Liberty For Youth: Testimonials
I would like to thank Liberty for Youth for giving me the opportunity to share my testimonies.
Prior to being incarcerated I met a friend at Sir Allan McNab high school and he told me about Liberty For Youth and how they were really helping him. At first I thought he was just nagging me but afterwards I witnessed changes in his life. After coming out of incarceration I started visiting Liberty’s programs. I thought it was going to be just fun and games which some of it was, but then I was told that apart of the program require me to be a mentor for kids 10 to 12 years old. I thought I needed mentoring myself how am I going to do this.
Months went by and Brother Frederick would pick up these younger kids from the North end of the city and bring them to the YMCA. After games and dinner from time to time I had to share with the kids all the bad things to stay away from. I didn’t like it because some of those things I was doing. I felt like a liar. This made me start to look at my life, friends just everything.
Two years later with the support of Principal Em Del Sordo, Teacher Zita Bersenas-Cers and after attending 5 different Hamilton high schools in 7 years I graduated. Yes I finally did it. I was proud and I had a right to be. I started working fulltime but at the program I was encouraged to go to college. Six months later because of my accomplishments I was given a trophy and some award money at the liberty for youth volunteer appreciation breakfast. Brother Frederick took me to RBC Royal Band of Canada where I got some credit counseling and I opened my first investment account. With the support of Mrs. Christine Soshycki at Royal Bank I finally paid off all my debits.
Last month I got into a fight and was arrested. I had no one to call. The only person I could think of was Brother Frederick. I knew when I made that collect call Brother Frederick was going to know where I was and probably be disappointed. I asked him if he could bail me, be my surety and come to court to support me. He did all that but with many restriction. One of them is that I live with him and his family. I am happy living there. It’s cool. My goal now is to keep the peace, start College next year, work and save my money and enjoy this time in my life.
Thanks Liberty,
Josh
I was in the hall of main street court when my girl friend Jen and I saw this man providing information to some young people for support and telling them many ways they can get help. At first I didn’t want to talk to anyone about getting help but my girl friend Jen encouraged me to talk the man. The man gave me a program brochure and asked me to come out to the YMCA where they have programs to help youth. About 2 weeks later Jen and I decided to visit the program. The first day at the program was great we played board games, hang out, have dinner and they where teaching about self esteem. Nadine one of the program coordinator took my personal information and created a resume for me the same day. About 2 weeks after getting my resume done I was called for an interview for a job but I didn’t have any money. I called liberty for youth and asked if they could provide bus fair for me and they came by my apartment and dropped of bus fair. That day I went to the job and I got it. Two months later I had to go to court and I need some support. Brother Frederick form Liberty for Youth came to court and inform the judge about all the positive changes that I have been doing in my live. The courts then decided that I should continue with the program. Just last week I was hired fulltime at my work place and I received a raise. In the next 4 months I will start to get my benefits. I would like to thank liberty for youth for their support.
Ryland
Good night everyone. I would like to thank Liberty for Youth for giving me the opportunity to share my testimony with you tonight. My name is Christopher Rumble. I was fortunate to grow up in a loving, healthy home with two wonderful parents. I had a very good childhood and many wonderful memories growing up with my two brothers.
As I entered into high school the first two years became a blur to me. I was facing many challenges and pressures. I was brought up in a Christian home and my parents had set strong moral and ethical values for us. For these two years I became frustrated, seeing so many of my friends doing what I was taught and told not to do. By my third year I gave into the pressures. I dropped out of school with some friends and we would drink and smoke up everyday.
I thought this was the cool thing to do. I didn’t want to take direction from my teachers who love me so much. I really didn’t want to work to my full potential. Honestly, I just wanted to do my own thing.
This caused me to loose interest in life. I became complacent and in that I tried more and more drugs and alcohol.
I knew Bother Frederick for a couple of years and I knew he cared about young people. I knew I needed help but I was too scared to ask for it. One day when Brother Frederick asked me how things were going with my future plans I knew it was the chance to get help.
I spent several months in Liberty’s character development program, where I learned many skills such as anger management, goal setting, managing finance and others. Before starting Liberty I had no money saved and had a debt of over $3000.00.
Now, just in five months into the program I have worked my way down to $2847.00 in debt and $1000.00 in investments.
My short term goal is to be debt free in one year and return to school.
My long term goal is to buy a home in five years.
I would like to thank Mrs. Marylyn Male from Royal Bank of Canada for taking her time to educate and counsel me with my finances.
Christopher
MY LIFE HAS BEEN CHANGED!
THANK YOU LIBERTY FOR YOUTH VOLUNTEERS.
Good night, my name is Greg. I thank God for the opportunity to be here with you tonight. I’d like to thank my parents who are not here right now, for never giving up on me, to even though many times I put their hearts through a lot. I want to talk to you about my life, and my history. I grew up in a beautiful and spiritual family. My dad is a Pastor, and my mom supports him strongly. I have two brothers, an older brother and a younger one. I was raised in Toronto in the Jane & Finch corridor, on the Southside in Driftwood/Grandervine. My family wasn’t materially rich but we always had what we needed, but even though we lived in a violent environment, I chose to be apart of it, in almost every aspect of it, mainly because I choose to listen and be around every type of negative influence their was, myself and how my mentality was. I never really cared about anyone unless you were family. My family consisted of my blood relatives and also my whole neighborhood. I’d often take negative things that were done or said to me and keep them inside my heart. It got to the point that I kept so mush in that I sometimes wouldn’t show feelings to anyone. So I would get people to laugh at things I would say or do just so they wouldn’t be like how I was, with all these feeling bottled up inside me I was suspended 13 times in grad 4. The first time I got in trouble I was about 10 years of age.
My family and I ended up moving out of that area just down the street to Jane and Shepherd. I started getting into more problems with the law but I didn’t go to jail or court. The police would often say their going to give me another chance, but I’d just end up taking that chance and go do other thing that wasn’t positive in anyway. We ended up moving to Hamilton when I was 14. My dad got an opportunity to Pastor a church up here. I just took it as that they were just moving me and my brothers out because we were getting into to much trouble. I never even liken Hamilton. I even made up in my mind before leaving to come to Hamilton to get arrested so I would have to stay in Toronto. But everything started to take a turn for the worst when I came here. I met some guys who where from here, and from their we started a little group. I started smoking and drinking more and doing things a lot of stuff I didn’t feel comfortable saying. I then started to see something, that Hamilton had people just like Toronto. They would just go about doing things different than how we do it in Toronto. When I started to see that, I ended up getting in trouble with the law again. But this time it felt different, because when my parent came to pick me up, my Mom told me she almost cried. Then it really hit me, even though I really didn’t care about myself, what I was doing affected those who cared for me. After noticing that I got into connections with guys who where from different parts of my old city. We ended up making a little crew. I then started selling drugs, not because I needed money but because I would often be bored chilling out with my friends, because they were selling drugs. So I started selling drugs, getting more involved with guns and a whole lot of things. I was starting to become the type of person who didn’t care about anything at all. But through that time in my life, I really started to take a look at my life and where I was headed. Not just for me but, my little brother would often look up to me. I never wanted him to go through the same things that I chose to go through. So I would often threaten him that if I ever seen him hanging around the people I was and if I ever heard that he was doing the things I was doing I would do something to him. But while I was thinking more about my life, I went back to the One I knew, who would never leave me. I started talking to God, but more on a personal level. He started helping me and putting people in my life that would later help me put my life back together. When I got kicked out of high school my Vice Principal who cared a lot for me, got me into a school named St. Charles. It way at this new school I met Dwayne through a friend. Dwayne later introduced me to Brother Fredrick, and from then everything kept getting better. Brother Fredrick told me about Liberty For Youth and how they help a lot of youths. The only thing I like about liberty at the time is that…they actually really cared. They would go out of their way and help so many young people, and that caught my eye. That’s what youths need out their. They need to know that they can find liberty from there life style and their situations. Last summer liberty had their first Police and Youth Unity Basketball game with the Hamilton Police, and we got to play basketball with some of the very same police officers that arrest us. I want to thank the Police officer and liberty for youth for that experience it’s has tough me a lot. I strongly believe that God placed Liberty For Youth in this city, because young people now-a-days, really need liberty from what their in.
As for me, I am planning on going to Bible School. I am looking forward to what God has for me in the future. Your looking at a changed life, and no matter what happens I am never going back (I am in a car and there's no reverse on it the wheel can’t turn far enough to take me back around) so I am going straight towards my future in God.
Gregory
