Every youth’s story is still being written, and with the support of organizations like Youth Mentoring Services of Niagara County (YMS), the next chapters are ones of hope and fulfilling potential.
More than half a century in the making, YMS works to make a positive difference in the lives of at-risk children and youth, ages 5-19, as they grow to become productive, responsible and caring citizens.
“Our goal is that vulnerable children in every corner of Niagara County will graduate from high school on time with realistic goals for the future and the internal resources to fulfill their dreams,” noted Sue Capell, Executive Director of YMS.
YMS works toward its goal by providing programming during the school day, after school and over breaks. “All of our programming offers a social and emotional learning component including self-awareness, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making,” explained Sue, a retired educator by trade and known as “Miss Sue” to the students, who added that within the Niagara County school districts, there is a varying amount of needs.
One YMS program is LINKS, which was supported by a grant from the Niagara Area Foundation. LINKS is a series of lessons that demonstrate how social and emotional learning skills impact the ability to function in the classroom and in the community. Tied with other curriculum-based learning to develop skills in STEM, reading and writing, the program impacts 650 elementary students in the Lockport and Barker school districts.
“I had a teacher who said, ‘I’m spending less time on classroom management, so now I can spend more time on academics,’ and that really shows how we are making an impact,” said Sue. “If the students spend more time on academics, they’ll have a greater chance of success at school and a better opportunity to graduate and go on to their next level.”