Youth doing an activity with a youth program worker

The 196 & The 196+

The 196 and The 196+ programs are for students in grades 6 to 9. Our goal is to empower young people experiencing poverty to pursue a post-secondary education after completing high school. A collaboration between Mission Services of Hamilton and Mohawk College, we aim to create positive attitudes about education among kids who may not be thinking that post secondary education is an option for them.

The 196 offers youth in our neighbourhood in grades 6-8 a healthy afterschool snack, a nutritious hot meal, cooking & gardening classes (Mini Chefs & Sprouts), homework help, as well as a large recreational component. The program is youth led and strength based, we focus many of our activities on mental and physical well being.
 
The 196+ is offered to students in Grade 9 to support with the important transition between middle school and high school. The program assists youth in acquiring volunteer hours that are part of the requirement in the high school curriculum, work on employability skills such as food safety certificates, resume building, home work help and much more. In addition they also receive healthy snacks and a nutritious hot meal.

We are grateful to the Hamilton Community Foundation for supporting these programs.

Want to join The 196 or The 196+? We always accept referrals from parents, teachers, students, etc. Contact Adalia at 905-528-4212 ext 1126.

Youth Wellness Programming: Mini Chefs

In January 2018 Mission Services started a new Youth Food Program, and hired a Youth Wellness Worker with funding for the first three years of the program provided by the Edith H. Turner Foundation Fund. The Youth Wellness Worker runs our food literacy and food skills program, Mini Chefs, as well as other food programming activities with the goals of increasing food knowledge, food skills, and healthy habits. Mini Chefs teaches cooking skills and food knowledge by having one head chef lead in the planning, preparation, cooking and serving of a meal.

The goal of the Youth Wellness Worker's programming is to improve the health and wellness of youth in our community by teaching important lessons, and skills, surrounding food security and healthy eating.

Youth Afterschool Meal Program

Mission Services’ Afterschool Meal Program applies a strengths-based, youth-led approach to community food security. Opened in 2016, the program offers bagged lunches for youth, a drop-in hot meal program for 85 children and youth each weekday, as well as special workshops and activities around healthy eating for parents. Our goal is to improve access to healthy food in order to enhance health outcomes among young people and their families in our neighbourhood.

Funding for Mission Services’ youth programs comes from individual donations in the community as well as the Hamilton Community Foundation's ABACUS fund, Mischa Weisz Foundation, Children’s Fund (CHML), the City of Hamilton’s City Enrichment Fund, and TC Energy.

Mission Services thanks John Bear Automotive Group on Upper James for the complimentary lease of our Chevrolet Spark. The Spark has been very beneficial for running smaller errands between buildings and picking up supplies. The Spark is used by Operations, the 196 program, and the Good Food Centre.

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