Program prepares youth for career in recreation

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This article was published 31/05/2021 (1578 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In hindsight, Kristen Hotomani didn’t have access to proper resources and role models as a kid. She was left yearning for something “better.”

“I wish(ed) I had the resources and the people that would help me, growing up,” Hotomani, 29, told The Times.

This is why she enrolled in the Youth Recreation Activity Worker program, from which she and 12 other youth graduated on May 27.

The program is a joint venture between the Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg and Red River College. The nine-month program trains young adults facing barriers to obtaining their post-secondary education to be leaders in the recreation field.

Students cover psychology, Indigenous studies, health and safety training, and non-violent crisis intervention, among other topics. They can even get their Class 4 and 5 driver’s licences. Students are also required to complete a practicum or work experience of 300 hours.

After they complete the program, some students move on to pursue additional education, or they enter the work field.

Hotomani hopes that she can provide support to youth who are in the shoes that were once on her own feet. “What I’ve learned is how to be a trustworthy person (and) how to work with youth and children.”

She said she previously worked in a group home and will soon be starting a job with Child and Family Services.

The Youth Recreation Activity Worker program is subsidized by the Province of Manitoba, the City of Winnipeg, and the Centre for Aboriginal Human Resource Development. Therefore, tuition and books are free. Participants also receive $300 biweekly as an incentive and to off-set the potential loss of income during the full-time program.

Randy Wagner is the director of employment services at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg. He said the program began 19 years ago out of a need for trained recreation leaders at the clubs which are located primarily in the inner city. The former BGC executive director believed there was a need to combine education with lived experience, Wagner explained.

“Most of the youth that we take into this program have those life experiences, they can relate to a lot of the children and youth that they’re working with. And when we started this program, we felt that was so important,” he said.

The program has become rather competitive — an average of 30 to 50 applications are received annually. From there, applicants are interviewed and 16 are selected.

Ibukun Olawole, 23, previously attended the University of Manitoba, but dropped out because the class sizes were too large, she said. She appreciates the intimacy of the small Youth Recreation Activity Worker program.

“After completing this program … I feel more confident going back to school to get my degree. I feel I’m prepared now,” she said.

“I feel like discovering this program was like a blessing.

“If I had not taken this program, I would still be working full-time, not knowing what to do. But this program made me realize this is what I am good at.”