VICTORY CHILD AND YOUTH COUNSELLING PROGRAM

Victory Neighbourhood Services Inc. is proud to hold a Child and Youth Counselling Program. A unique program tailored to meet the needs of the youth in response to the changes brought by COVID-19.

Counselling sessions are made to be unique for every client, so they can be booked in advance via appointment or drop-in at designated hours. Sessions are safe and accessible - through phone call or our provided text line which youths can access if they feel they need the extra support between counselling sessions.

Our counsellors would be happy to provide strategies and tools to help the youth's mental health, or connect them to other resources in the community that may be of help to them.

If you would like more information on the counselling process, feel free to contact us and we will get you in touch with one of our youth counsellors!

We are all facing unprecedented challenges right now due to COVID-19, and we often forget that youth are experiencing these struggles as well. It is common for feelings of anxiety and uncertainty to surface, creating a need for extra support. Victory Neighbourhood Services’ Child and Youth Counselling Program is a free, easy and confidential way to access counselling and support resources from home.  

While counselling may entail coping with mental struggles and difficulties, the mentoring aspect of the Victory Child and Youth Counselling Program allows for more casual interactions between our youth counsellors, volunteers, and the participants. Mentoring is described as a "structured and trusting relationship with individuals who offer support, guidance, and encouragement to aid the development of the mentee."

Mentors are there to act as a resource to youth to guide them in the right direction in many areas of their lives: education, personal relationships, community involvement, and working towards a certain goal. This is particularly important during the difficult times that was brought up by the pandemic, as lock down has drastically changed how many of us are going to achieve set goals and reach their potential.

Not only is mentoring an excellent opportunity for self-development, but it can also help protect youth from lingering barriers to social complications, such as poverty, obesity, and mental illness. Below are some facts and figures that explain the importance of mentoring:

• Adults who had a mentor in their life will earn an average of $315,000 more income in their life
• 70% of mental health problems onset during childhood or adolescence
• Youth who were a part of a mentoring program were 2 times less likely to exhibit conduct problems
• 87% of individuals who had a mentor in their childhood report having strong social networks as an adult