M.Y. Camp (Mentoring Youth) was born when five Halton Region School Liaison Officers identified a mutual concern for youth at their Oakville schools. The officers were concerned that the youth engagement that they worked so hard to build during the school year just didn’t exist during the summer. Many youths who had completed grade 7 and 8 were staying home alone, looking after young siblings, or just hanging out. The young people going into grade 8 were going to be the “leaders” of their school and those going into grade 9 were beginning to map out their own roads to success – the five officers wanted to help support them.

In partnership with Oakville Fire, Halton EMS and ROCK – Reach Out Centre for Kids and funded by ProAction Cops & Kids, M.Y. Camp focused on mentoring youth in topics of community safety and well-being and participating in the leadership activities.

Each activity provided the participants with practical takeaways and life lessons. They visited Kelso Conservation Centre and welcomed guest speakers from Crime Stoppers and HRPS Victim Services.

The camp allowed youth to experience a variety of activities with a focus on community safety and well-being, but most importantly, students built self-confidence and a greater and more positive self-awareness, stepping outside of their comfort zones and developing strong leadership skills.

“At Kelso, we faced our fears and I cannot tell you how much it helped me realize that our limits are a mindset!” – M.Y. Camp Participant

My favourite memory, or the activity I loved the most, was definitely the firefighter obstacle course. I really enjoyed this because completing this course required a lot of strength, positivity, encouragement, and teamwork/collaboration. I will always remember the fantastic people that I did it with, along with just how much we pushed each other.

Coming out of the MY Camp experience, I learned just how important it is to never give up and to always have a positive attitude. If someone was struggling in their task, people would go to help them, everyone would energize them and tell them a lot of positive things! Despite the fact that we were separated into two teams, once one team finished the course, that team would be cheering the others on and keep helping them along the way to finish. As a result of all of this, I’ve learned to always have a growth mindset in every challenge that I face. It is always important to encourage, push, and boost yourself, but also others!     – M.Y. Camp Participant

“I have some great memories from camp. At Kelso, I learned that not everything is as scary as it looks. When we met the people from ROCK I learned that it is okay to ask for help sometimes. The fire department taught me to push my limits to see how far I can go and to do my best at everything. The police and S.W.A.T team taught me to be as brave as I can be.

The best memory I have is when we met the therapy dog.  She was very calming, and now whenever I get stressed, I imagine that I am petting a dog or cat and it works like a charm.

Thank you for helping me make some great memories.” – M.Y. Camp Participant