Roger Hart’s Ladder of Young People’s ...

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The Ally Checklist

Being an ally is a unique role with challenging and sometimes painful encounters. The process of becoming and being an ally is no easy task. It takes: a lot of discussion, challenges, support and tears deep personal examinations into our own privilege(s) development, maintenance, and practice understanding how we benefit everyday from our privileges whether we want to or not rising above guilt Supporting someone to be an...

Benefits of Involving Youth in Decision-Making

Recognizing and involving youth in a community’s decision-making processes is about more than engaging young people for the sake of inclusivity. It’s about recognizing the measurable benefits youth offer to organizations and whole communities. Youth need meaning, control and connectedness to thrive in an adult-youth partnership. Youth must feel like they are involved in something important, have a valued say in what happens...

Peer and Professional Roles in Peer Support

A committed peer support group member has a responsibility to the group and to the peer support movement to promote the development of effective groups and effective relationships with professionals. In relationships with professionals, peers work to: Understand and explain the benefits and limitations of peer support groups. Promote the value of peer support group participation using specific examples. Describe the benefit...

Conflict Strategies: What Are You Like?

Different people use different strategies for managing conflicts. These strategies are learned, usually in childhood, and they seem to function automatically. Usually we are not aware of how we act in conflict situations. We just do whatever seems to come naturally. But we do have a personal strategy, and because it was learned, we can always change it by learning new and more effective ways of managing conflict. When you...

Setting Healthy Boundaries

Adapted from “Setting Healthy Boundaries”, Langley Seniors Centre, 2004     Healthy: helping to maintain or bring about good health; in a prosperous and efficient condition. Boundary: the point at which something ends or beyond which it becomes something else.   Healthy boundaries help make relationships last, especially when you as a volunteer are working with other community members. Clear boundaries can...

Qualities of Effective Facilitators

The values described below are often considered essential for individuals involved with group learning and with facilitating the learning process. Respect Recognize each individual and his / her right to be heard Believe in everyone’s ability to grow and change Value and acknowledge each person’s strengths Encourage the full expression of ideas Honour everyone’s right to make choices Value each...

Facilitators’ Role

Each group member is the expert of his or her own experience. The main goal of a facilitator is to draw out knowledge and insight from other group members. A facilitator will use different skills, tools, exercises and natural abilities to keep a group discussion moving smoothly. In general, facilitators have three responsibilities: to make sure that everyone has a chance to have their ideas and feelings expressed to keep the...

What is Community Development?

Community development is a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems. Community wellbeing (economic, social, environmental and cultural) often evolves from this type of collective action being taken at a grassroots level. Community development ranges from small initiatives within a small group to large initiatives that involve the broader community....

Competencies for Voluntary Sector Leaders

Adapted from the June 2003 NLI Report: What Do Voluntary Sector Leaders Do?   Competencies are the knowledge, skills, abilities, intangible/tangible mindsets and behaviours that lead to improving life in the community and the world through principled actions and professional behaviour in the voluntary sector. The Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations and the Association of Canadian Community Colleges worked...