Our annual Soul Journey Mentorship Program recently concluded with a powerful three-day excursion that brought history, culture and community to life for Black youth in care.
Sponsored by the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada and CIBC, Soul Journey Mentoring provides Black youth in care with opportunities to explore their identity, develop life skills, and build connections that foster confidence and community. Over the past year, participants gathered for monthly sessions at Tropicana Community Services where they learned practical skills, heard from inspiring community members, and envisioned pathways to post-secondary education and careers.
The program culminated in August with 15 youth, along with our staff and community partners, travelling through Niagara, St. Catharines and Chatham-Kent. Guided by Professor Michele Johnson of York University, the group explored the story of the Coloured Corps at Queenston Heights, reflected on Chloe Cooley’s resistance that shaped Canada’s first anti-slavery legislation, and visited Salem Chapel to learn about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. They walked through the Black Mecca Museum, toured the historic Buxton Settlement, honoured the legacy of Josiah Henson, and visited the Amherstburg Freedom Museum. To give youth a sense of post-secondary life, the group also stayed at Lambton College and experienced campus dorms first-hand.
Of the 15 youth, some had participated before while others were joining for the first time. As Claudia Lynch, Director, Equity & Practice Innovation, at the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto shared, “For those returning participants, their enthusiasm to come back year after year is a testament to the program’s impact. For first-time participants, their excitement was immediate. In the words of one youth, ‘Soul Journey is a place that makes me feel happy and safe.’”’
She went on to reflect, “Most powerful was seeing these lessons connected to their own identities, and how clearly they recognized the resilience and strengths that comes with Blackness. Soul Journey continues to be not just a program, but a transformative space where Black youth feel seen, empowered and inspired to carry the legacy of those who came before them.”
