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08/15/2018 08:30 AMIn the first year of Old Saybrook’s Youth & Family Services (YFS) agency’s Essential Life Skills for Teens series,
the state-wide association of youth and family services agencies found it to be best in class.
Earlier this month, YFS counselor Samantha Steinmacher received an email announcing that the Connecticut Youth & Family Services Association had chosen the series as the state’s Youth Services Program of the Year. Only one program each year in Connecticut wins that award.
From the start, the program sought to offer teens a look at challenges they’ll likely face and to then give them the tools (in one case, literally) to find success. Topics included financial literacy, dorm cooking, and auto maintenance. The program will continue this year, and will even branch out to offer a session some parents will want to jump in on.
While Steinmacher is pleased to win the state-level recognition, more important to her are the skills the teens acquired that will help them to live independently.
“Teenagers and parents responded so well to the concept of learning life skills. If no one teaches them how to balance a checkbook or change a tire, how will they learn it?”, said Steinmacher.
Now, as she is ready to release the list of this year’s programs, she is working to make the series even better. There will be fewer programs, but those offered will include more hands-on activities to respond to student preferences. Like last year, most of the programs will run from 6:30 to 8 p.m. and will be scheduled at various sites around town.
“In the evaluations, students wrote time and time again that they loved learning hands-on practical skills in the programs. [They want] fewer lectures, more action,” said Steinmacher.
One example is in the car maintenance class offered last year at Cardone & Daughter in Old Saybrook. The teen participants got to work with technicians to practice changing a tire, checking the tire pressure, adding air, and learning to jump-start a car with a dead battery.
All car owners should know these basic skills, but likely even many adults have never tried their hand at them. Teens commented afterward that changing a tire, for example, is hard—and some said they saw the value now in getting a AAA membership or other roadside assistance program that would tow their car to a mechanic.
The first class in this year’s Life Skills for Teens series, Employment Skills, will be on Tuesday, Oct. 16 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. There will not be an attendance limit. The workshop will be co-facilitated by Bob De Lisa, a community member who runs a consulting firm and was a hiring manager for years.
“This year, the workshop will focus on how to find a part-time job or a summer job. We’ll focus on how to use the Internet effectively to find and apply for these jobs. We’ll talk about how to write a cover letter and résumé, and we’ll practice interview skills,” said Steinmacher. “Workplaces have different norms and cultures—dress, etiquette. We’ll talk about on-the-job skills and how to meet employer expectations so you can keep your job.”
Steinmacher said that hiring managers—and colleges—often will search for an applicant’s name on social media, so students should make sure when they are applying for a job that they have a positive social media footprint that will make them a good candidate.
Following the Employment Skills session in October, the series will tackle parenting life skills, a session aimed at parents of elementary school students who hope to learn how and when to introduce children to chores, based on their age, to help them build and confidence and independence) in November. The car maintenance workshop is again scheduled for December at Cardone & Daughter. In February, the topic will be dorm-style cooking; this year it will be taught after school and be facilitated by the high school’s culinary arts teacher.
In February, Alicia Farrell, PhD, and Steinmacher, MSC, will co-facilitate a GRIT workshop designed to help high school juniors and seniors to be college-ready and confident as they approach their independent life away from home for high school students.
“The message to the students is not they should seek perfection. They need to realize that failures are an inevitable ingredient to a successful outcome,” said Steinmacher.
Another GRIT workshop for middle students is planned.
The final workshop in April will address financial literacy.
“I’m really proud of the program we’ve put together. I love that these professionals in the community are volunteering to share their knowledge with the students,” said Steinmacher. “And I’m excited that the families and the students were so interested and engaged in the program.”
To learn more about this year’s Life Skills for Teens Series or to sign up for a workshop, call Old Saybrook Youth & Family Services at 860-395-3190.