Click the title links for detailed information and images.
Youth Peer Program
Youth Peer, EPIC’s primary and most-sustained initiative, is an after-school peer tutoring and mentoring program, serving the youth of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality since 1998. In over 10,000 youth-tutor matches that have taken place during these years, students with varying degrees of challenges—from high risk young offenders to elementary kids with learning differences—have benefited educationally, socially, creatively, and emotionally.
YPP Enrichment Projects:
B.O.L.D.
(Bridging Over Learning Difficulties)
Parents PEACE Program
Parents PEACE began in 2004 as an adjunct to the Youth Peer program. It is a once a week, on-going educational program for any interested parent at no cost. Led by an experienced facilitator, the parents are treated to frequent guest speakers from community agencies. The parents and facilitator tackle the difficult issues of parenting by using EPIC’s Parents PEACE Framework.
EMPATHIC
Emotional Maturity Problem-solving & Awareness Targeting Higher Impulse Control
EMPATHIC is a partnered project with the Eskasoni First Nations school board. EMPATHIC is an aboriginally-adapted version of PATHS (Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies), a social-emotional curriculum for elementary-aged students. EPIC’s current and on-going role is to assist the Eskasoni School Board in the advertising and distribution of this valuable curriculum to other aboriginal peoples within Canada.
Scholarships
Each year, the EPIC Board of Directors awards several deserving graduating seniors a scholarship of $500. Specifically, the recipients have been distinguished by high school staff for their commitment to community or perseverance in overcoming obstacles to advancement.
Eskasoni Peer Math Tutoring
In the fall of 2007, EPIC began a partnership with the Eskasoni First Nations School District to bring Youth Peer-style math tutoring to the students of Eskasoni. With funding from the Eskasoni School Board, teacher and former Vice-Principal of Eskasoni High School, Newell Johnson—who has been tutoring students after school on a volunteer basis for several years—will oversee Eskasoni student volunteers as they tutor junior high and high school students in math.
Eskasoni Elder Safety
The goal of Eskasoni Elder Safety, which began in January 2009, is to enhance Eskasoni seniors’ safety and well-being, improve police and seniors communication, and promote respect and positive relationships between seniors and youth. To these ends, the project encompasses two initiatives—Youth Giving Back to Elders and Elder Spirit—both of which involve broad community partnerships, supervised activities, and ongoing communication with the RCMP. EPIC is administering this project in partnership with the Eskasoni Elder Committee, Eskasoni High School, Eskasoni School Board, Eskasoni RCMP, and Eskasoni Health Centre and is made possible by funding from the Nova Scotia Department of Seniors.
