A major funding boost for the YMCA Moncton Alternative Suspension Program.
The program received a $25, 000 grant as a part of the Ted Rogers Scholarship Program.
Director of Community and Global Initiatives Jaime McLellan says this will assist with the roughly 65 at risk students every year from 27 schools in Anglophone East, “You work with the school and it is based on their needs. Maybe the student hasn’t been suspended, they are just close to being suspended, and they need help dealing with a behaviour. We help the student work through the behaviours, and then we send them back to class with the youth worker to make for a more positive environment.”
Working in conjunction with school districts, YMCA Alternative Suspension supports youth during their suspension from school as well as their reintegration into the classroom by promoting personal development and autonomy, and transforming the individual’s time away into a more positive experience. The program focuses on the negative behaviour that leads to the suspension, which can be related to bullying, low self-esteem, anxiety from stress or other mental health issues.