Community Living program benefits both mentors and students
A program run by Community Living Ontario that matches students with mentors to help further their education is expanding to the Sudbury region.
The program, Student Links Mentoring, matches students with a passion or interest in a particular field with mentors or experts who share that same passion.
Chris Beirness, 21, said his mentor Eugene Audette is a father figure. Beirness and Audette meet every week in Audette’s shop.
“He's been teaching me so much. Like when I first started, all I knew were hammers, nails, drills and screws,” Beirness said.
“I never knew how to use chisels or files or anything like that.”
Beirness has been under Audette’s wing for the last four years.
“It doesn't matter what subject it is, he wants to learn,” Audette said.
A program run by Community Living Ontario that matches students with mentors to help further their education is expanding to the Sudbury region. (Photos courtesy of Community Living Ontario)
Over the years, they’ve built things from Beirness’ favourite video game and movie franchises.
“We are working on the master sword from The Legend of Zelda and the pirate ship from the Black Pearl from Pirates of the Caribbean,” he said.
Student Links is funded by the Ontario government’s Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. It pairs students ages 14-21 who identify as having an intellectual disability or are on the autism spectrum with mentors in their community who share a common passion.
“We find that students we support often don't have access or opportunities to things like co-ops and placements or maybe even summer jobs throughout the time that they are in high school,” said Community Living Ontario Student Links manager Meghan Davis.
“The goal is to support the natural development of relationships and connections to their community.”
Areas of study include fine arts, horticulture, fashion design and coding. In Beirness’ case, he loves building things. Audette has been teaching him woodworking, welding and metal fabrication.
'Chris is a joy'
“Chris is a joy. I'm very fortunate that I did get introduced to the Student Links mentorship program because it's fulfilling for me,” Audette said.
At the end of the program, Davis said students can find community placements, job opportunities or post-secondary programs they would be interested in.
“When they're connecting with people that have that shared interest, they really thrive. So many things are possible,” she said.
Beirness dreams of one day opening a woodworking business to build affordable, wooden toys for kids.
Student Links has been running in North Bay for approximately 10 years. It’s now expanding to the Sudbury region. Davis said the door is always open for further program expansions to other cities down the line.
“We're always open to potentially expanding more when there is that need,” she said.
The mentorship program currently serves about 250 students across the province in eight different regions.
To learn more about the program, click here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Feds hope to table foreign interference legislation next week: LeBlanc
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.