TORONTO, May 22, 2013 – Trades training for eco-friendly jobs can be solution to help homeless youth transition from their situation, at the same time transform into fulfilled members of society and the workforce, experts believe. Sheldon Pollett, a proponent of the concept and the executive director of Choices for Youth, will talk about its benefits May 22 at the Markham Convergence Centre.
Pollett, who is based in St. John’s, Newfoundland, is the presenter of the sixth session in the seven-part series, Responding to Youth Homelessness: A Systems Approach Learning Series, jointly organized by York University’s Canadian Homeless Research Network (CHRN) and United Way York Region. His keynote speech will offer tips from Train for Trades, an innovative housing project that he leads, which has been successful in offering green jobs employment training to homeless youth in St. John’s.
“Train for Trades is an amazing program that can and should be in every community in Canada. It addresses youth homelessness by providing meaningful training on energy retrofits. It addresses energy poverty. And it brings the community together to solve both problems. It’s a win-win-win proposition -- this would work great in Ontario,” says Professor Stephen Gaetz, who is also the director of CHRN.
WHAT: Youth Homelessness Learning Series, session 6: “Train for Trades” – an innovative housing and social enterprise project focusing on “green jobs” employment training, homeless youth
WHO: Sheldon Pollett, executive director, Choices for Youth, St. Johns, Newfoundland
WHERE: Markham Convergence Centre, 7271 Warden Avenue, Markham
WHEN: Wednesday, May 22, 2013, 1:00-3:00pm
NOTE: This session is also available as live streamed webinar.
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