.

Scenario
 :
Billy breaks a window in his neighbour's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.

1950s-80s -
 Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.

2012 -
 Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care; joins a gang; ends up in jail. 

Scenario
 :
Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.

1950s-80s -
 Mark gets glass of water from Principal to take aspirin with. Passes exams, becomes a solicitor.

2012 -
 Police called, car searched for drugs and weapons. Mark expelled from school for drug taking. Ends up as a drop out.

Scenario
 :
Johnny takes apart leftover fireworks from Guy Fawkes night,
puts them in a paint tin & blows up a wasp's nest. 

1950s-80s -
 Wasps die.

2012-
 Police & Anti-Terrorism Squad called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, investigate parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated. Johnny's Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly in an airplane again.

Scenario
 :
Johnny falls over while running during morning break and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. She hugs him to comfort him.

1950s-80s -
 In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing
 games. No damage done.

2012 -
 Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy and ends up gay.


This should be sent to every e-mail address you know to remind us how stupid we have become!