Old cars help troubled teens learn life skills
NEWMARKET, ON—Mark Iannetta drives his 1996 Honda Accord into The Shop's parking lot, takes off the license plates and hands the keys over to Mark Dean, Shop coordinator.
"I've got a good feeling about the car and would like it to go to something good," says Iannetta, who has driven all the way from Oshawa to donate his car.
Vehicle donation is the public face of The Shop, a youth training and mentoring program based just north of Toronto and run by Youth Unlimited, Toronto Youth for Christ.
Money raised from cars like Iannetta's goes to covering The Shop's overhead expenses enabling them to train up to 25 young people per week in car mechanics, small engine repair and carpentry.
"We receive anywhere between 35 to 65 cars a week," Dean says. "About 80 per cent of those go to be recycled and the rest we sell either wholesale or retail. The object is to use that to train and mentor youth and to connect with them on a spiritual level while they are learning a trade.
"Vehicle donation is what we do—but it's not what we're about," Dean adds, explaining The Shop's main focus is on mentoring.
A large number of the young people who come through the program do so on court-mandated community service hours after being convicted of first-time offences. Others are homeless, who have found their way to Newmarket while attempting to migrate down to Toronto.
Investing in lives
Each youth is trained and mentored one-on-one by a volunteer. Shifts are only two hours long to accommodate as many young people as possible. After completing training, The Shop helps young people find permanent employment.
"That's the easy part!" Dean says, "There are tons of places willing to take them. There's always jobs for people in the trades. If you know one of these trades you'll never be out of work, no matter how bad the economy is. But it's still pretty hard to get into the trades. Either you need to have ten grand to spend on tools, or a family member in the trades who can mentor you, or you need to get really good grades—which wouldn't have worked for me. I got kicked out of every school I went to."
He rattles off a list of local success stories, including a young man who came to them "fresh out of Toronto's gang scene" and is now working retail, and a single mother of three who is now a mechanic.
"We've got good partners in the community," Dean says. The Shop looks for employers who understand the needs of their new employees and share a commitment to help them continue on the right track."
"So, for example, when kids start showing up late they won't be automatically fired," Dean says, "A lot of those youth are very, very loyal to the people who've been there for them. The business owners invest their time in these youth—there's not a lot of people who invest in these kid's lives often."
But Dean adds that while the "easy part is placing them in a career, the hard part is getting them ready for it." Helping young people learn how to dress themselves and present themselves is also essential, he explains.
Unique in Canada
Today, manager Steve Hart is teaching 19-year-old Ernest basic carpentry skills. Ernest is becoming impatient with how long it is taking them to make measurements on the wood, and Hart attempts to explain the importance of making accurate plans before drilling.
Ernest is "doing hours" after getting into a fight at school and being disciplined under the board's "zero-tolerance" policy. He is also doing hours at another location, but prefers being at The Shop.
"There's a lot to do here," Ernest says, "It's better than sitting around and doing nothing...It's fun."
Hart explains that young people like Ernest normally end up sweeping floors or collecting garbage for their community service hours. "But here they learn something useful, something productive. They learn to do something with their hands. We're pretty unique in Canada."
Hart, a carpenter, used to build houses before becoming a Shop volunteer and eventually joining the staff. More volunteers are needed, Hart says. Specific trade qualifications aren't essential.
"What's important is that [volunteers] have an understanding and a willingness to work with troubled students and teach them basic stuff—like hand-eye coordination and the ability to think for themselves.
"Many are booked for a period of time to work off their community service hours," Hart says. "We get a lot of good kids that made a mistake, got caught, so instead of going to jail were given community service. We also get a lot of kids with first time drug offences—and the courts would rather see them learn something than go to jail.
"It's not just task oriented," Hart adds. "It's relationship oriented. Sometimes we'll just sit and talk with them."
Friends and mentors
Dean says they had originally tried one mentor working with a group of four or five, but discovered that the young people would then often start showing off to impress each other—and that sometimes the one with the most challenges could drag the "good kids" down.
"Most of the guys we deal with are the type of guy that when you see them coming on a dark night you cross over to the other side of the street," Dean says. "We've had guys here doing hours for violent crime.
"But this is a safe place—where there is no one to show off for. The kids may think they are just on a co-op, but when you put a wrench in their hands can you watch the walls drop. They become ready to chat, and that's where the growth happens. That leads to change.
"It's more than just learning a trade," Dean says, "It's about connecting kids with jobs and connecting kids with Christ."
Dear Readers:
ChristianWeek relies on your generous support. please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt.Thank you, from Christianweek.
