Regent Park Focus

Blog- Oct 31, 2017 For this Halloween edition of Catch da Flava, Joel introduced the conversation by sharing a scary poem before handing things over to Diamond, for a panel discussion on Toronto's youth population caffeine consumption and the vulnerabilities associated with the excessive use of coffee and caffeine in general. We discussed our concerns as well as our own individual experiences with caffeine. With caffeine readily available, legally accessible and socially accepted in the form of pop, coffee, tea, energy drinks etc, this psychoactive drug can be used by anyone- even children- and it seems as if it's growing amongst young people as a coffee culture of sorts continues to rise and trend. Statistics show that 44.6% of adolescents, most of which between the age of 14-16 years-old consume caffeine between 1-6 times per week. We commented on why we as a society and individuals should be worried about the consumption of caffeine not only by our youth but in chi...

For the past month the participants in the Audio Production program learned to Open a new project in Logic Pro X, Insert sounds on tempo, Record using the microphone, loop their audio composition and add parts in real time otherwise known as "punch record". Few participants came in with no prior knowledge of the digital audio workstation, while others had basic knowledge of the program. It is anticipated that as the participants continue to attend, they will showcase what they have learned over the past weeks while continuing to create new instrumentals and songs... By: Hopeton LaTouche Date: October 2017

Date: Oct 30, 2017 Hosts : Shadae & Brianne Guests : Claudette Bled and Ramona Chereches from CAST Topic : Child Abuse Prevention October is Child Abuse Prevention month, and this week Shadae and Brianne lead a conversation to raise awareness about how to identify and help prevent child abuse and neglect with our special guests from CAST Toronto Children’s Aid Society. Before they went into an in- depth conversation, Claudette and Ramona, shared their history with CAST. For the second half, our hosts discussed the guidelines of one’s ‘duty to report’ and how CAS can help build better relationships with communities while strengthening families. A portion of the show was focused on how CAST can work with young families and strengthen relationships to reduce fear of the societies. Near the end of the show, the host led a discussion that involved questions from the communities. These questions were from young families who sometimes felt stigmatized. The conversa...

For this episode of Catch da Flava Youth Radio, co-host Erika sat down with guest Natalie Iuzzolino from the TD Centre for Learning, to chat about the centre and all the amazing resources the centre has to offer for residents in Regent Park. As a former student at the University of Toronto, Natalie had taken a political science course that saw her placement at the TD Centre for Learning. Having enjoyed the experience, she stayed on and was offered a position. As she developed her experience at the Centre, Natalie had a wealth of knowledge to share about the organization, its rich history, the resources it offers, all the wonderful programs offered free of charge to residents. She even made the time to fit it into her busy schedule, having to prepare for a graduation the next day for some participants in one of the centre’s programs. The TD Centre for Learning was created in 1972 and has a wide array of programs offered, all to promote a united community that encourages educational a...

For our October 24th Catch da Flava Youth Radio show, we started off with a panel discussion with Diamond Bailey discussing stress and how it can lead to mental illness. In studio we had Joel Williams, Beverley Fajardo, and Erika Kakrah to talk about their own experience with stress and how it can lead to more serious issues. Some of the questions revolved around myths or misconceptions of stress they know, “good” and bad stress, and whether there is even such a differentiation. Some participants noted that some cultures may not even view stress or mental illness as actual problems, and may go so far as to deem the individual “weak”. Some of the participants even noted alternative methods that can curb the negative effects of stress without turning to drugs, such as meditation. The participants shared their personal issues surrounding stress, some very relevant to their current situation, such as Beverley talking about an interaction with her parents that caused her to experi...

RPF Indie Game Dev Catalyst Club After a break at the end of the summer, the Catalyst Club is back and on a year long journey. For the returning youth, the first month of the year long program has been a time to wrap up on their summer projects while eyeing year long projects to start working on.  They're not beginners anymore, their ambitions have grown and they are building the courage (and skillsets) to start creating their dream games. For the new faces, the first month has been a challenging series of mountains to climb, building their programming and design proficiency while also working through tough questions of choice like "what do you want to create?".  Having reached the summit of basic skill development, they are now eyeing first projects to begin working on and/or additional skill set to acquire. Stay tuned to hear about the projects being developed and workshops being offered. By:  Fernando Restituto ...

For this episode of Catch da Flava Youth Radio, co-host Judy talked to founder of Human Rights organization JAYU, Gilad Cohen, about their sister project The iAm program and its upcoming photography exhibit on November 3rd at 6:30 PM EST at Daniels Spectrum in Regent Park. ​ The iAm program collects youth each year interested in storytelling and photography and teaches them workshops on both storytelling and photography from accomplished photographers and artists. The youth are tasked to take pictures and the photos are presented at a yearly exhibit, with all proceeds going back to the youth participants.​ This year’s theme is “reconciliation” with youth participants from the Canadian Native Centre of Toronto. All events, workshops, means of transportation and additional costs were funded by the program and looks to utilize storytelling, the arts, and specifically photography as a means of healing youth that face extreme social adversity, such as Indigenous communities that face t...

For Catch da Flava’s October 17th show, host Diamond Bailey held a panel discussion about post-secondary students reaching for ADHD drugs and other stimulants to achieve academic success. With students stressed and frazzled, they have turned to studying with the aid of prescription pills that are not necessarily their own.​ With 65 per cent of students surveyed by the Center of innovation for campus Mental Health saying that they experienced overwhelming anxiety in the last year, an increase from 57 per cent in 2013, we agreed that the increased stress students faced should encourage them to look to other coping mechanisms rather than such a dangerous alternative.​ Additionally, we discussed the topic of Nootropics also known as “smart drugs.” They are cognitive enhancers and are yet to be legal, so we wondered whether the government should allow it to be legally sold as it is illegal to sell in Canada. ​ Accordingly, we talked about the many side effects of ADHD drugs an...

Date: Oct 16, 2017 Hosts : Moya & Victoria Guests : Anny, Shadae, & Sherry Topic : Teen Pregnancy & Stigma This week Moya and Victoria shed some light on teen pregnancy and the stigma that young parents deal with on the day to day. Moya and Victoria welcome the rest of the PowerfulXNature team to the show which includes: Anny and Shadae; and Sherry the Youth Leadership Program lead at Jessie’s Centre ; who all share experiences throughout the show about pregnancy and parenting as a youth and the stigma that they have experienced. For the second half, our hosts lead a conversation on how the media can portray teen parents in a negative way and the impact that this can have. Being shamed for decisions that you’ve made and being stigmatized makes navigating the world very difficult. We also discuss how the team is changing the dialogue through the Community Education Program at Jessie’s Centre; and how Shadae through her blog, She's Too Young To...

For this episode of Catch da Flava Youth Radio, host Joel Williams interviewed guest Joshua Stribbell, President of the National Urban Inuit Youth Council. Joel asked Joshua a few questions concerning the issues around the Inuit population and why it seemed important to create an organization specifically for urban Inuit youth. While the Inuit population are native to specific regions in Canada such as Nunavut and Nunavik in Quebec, this organization looks to help those living in urban areas outside of those native regions. In doing so, it helps provide them cohesion and a sense of community as the Inuit population is ten times more likely to commit suicide than any other cultural group in Canada, and is also the youngest population in Canada, with its median age at 24 years-old, according to Joshua. Considering the extreme issues around health and wellness when it comes to the Inuit population in Canada, it is important to create resources such as the National Urban Inuit Youth...

For this week’s October 10th show, Catch da Flava once again revisited the issue of mental health and students, hosted by Diamond Bailey with guest panelists Judy Pham and Joel Williams. We talked about the demand for mental health services amongst Toronto's youth which contrasts with society's perception of this age group being relatively healthy. Additionally we discussed our experiences with mental health in a school setting. With 70% of mental health problems having their onset during childhood or adolescence and young people aged 15 to 24 being more likely to experience mental illnesses and/or substance abuse than any other age group, we fully understood the growth of demands and acknowledge the many universities and businesses who are doing more to combat the lack of services for Toronto's youth. Furthermore in respect to CAMH (Centre of Addiction and Mental Health) estimation of 4,000 Canadians dying of suicide as well as suicide being the second leading cause...

October 6th 2017 Starting off for the month of October the Divas shared their “This Is Me” poems that they wrote the previous week. Many of the poems were inspiring and the girls spoke highly of themselves. The Canvas ladies, Londzo and Maymuna, had an activity prepared that involved digging skin deep. The Divas were required to analyze their meaning of beautiful then study a few pictures of racial stereotypes and moved forward in having a discussion on the impact of these negative stereotypes. They even shared their own experience of being stereotyped. After a 15-minute break the Divas regrouped and watched a video about colorism then were to reflect on how they felt about the video. A lot of the girls had great insight on how they felt about the video. Lastly, the Divas wrapped up the rest of the evening with writing in their journals. Next week, there will be a lot more exciting activities for the Diva girls. By: Alexis Augustine Past Poems My Hijab My Right http:/...

For this episode of Catch da Flava Youth Radio, co-hosts Judy and Diamond held a panel discussion about how mental health has affected us or someone we know. We mention personal anecdotes about our experiences with mental health as well as how we dealt with the stigma associated with mental illness, whether this being from an outside perspective or battling with mental illness ourselves. We concluded that one of the best ways to combat the stigma of mental health is to further educate, as to better understand not only about mental illnesses but how it affects everyday life and how it differs from person to person. Additionally we talked about mental health services and medication that have both better and hindered our experience.Furthermore, we brought to light how it felt like to share and be open about having a mental illness and how this affected our lives or someone we know. Having people in you life in which you could depend on for support and comfort makes a world of diff...

For our Catch da Flava Youth Radio show on October 2nd, 2017 we centred the show on mental health concerns as it is mental health awareness week. We started the conversation with covering the recent news on 17-year-old teenager Noah Irvine and his quest to bring more awareness and resources to mental health concerns to the Canadian government. Noah was only five years old when his mother passed away from suicide. Then three years ago when Noah was fifteen, his father passed away from a drug overdose. Noah believes it could have been prevented if the government had provided more resources for mental health. He started off writing to every member of Parliament, then later was able to meet with the Federal Minister of Health, and just recently had a scheduled meeting with the Prime Minister, scheduled for Wednesday morning. Sharing this story, we also provided some audio clips of the story being covered by local media outlets to highlight how much public attention young Noah...