Youth Program Facilitator

Youth Program Facilitator 

Wage & Hours: $50 per hour; 4-8 hours per week

About HeART Mental Wellness Art Programming for Youth: 

HeART programs embody resilience-based strategies, with a particular focus on mindfulness, to help youth learn how to better cope with life’s stresses. HeART was founded in 2019 by Kayla Bernard to provide a decolonial, strengths-based environment for youth to experience purposeful and intentional leisure activities. HeART programs shift based on the availability of our staff team and the needs of young people; they often include: art workshops, outdoor learning opportunities, camps, school-based art experiences, and community leisure experiences. We have three part-time members of our core team — Tomas, Kayla, and Adam — and are hosted by an organization called the Society of Queer Momentum.

Opportunity: 

• You will join us for 4-8 hours per week to plan and co-facilitate weekly workshops that invite youth to explore new art mediums, learn mindfulness skills, and experience the outdoors.
• You will help us to facilitate weekly art and mindfulness workshops on Wednesday evenings and/or an outdoor-based program on Saturday afternoons.
  • In the future we will consider reintroducing programs that we have offered in the past (camps, school programming, etc.) and developing new programs.
• You will help us to grow our team so that we offer HeART programming to more communities.
• You will have opportunities to develop your own mindfulness, creative, and land-based practices. You can also expect to find yourself learning from a unique intergenerational environment that centres the wisdom of children and youth.
• You will have opportunities to suspend your disbelief about what work “has to be” and join a team that will support you to be well.
  • Our work environment is informed by our experiences working with trauma, land, personal development, art and leisure, wellness methodologies, and generative resistance.
• You will be able to experiment with the actions associated with the work of decolonization.

What You’ll Be Doing: 

• Co-facilitating art and mindfulness programming
• Preparing and purchasing art materials, snacks, and supplies
• Coaching and mentoring youth
• Researching and learning art and mindfulness activities
• Attending team meetings
• Participating in the development of HeART programming
• Answering emails and team communications
• Submitting receipts and tracking expenses
• Supporting the writing and reporting on funder reports/applications as needed and as interest intersects.

Our Commitments to You:

• We will encourage you to speak for what you need to be well
• We will reimburse travel expenses
• We will provide you with a $75/month contribution to life expenses
• We will work with you to find professional development opportunities
• We will help you to grow your role and your hours if you are interested
• We will provide a supportive approach to personal leave (wellness, bereavement, emergencies, family, community, health, etc.)
• We will welcome your ways of being and knowing

Life Experiences:  

Any number of experiences may prepare you to be a Youth Program Facilitator with HeART. These could include self-study, life experience, high school, university, college, professional or certificate programs, and/or experiences learning with the land, elders, community members, and/or family members.

If you have had some of the life experiences below, we hope that you will apply for this role:

• Facilitating trauma-informed youth programs
• Facilitating art, outdoor, creative, and/or learning programs
• Supporting, mentoring, and/or learning-from younger people
• Hosting or preparing for gatherings, events, and/or workshops
• Having wellness practices of your own
• Having practices of your own that include the land, creativity, listening, and learning
• Bringing together communities to have meaningful conversations
• Advocating with justice-deserving communities

Readiness: 

Here are some of the things that you’ll want to be ready to do and experience when you work with HeART programs:

• Adapting to the changing needs of young people and remaining open to how that shifts programming structures
• Noticing and expressing your emotions and needs, including managing personal triggers/activations
• Expressing when something isn’t working for you
• Reflecting on power relations
• Developing and maintaining appropriate confidentiality and boundaries
• Learning how to work within a decolonizing, flexible work environment
• Accepting that we have no dedicated physical space for administrative tasks
• Gaining access to a computer and cell phone
• Working in-person with young people during times of increased viral transmission
• Learning how to work with youth with diverse identities and lived experiences
• Supporting youth who are exploring gender identity and sexuality

Application Process: 

1. Submit a list of experiences (this can be a resumé or something less formal) and an answer to the question: “Why is now the right time for me to be a Youth Program Facilitator at HeART?” to heartyouthprogram@gmail.com. We will review applications as they are submitted and will close applications on November 7th at 11:59pm AT.
2. We will reply to your email to let you know that it has been received.
3. Your application will be read and assessed by members of the HeART team, within 10 days of it being submitted.
4. A short-list of applicants will be contacted for a brief phone call.
5. Following phone calls, selected applicants will be invited to participate in an in-person interview with members of the HeART team.
6. After hiring has been completed we will send an email to all applicants.

Application Tips: 

• Write in your own style. Don’t worry too much about using the words that you think we want to hear.
• Share something that feels authentic. You don’t need to look like a perfect person on paper.
• Be proud of the experiences that prepare you for this role. Don’t worry if the experiences that prepare you seem a little bit different than your perception of the “regular” candidate.
• If you see this application after the deadline, email us and ask if we can still accept an application from you.