Child and Youth Programs & Services
Our children will grow into the future leaders and mentors of our community. Making a positive impact on our youth today, will empower them for the future. Our Child and Youth Programs will empower and support children and youth to develop resiliency, self-confidence, and positive mental wellness to meet life’s challenges.
If you know a young person who could benefit from the support of Some Other Solutions, we encourage you to fill out this referral form and we will get in touch directly.
Parent consent forms and referral forms can be submitted here.
Community Helpers Program
As a community, we are working together to break the stigma around mental health and those efforts start with our young population.
The Community Helpers Program is introductory mental health training designed specifically for young adults. In addition to increasing the community knowledge around mental wellness, participants will learn practical skills to help others. This is an Alberta Health Services Certificate Program.
This program is geared for youth and young adults between the ages of 12 and 30 years, and adults who support youth. Topics covered include:
Ethics of helping
Labeling
Active listening
How to help
Limits and strategies
Healthy boundaries
Managing stress
Please contact the Community Helpers Program Coordinator, Laurie Juhlin, at ljuhlin@someothersolutions.ca for more information.
friendship
This program is designed to help youth develop positive friendship skills and build confidence within their peer groups.
Topics covered include:
What is a friend?
Friendship questions and body language
Friendship blockers and boundaries
Friendships and conflict
Maintaining our friendships
Heart of the Matter
Divorce and/or separation can have a profound impact on children who haven’t yet learned how to be resilient and deal with the big emotions they may be grappling with.
The Heart of the Matter is a six-week support care program for students in grades one to eight. Weekly sessions held at the school (during school hours), will help youth explore their feelings when it comes to the change in their family dynamics, and give them tools and guidance on how to adapt to these changes and become resilient young people.
mentorship program
We believe that a positive adult role-model is vital to the healthy progression of every child. Our mentoring program builds resilient children and youth by building trust, empowering young individuals, improving self-worth, communication skills and coping skills. Our mentoring program is wide spread through Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo as a preventative, intervention and resiliency based support for all.
Our Community Outreach Workers (mentors) build positive relationships and trust by meeting with mentees (Elementary to High school grades) on a weekly basis, for a determined period of time (up to a whole year). In these meetings, the mentors and mentees build rapport and trust through various activities that focus on self-esteem, communication skills, and coping skills. These sessions are one to one mentoring sessions or group mentoring sessions.
Topics often discussed include:
making friends
anger
teasing and bullying
not being understood
how family/home life affects mental health
mindful minds
Mindfulness is something that can be learned at a young age. By giving our youth these tools early on, they are well positioned in life to face life’s challenges. Learn to be kind to your mind through building self-esteem, managing stress and coping techniques.
Empathy and Perspective-Taking
This program is designed to help youth develop empathy and perspective-taking skills, which will aid them in understanding others point of views, using flexible thinking, and considering others feelings. Topics that will be covered include:
Accepting others perspectives.
Using flexible thinking.
Considering the thoughts and feelings of others.
Using perspectives to resolve conflicts.
How to compromise.
Emotional Regulation and Management
This program is designed to help youth practice their emotional regulation and management skills, which will aid them in learning to regulate, identify, and manage their emotions. Topics that will be covered include:
Understanding and identifying our emotions.
How our actions impact others.
Healthy ways to express ourselves.
Adapting to change.
Dealing with disappointments.
Socialization Stars
This program was developed to assist youth in developing key socialization skills, which will aid them in creating and maintaining peer relationships. Topics that will be covered include:
What is socialization?
What are social skills? Why are they important?
Turn-taking.
Reciprocal play.