By SHEILA ARNOPOULOUS Program calls on teens to help teens in trouble A lot of teenagers in a jam don't want to take their problems to a parent. And there are times when the school guidance counsellor, the family doctor or the nearest social service agency don't seem adequate. Sometimes it's the formal appointment or having to deal with adults "who might not understand" that puts the young person off.
"The schools have given us space, and all the various services within the school cooperate," explains Mr., Pigott. "They are even helping out with some of the funding." "Our service is for kids who don't feel happy about using other services avai1ab1e and who don't have a teacher or a friend they feel free to talk to, "says Bob Vokey who works at Riverdale High and studies applied social services at Sir George Williams University. Lucie Fournier, 16, a high school student volunteer who works at the referral centre in the French side of Pierrefonds Comprehensive, says problems centre on "drugs, sex education, venereal disease, pregnancy, and home conflicts." The function is simply to "rap on a confidential basis with a kid in trouble," she says, and, if necessary, guide him or her to other services in the school or community. The vo1unteers manning the centres, however, represent more than a sympathetic ear, however. "We are now taking a specia1 course in sex education given by a sexologist," says Lucie. "This will be followed by other courses by professionals on drugs, the law and psychology." Bob hastens to point out that it is not the function of the 45 high School volunteers in, the two schools "to act as amateur psychiatrists." "They're there on the spot to help a kid who may be nervous or upset," If a situation is complicated, the teen-ager will be referred to professionals in the community with the university student aides acting as intermediaries. Here is one case: A Grade 9 student at Riverdale High runs into Bob Vokey in the hall between classes. "Hi Bob . . . gotta minute? I have this friend who is very worried . . . ya see . . . he, thinks he's got VD . . . for the last seven months he's had these funny symptoms . . ." It turns out , to be the Grade 9 student who has the symptoms. Bob tells him what he knows about his prob1ems and how he can get it cured. "I either give him the name of a doctor in the community who can give him a $10 shot, which will clear it up fast," says Bob, "or I make arrangements for him to visit one of the youth clinics in Montreal where he can get treatment." 'The pregnancy cases are a little more complicated. There have been four or five in the two high schools since September. All are getting legal abortions - mostly through the Children's Hospital. "In the case of the pregnancies, we have to make sure the girl is really pregnant - which usua11y means having a drug store test," says Alan Fryer, a psychology student at SGWU. "Then the parents must be told. For an abortion, this is necessary." North Shore Youth Services might then contact school social workers, guidance counsellors or others who might be of help. "Some kind of emergency housing might be necessary if the kid gets kicked out by her parents," says Bob. "And then of course the actual abortion has to be arranged with the hospital." "We see ourselves as a complement to other services in the school and the community," explains John Salvis, a psychology student at Sir George who this year set Up a new referral centre on the English side of Pierrefonds Comprehensive. The pregnancy and VD cases are the more dramatic and involve the most anxiety among youngsters. But, according to the workers, the most who drop in the centre tend to worry about conflicts at home. I got grounded all last week by my father because I stayed out till two in the morning with my friends at a rock concert," complains a 14- year-old girl who is hanging around with a 17-year-old crowd. "They never let me do anything ... I'm not a11owed to smoke ... They don’t want me to go out much with boys." "These remarks are typical," says Bob Vokey who says that one of the problems in the high schools is Grade 9 youngsters wanting to do all the things the Grade 11 and 12 students do. If the home conflicts are serious or a youth is very disturbed, he might be directed to outside professional services. Sometimes, however, a teen-ager just wants someone his own age he can talk to confidentially and informally. "Kids want straight information too about drugs, sex, alcohol," says Lucie who has pamphlets of all sorts available to anyone who drops in to the referral centre. The school program started off as a "crisis intervention" project, says Mr. Pigott, "but now we're broadening out and adding other things." New approaches include getting the two high school student councils to work together on projects. In the works are a Christmas food drive for families on welfare and a blood donor campaign. A series of lectures for parents of children in the Pierrefonds Roxboro- Do11ard area who will enter high school next year is also being planned. "Last year various community education programs (some of them on drugs) sponsored by North Shore Youth Services reached 3,000 people," claims Mr. Pigott. A drop-in and information centre for anyone regardless of age, operates at 4619 Sources Rd., Suite 5, on evenings. Phone 683-8690. On the weekends recreation-style programs for teenagers are run at four different centres - mostly neighborhood churches. "These used to run all week in the summer in conjunction with a street worker program funded by Opportunities for Youth grants," says Mr. Pigott In fact, the school information and referral centres and the weekend recreation programs are really an extension of a 1971 summer youth project considered so successful the city councils provided money to keep it going. Most of the funds for North Shore Youth Services, which emp1oyees 15 university students from the area on various projects, come from the city councils of Pierrefonds, Dollard and Roxboro. "Last year we got $12,000 and hope to get it again," says Mr. Pigott. "It's an exciting community effort and we're very pleased with cooperation and support we're getting from all over." The university students get $30 a week, but according to Mr. Pigott, are fired up with tremendous initiative and enthusiasm." All four university students who work with the Riverdale and Pierrefonds Comprehensive referral programs put in two or three days work at the schools, and are available by telephone at home. "We love the work," says Francine Cousineau, a Psychology student at the University of Montreal who works at Pierrefonds Comprehensive on the French side. All feel the work they do complements their studies. Mr. Pigott is pleased about the development of North Shore Youth Services, which has a board of interested citizens helping wherever they can. "The North Shore area is a relatively new community," says Mr. Pigott. "We find everyone flexible and interested in new approaches - and that includes schools, residents, and city councils. It's a case of a real community effort. "For our $12,000 we have an awful lot of action."
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