Connections: Montreal and Toronto Teens

Unlike those who have moaned and groaned about crappy weather, the Summer of 2009 was special for a group of Montreal teens who found time to make new friends and uncover some of the excitement of Toronto.

The teenagers, about a dozen of them aged between 15 and 18, are part of Kool-Active and are drawn together from groups across the city, such as Westhaven in NDG, Youth In Motion in Little Burgundy and PJ 2000 in Cote des Neiges.

And they’re still hyped about the time spent with their peers from Toronto.

The teens from the Tdot came to Montreal from August 6-12 and enjoyed a week of activities that included everything from a sleep-over to a group cook-out, to visits to many of this city’s summer hot spot venues and activities like La Ronde, Tam Tam and Fireworks at the Old Port.

Then, when the Montrealers returned the courtesy with a visit to the Tdot during the week of Aug 18-24, they too had an opportunity to visit landmark places and attend special events.

These sights and sounds and the camaraderie are still as fresh as ever in the minds of the teenagers who gathered recently at the Westhaven Centre to reminisce about their eventful summer and the new friends who are now part of their Facebook family.

“They were all nice and special girls and guys and I hope to remain friends with some of them for a long time,” 15-year-old Syantha of Westmount High told Community Contact.” But there was this one guy in particular, his name is Ken. He was so funny and nice to be around.”

For 16-year-old Tevon of James Lyng, one of the highlights was visiting places like the Rogers Centre and the CN Tower.

“These are places I see on TV, but never had a chance to step into,” he says. “Another thing… did you know that you can’t get a poutine at McDonald’s in Toronto?”

It was the first visit to T.O for French-speaking Karine, 16, of Cote des Neiges. She says she will always remember the fun she had at Canada’s Wonderland and at Niagara Falls.

Other teens who participated in the program are Junior, 17 of OPTIONS; Al Jazeera,18 who attends PACC; Ashley 15, from St. Luc; Lyndsay 14, also of St. Luc; 17 year old Katesha of James Lyng; 16 year-old Toe Toe who goes to  St. Henri; Cecile, 17, of St. Luc; 16 year old Line, who attends Honré Mrecier; 17 year old Serieoux of James Lyng and Hani, 17, of PACC.

 Community worker Stephen Hennessy and the staff at Westhaven Centre developed and coordinated the project, which was funded by YMCA Youth Exchange program.

Hennessy told The CONTACT it was a good opportunity for youth from different neighborhoods across Montreal to get to know each other, plan the events, participate in activities and travel together.

“The visit by the Toronto group was a real big deal for our youth because they had a chance to plan and participate in all the activities, and explore Montreal together.”

And the return visit to Toronto has been an eye-opener for many of them. Now, when they go for Caribana they’re familiar with certain parts of the city.”

According to Hennessy, the youth are ready to build on their Summer 2009 experiences with plans to visit New York with their newfound crew from the Tdot.

To join the group or to support, contact Westhaven at 514-872-6134.