The House Youth Centre
247 Brock Street N9V 2H4 Amherstburg, ON, Canada

Not registered yet? New to our meetings? Click the link (https://www.cognitoforms.com/Nat/thehousememberregistration) to register! New members always welcome. Grade 9 + 11 are on TUESDAYS at 7:30 Grade 10 + 12 are on WEDNESDAYS at the same time

AMHERSTBURG.. Are you ready!? Let's go! https://cnoy.org/location/amherstburg #cnoy21 #amherstburg #windsoressex #CNOY

Our Board of Directors is currently accepting applications for ALL of our volunteer Committees! Each Committee has a unique role in helping our organization grow and thrive as smoothly as possible. Click + swipe through the descriptions of each for more information. If you're interested in applying to volunteer with any of these Committees, you can send us a Direct Message, or contact our Program Coordinator, Natalyn, at [email protected] !

We are still open and fully operational in our online space! Moving into grey zone - lockdown is an easier transition the second time around. Our weekly peer support meetings will continue on Google Meets without any interruption! Grade 9 & Grade 11: Tuesdays ... Grade 10 & 12: Wednesdays @ 7:30 on Google Meet New members always welcome! These meetings are run by our volunteer teams and overseen by our Program Director, Natalyn.. just like usual! Every student is given their own personal Google House Account for easy and secure log ins. These meetings offer social interaction and the opportunity for healthy connections with peers AND trained mentors. Each weeks topic and activity is thoughtfully planned by the mentors working in each grade level. (*Our Embrace program will also continuously thrive in this online format until further notice.) We know that caring for ourselves - physically, mentally, and emotionally - is going to be SUPER important for our teens this season. And we are HERE for it! If you have any questions about our programs and services, or feel like you need extra support - You can reach Natalyn at [email protected]

Our Next 50 Years: A new chapter of The House (of Shalom) Youth Centre. ..and how you can get involved! We're so excited to share some exciting news with you!...Continue reading

This year has created new challenges for all non-profits and community organizations - and The House is no exception. For us, the impact of Covid-19 shutdowns came alongside what we already knew was going to be a challenging year for us. Early in the new year, we received the news that the United Way in Windsor Essex was going to be re-focusing their priority areas, and therefore would no longer be able to fund any programs in Amherstburg, including ours. This financial hit,... coupled with: the cancelation of almost all of our annual fundraising events major staff transition moving out of our 40-year home at 247 Brock and preparing for our new home in the Amherstburg Community Hub Well, let's just say it has been a whirlwind of strategizing.. and re-strategizing! While we are excited and optimistic about our #Next50Years, we know that it is only possible with the continued support of our community here in #Amherstburg Click here for sign up for a monthly or one time donation https://www.canadahelps.org//charities/thehouseyouthcentre/ . . . If you're looking to keep your financial support here in our community, consider partnering with us through a monthly donation. As a registered charity with the CRA, your donation is eligible for tax receipts.

We asked Brendan: "How did your experience at The House as a youth, helped you as an adult?" "As a high-schooler, I struggled with self-esteem. I was always doubting and second-guessing every decision I made, who I was as a person, my likes and dislikes, and my interactions with others. Finding The House, at the beginning of grade 10, I felt like we were having conversations that mattered. I never felt that anything I shared was being judged. I finally felt that I could share... my own opinions, without them being discounted because of my age or lack of life experience. I felt that the topics that we covered had been chosen just for me. I gravitated towards my leaders, who I would model myself after as an adult. One leader in particular, when I was struggling to decide what I would do after high school, gave me some simple advice on steps of The House one night. She told me, when I lie in bed alone at night, to ask myself one simple question, "Am I happy with myself today?" This question always follows with more. Like, Did I make the right choices? Did I treat everyone with respect? Am I following my heart? Am I being honest with myself? What do I need to be happier or healthier? Asking myself if I am truly happy has never failed to help guide my life in positive ways. Having positive role-models, who believed in me and would simply listen each week impacted all parts of my life. I started to feel more sure of myself and made it a point to share my thoughts and opinions more often at school and at work. Doing that led to me become more involved in my community and allowed me to build my own support systems. Many of those same role-models would later become friends, and I would learn that they had always seen me as a capable and confident person even when I didn't feel the same, and that's how The House has helped me." Brendan was a member at The House from 2004-2008, and has been a volunteer mentor for total of 10 years since then! He is also currently serving as a Board Member on our Board of Directors. Brendan works as a Primary teacher in Windsor Essex.

Our Embrace group meets on Google Meet TOMORROW (November 26, 2020). If youre not currently a youth member at The House, but you're interested in participating, just send us a message and we can get your set up with a House Google Account.

We're halfway through the week, and we want to hear from YOU! Tell us what you would choose.. and why!? (For more WouldYouRather Q's, head over to our Instagram stories @thehouseyouthcentre)

DID YOU KNOW? Breakaway Gaming Centre and Charitable Gaming Windsor has continued to support us, and countless other non-profit organizations in Windsor Essex, even though Covid!? This has allowed us to continue our programming in restricted capacities through the duration of this entire year! We are SO thankful for their creativity in this time, and their commitment to local charities & non profits

We are so excited to finally *officially* announce Amherstburg's #ColdestNightoftheYear will be benefitting The House! Head over and give our new page a follow!

If this were a normal year, this week we would be "Decking the Halls" at The House Youth Centre! A night usually filled with hot chocolate, classic tunes, and a TON of decor. Instead, can you share your favourite pictures from The House at Christmas!? Drop your memories + pictures in the comments!

Happy Thursday Hope you all enjoy this little blast from the past, originally featured in the Amherstburg Echo in the fall of 1989. We are so proud of where we have come from in the #past50years of The House, but we are even more excited to keep going!

We've arrived at the best part of the week - meetings! Grade 9 + 11 are on tonight at 7:30 Grade 10 + 12 are on tomorrow at the same time... Not registered yet? New to our meetings? Click the link (https://www.cognitoforms.com/Nat/thehousememberregistration) to register! New members always welcome.

Join us tomorrow night on Google Meet for our 2nd Embrace meeting of the season. Ages 14-21 - new members always welcome!

REMINDER We are still looking for a handful of volunteers to help out with this Saturday's Christmas Parade! Dm us to sign you + your friends up

Thanks to the Windsor Police Service - Amherstburg Detachment for supporting Windsor Essex Child/Youth Advocacy Centre! We love living in a community that understand the importance of these vital programs to support our children and youth.

Packing up for the move! Although we haven't really been 'at' 247 Brock since mid-March, this is the last week that it will be 'ours'. After months (and MONTHS) of packing, sorting, reminiscing, re-packing, selling, auctioning, and reminiscing a little more.. we're finally loading up the items coming with us to our new home at the Amherstburg Community Hub! Our meetings are still online at the moment, as we wait for the finishing touches on our new space. We can't wait for the day that we can celebrate our new home together

We asked Angie: How has being apart of the house community impacted your life? "Being apart of such an incredible community like The House has really enlightend me to the types of friends I want to keep around and relationships that are worth my time. The House is such a supportive and welcoming environment and has really boosted my confidence and made me comfortable with who I am. It showed me that I am cared for and valued. Its my favourite to walk into the building and he...ar the chorus of "hellos" from the friendly faces sitting near the entrance. I attribute a lot of who I am as an adult to the skills and lessons I learned while being a member and then leader at The House. It truly is my home away from home." Angie was a youth member at The House from 2008-2012. Following that, she was an Intern with our Activities Coordinator for the duration of 2013, and has been a volunteer leaders ever since!

We find ourselves at another Monday! Starting the week off with 10-15 minutes of reflecting is a great way to grab control of the week you're about to have. Sit with these questions in a quiet place, on your walk to school, or with a journal. Deep breaths - you've got this!

Volunteer Highlight We asked Callie, "What is something you’ve had to 'unlearn'?" Over the years, I have had a lot of experiences and moments where there were things I wish I had realized a lot sooner. I always gave it my all to live up to other people’s expectations of myself, instead of taking things at my own pace and doing things for myself. I always thought I needed to prove things to people, and I always thought that I needed to have something to show for myself. Hav...ing this mindset put a lot of pressure on myself to be perfect for everyone, and live up to everyone else’s standards, and not even take my own wants and needs into consideration. It was stressful, difficult and made me quite miserable. I wasn’t loving the life I was living. It wasn’t until quite recently that I realized that something that I needed to unlearn was the idea that people’s expectations of me were all my responsibility, and that I was only here to live for other people and not myself. Over the last few months, I’ve had a lot of extra time to learn about myself, and what I needed and wanted in life. I started doing things for myself, and started taking things, like my post-secondary education, into my own hands and at my own pace. I’ve been making an active effort to stop letting the expectations of others determine my value, and have been doing things at my own pace and in my own time. I’ve started living a alot more for myself, and focusing on where I want my future to go instead of focusing on what other people want my future to look like. In the last while that I’ve been working on this, I’ve already started to notice changes in my life that make my mental and physical environment a lot more positive and enjoyable for MYSELF. I’m so happy that I took the time to reflect on my life and what was missing, and that I’ve decided to unlearn something, which in turn will only make my life better for me. And truly, as long as I’m happy and comfortable, that’s all that matters. Callie was a member at The House from 2013-2017, and is currently in her 4th year of being a volunteer mentor! Callie works at Movati here in Amherstburg, and after taking a breath from

Just a reminder to all of our current Volunteer Leaders: our online Kick Off is happening tonight on Google Meet at 7pm Cant wait to see you all!

Hmm.. today, we want to hear from YOU! Tell us what you would choose.. and why!? (For more WouldYouRather Q's, head over to our Instagram stories @thehouseyouthcentre)

Did you know you can hit up www.paypal.me/TheHouseYouthCentre anytime to make safe and secure donations!? As a registered charity with the CRA, donations are eligible for a tax receipt. All donations go directly to supporting our youth programming as we transition into our #Next50Years

A large focus of our mentoring program is preparing youth to be the LEADERS of tomorrow! We know that leadership is more than positions or titles - it often looks a lot more like loving and caring for the people around us.

Reminder: Our 2020 AGM is happening tomorrow night!

There are a LOT of things around us right now that are outside of our control - this can feel big, overwhelming, and pretty scary! If you catch your mind starting to fixate on all of the things you can't control, try intentionally practicing healthy habits within the scope of things you CAN control! What else is within your control!? Add it to the list!

Thanks to the Brad Bondy team for this generous donation!

Volunteer Highlight We asked Morghan, "What is one goal you are working towards right now? Why do you believe this goal is important?" She said: "A goal I am working towards is setting boundaries within my relationships and learning the importance of say no more often. ... You know the saying, Givers need to set limits because takers rarely do? Well, that feeling was becoming an overwhelming experience in my life. I was letting myself be available to everyone and making it ok for others to take advantage of what I had to offer in the relationship. I was giving all my time and energy to tasks at work, friends who needed support, and family that needed help. I realized I was giving and giving all that I had to others and had very little energy left for myself. - I slowly started saying no to things, which wasn’t always easy. It felt selfish to all of a sudden say no to people, but further explaining myself and not being respected sucked. - I cut back on my time and responsibilities at work to focus on school and this boundary was very well respected. - I stood up for myself when people tried to invalidate my feeling, saying this sucks right now and I am allowed to be upset by it. Learning how to set healthy boundaries has been uncomfortable and confusing and it hasn’t always worked, but I am not giving up! This goal/mindset has helped me to realize how I want and deserve to be treated and that sticking up for myself doesn’t have to be a scary thing. Realizing how little boundaries I had in my life was disappointing, but making that change has felt empowering. Setting boundaries has felt like the ultimate form of self-care and that's what makes it important to me. " Morghan was a member at The House from 2010 - 2014. Immediately after graduating, she signed up to be a volunteer mentor for 4 years. After taking some time off to focus on school (she's currently in her final year of Social Work at the University of Windsor!), she is back as a volunteer in our brand new Grade 9 Group!

New members always welcome. Send us a message to register and get set up with a Google Meet address!

A big warm thank you to Cindy Hazael-Gietz for this thoughtful Thanksgiving drop off! We are so lucky to have such a supportive community.