By Sean Delaney
This month, the Emery Village Voice sat down with Pastor Francis Ubah to discuss his Youth Now On Track (YNOT) program and how it aids Emery’s youth.
EVV: Tell me about your program.
PFU: Is a not-for-profit community organization supporting youth and families for the past 15 years. Youth that have issues with the law, we have a program to integrate them back into the community. And we have preventative programs for youth in the community.
We work in collaboration with schools and political and spiritual leaders to ensure we support the community we are in.
EVV: What are ways you are making an impact on the youth?
PFU: We have a program called Empower Children for a Greater Tomorrow, for young people between ages of 10 to 14 years old. It’s more of a preventative program, to make sure they're on the right track. We help them with issues that relate to behaviour, and more.
We have to find the behaviour that will be a barrier, and walk with them and with their family to support the individual.
EVV: What is it specifically you work with? How do you change youth?
PFU: Those that register in the program, we focus on the academic. Making sure they are doing well, we understand the importance of education in the life of young people. Make sure they are doing homework, make sure they are doing what they are supposed to do. If they are skipping classes, we find out why they are skipping classes, and we approach that behaviour.
EVV: How do you work with 31 Division?
PFU: They have been very supportive to our program and services over the years.
We do presentations in our programs, crime prevention programs, anger management programs, and they have been very supportive.
We bring 31 Division to come and do some workshops with the kids, and these could be crime prevention, they could be bullying or other programs that are very important.