Humber students are working hard to raise awareness about a day long workshop with its main goal to teach life skills to homeless youth in the GTA.
The “Locks and Learning: A Life Skills Workshop,” will be held on April 3 at 12:30p.m. to 4:00p.m., at the Humber North campus in the E-concourse, and will collaborate and support the group Youth Without Shelter.
“The intention of the event is to raise monetary funds. We aim to raise $2,400 through a combination of auction items, raffle tickets, and pay-what-you-can pricing for participation in workshops with all funds going to YWS” said Mitchie Ding, a student in the Hospitality Event Management program.
“This will be a free-flowing workshop fair with stations teaching basic life skills, such as resume and cover letter writing, crocheting, mending clothes and more,” she said.
The event will also have a focus on Black hair care, with a dedicated braiding and Black hair care advice workshop with Humber International Student Advisor Chantelle Bailey-Johnson.
“The Event Management program has been working with YWS for a number of years, and my understanding is that YWS and Humber’s physical proximity with each other is one reason why they’re frequent collaborators,” Ding said.
The event will have a big focus on discussions on issues and stigma surrounding youth homelessness, and provide resources and help from YWS, Ding told Humber News.
On any given night, 1,500 to 2,000 youth in Toronto are homeless, according to the Youth Without Shelter website.
An estimated 32 per cent of people experiencing homeless in Toronto will have first experienced homelessness before the age of 16 and 24 per cent of those staying in youth shelters in Toronto identify as part of the LGBTQ2S+ community, the website said.
The Humber event is directly tied to learning.
“Students are tasked with designing and executing an event for a real client,” said Tracey Grieveson, an instructor with the Event Execution class who is putting on the event.
Grieveson encourages Humber students to support the even by participating in the activities that the team has planned.
“Students prepare their team’s event concept which supports Youth Without Shelter’s vision: ending homelessness one youth at a time, one step at a time, and their mission, empowering youth facing homelessness to reach individual potential,” she said.
Participation in the workshop is free although the event is also pay what you can and donations of hygiene products are also welcome.