A Lifelong Friendship’s Experience with IYMP

Written by Seneca Chartrand and Lisa Spence, Regional Coordinators in Winnipeg. Edited by Keatton Tiernan, IYMP member and research partner from the University of Alberta

Here’s what the two Regional Coordinator’s of Winnipeg had to share about their friendship and their experience with IYMP:

Lisa and I have been best friends since we were twelve years old. We joined the Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program while we were at R.B. Russell High School in Winnipeg, Manitoba. With the program, we volunteered at David Livingstone Elementary School. We prepared snacks and led games for the children.

Once we graduated high school, we became staff with IYMP and had the opportunity to train high school students to lead their own programs in elementary schools. We also both went to Red River College for Child and Youth Care. IYMP showed us that we loved working with children and youth, and that’s what we wanted to do in the future.

We both had different jobs over the years, but we always came back to IYMP. In 2017, Lisa became one of the program coordinators for the Winnipeg programs, and I joined her in 2019.

Being responsible for the Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program in various schools around Winnipeg is more than a job for Lisa and myself. After dedicating 15 years to the program, as program participants, staff, and now coordinators, we have been able to see the impact of IYMP and how important the program is.

IYMP provides role models for Indigenous children and youth. It gives them their own space to learn and build relationships. Lisa and I are still in contact with the other high school students from our own program, and we have staff in IYMP who come back year after year. Multiple high school volunteers have continued as staff members, and we believe that is a testament to the leadership skills the programs offer.