Youthful Connections, formerly known as, “The Keele Hub Youth Access Project” has been focusing on supporting the engagement of youth, primarily youth of African descent to access space, capacity building opportunities and youth services at the Keele Community Hub.

The approach is supported by Youth Ambassadors who have been recruited and trained to respond to, engage with, and connect youth to available programs, services, resources, links, and youth-serving agencies in neighborhoods within the York Weston Pelham Cluster, and who are on site during peak hours of when youth access the Hub

The project is led by Midaynta Community Services, a youth-serving organization partner within the Keele Community Hub, as well as City Staff from Social Development Finance and Administration (SDFA), and it will align with the Toronto Youth Equity Strategy and the Action Plan to Confront Anti-Black Racism strategic actions.

This model is piloting community hub space activation and provides important learnings for future investments in program development and community participatory activation of the Keele Community Hub and other City-operated Community Hubs.