Eritrean Youth Collective

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A Letter From the EYC Team…

Dear Friends,

On Saturday, July 28, EYC hosted a community check-in with youth, parents and community stakeholders from the Toronto area at AccessPoint. The discussion stemmed from the recent violence that has plagued our city and we felt it necessary to address the issues directly affecting our community. It was important for us to understand the dynamics of the environment in which our youth are navigating and to address pertinent issues in a collective fashion - concerns, perspectives and all. In light of what’s happened, the Ministry of Child and Youth Services has requested from community organizers to compile a list of recommendations that would address the needs of our community. There was an abundance of learnings from the discussion which we will summarize and bring forth to the Ministry. This process was a first step in gathering some thoughts directly from our community. Some of the key highlights that we heard from both parents and youth that were identified as needs for our community were the following:

· Creating spaces for Eritrean youth to gather, build connections and discuss what’s happening in their lives
· Providing intergenerational learning opportunities
· Reintegration of youth involved in the criminal justice system, educating parents and supporting them through the process

It was a beautiful thing to see our community working collectively for solutions. EYC strives to provide a space for continuous dialogue so we can provide the best opportunities for our youth. We will continue to work to engage the community further and look forward to us hosting more of these discussions in the future. We would like to thank everyone who participated as well our facilitators, Moya Teklu, Sam Tecle and Arsema Berhane, who graciously led the conversation and provided us with insight.

In solidarity,
Team EYC

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