By Bailey Sherrah
Youth Opportunities Unlimited 30 bed Youth Shelter (Photo provided by YOU)
“In a time where many services have been reduced or eliminated, Youth Opportunities Unlimited continues to offer all of its programming,” explains Youth shelter manager at Youth Opportunities Unlimited, Max Doucet.
While continuing to respect COVID-19 health and safety best practices, Doucet says if there’s a way to offer support to youth who need it, Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) is certain they’ll find a way.
On Aug. 17, 2020 right in the middle of the pandemic, YOU opened a 30 bed youth (ages 16-24) homeless shelter in hopes to help tackle the youth homelessness obstacle in London. Since Aug. 30, 2020, Doucet says YOU Housing First Youth Shelter has almost always been at maximum capacity.
By Victoria Newman
Jan 24, 2021 8:29 PM
London is a trafficking hub. According to the London Police website, in 2017, the Human Trafficking Unit conducted 184 investigations, helped 15 trafficking victims escape, and laid 16 human trafficking charges.
Megan Walker is the Executive Director at the London Abused Women Centre and she highlighted that the reason London is a hub for trafficking is because we have a lot of young people who come for education, there is easy access to the highway, and we have men who come to London for meetings. But there are many factors that make trafficking possible in London.
Walker described human trafficking as “manipulative, coercive, and probably the most damaging that can be done to a woman or girl.”
By Ryann Scheib
Eldon House / Wikimedia
Due to the pandemic, London’s most historic house has been forced to temporarily close its doors.
2020 caused Eldon House to change the way things had traditionally run to keep the history alive. Brenna Ardiel, Eldon House’s Interim Program Coordinator says some of the health and safety protocols that were put in place included strict hand sanitizing and mask regulations, one group of a maximum of six people permitted on each floor, and booking of only self-guided tours.
Ardiel says the pandemic caused the Eldon House team to focus more on new ways for people to get involved.
By Felipe Brenner
Picture from TVDSB website
This year despite limitations and restrictions due to the current pandemic, the Thames Valley District School Board has decided to go through with the Aviation School program that starts in February and will be available to elementary school students grades 9 and 1o.
The yearly program offers students interested in the aviation field to gain industry skills and knowledge through hands on work and intuitive experiences, that places those involved a step closer to a promising professional career.
“It all kind of rolls into one, the school day starts the same as everyone else, it ends the same as everyone else, but the collaboration and the work that goes on inside the program is very unique, and has an aviation focus, so students interested in the field are excellent candidates for it.” said John McNorgan the lead for the program.