Walking into the ConnecTeen office on a mid November evening, I was met with the calming sound of mild conversation and the tapping of fingers against keyboards. Immediately I was met with kindness and felt right at home. In a situation that should’ve made me feel nervous for not knowing anyone, Vanessa De Souza, and the ConnecTeen crew went above and beyond the basic bar of hospitality. I sat down with Vanessa and chatted with her and some volunteers about ConnecTeen, their Video Contest and volunteer opportunities. Read the interview below.
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“What is ConnecTeen?” in the words of Vanessa De Souza, ConnecTeen Coordinator.
“ConnecTeen is a youth peer support line. This means we have youth volunteers who are talking to other youth in crisis. Our volunteers are aged 15-21 and they go through the exact same training that our adult crisis line volunteers go through so that they are ready and prepared for anything that comes their way. Our service includes text support, email, chat, and phone calls. We are the first texting peer support line to exist in Canada and the Distress Centre has been around for just over 40 years and ConnecTeen has been apart of this for 33 years. We were originally known as Teen Line, but in 2011 we realized that youth weren’t calling the line, and it wasn’t because there wasn’t a need, it’s just that that wasn’t how youth wanted to communicate. So we did a huge rebranding and completely updated our look, how we marketed ourselves and the services that we offered, which is when text support was introduced.”
E: “Tell me about the contest.”
V: “We’re looking for creative youth that are passionate about the community, because we are a huge part of Calgary’s community. The Distress Centre alone is the only 24 hour agency to provide support for that many hours of the day, 365 days a year and ConnecTeen is 24 hours as well. We’re looking for youth who can really highlight the importance of reaching out when you need support, so this contest is really framed to highlight our services and what it means for those to reach out and the impact that can happen on their community.
We’re really gearing this contest to those youth who are interested in videography, photography and filmmaking so that they have a way to showcase their talent and then we can highlight that and our services too. So we would take this video to our presentations, to the community, put it on our website and they’d have the chance to build their artistic portfolio. And with the contest, we are looking for youth to create it and write it and basically they’d create something under 2 minutes but longer than 30 seconds. It would be a promotional video so highlighting the services we provide, providing ways of contacting us, ensuring that our logo is on it. They’d have creative freedom and we’re not looking for anything fancy. We have a tutorial on how youth can film it on their smartphone and edit it that way and we’re trying to make the contest as accessible as possible.
With the contest, it is due February 12th, 2016 and because the way the Saddledome is (where the video will be showcased), it’s better to have a visual/text based video so we’re looking for something along those lines. For examples of visual/text based videos, you can see them here. As for prizes, you are able to showcase your work at the Saddledome (to an audience of 10,000 guests) on Sunday, March 20th at 1:00pm as well as gain box seats at the Hitmen game (with up to 10 guests).”
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E: “What should Youth consider when entering the contest?”
V: “Keep in mind our logo and what ConnecTeen means to them. What is like to feel heard? What does that mean to them and to their community? Really capturing the essence of who we are. Yes it is a promotional video, but we really want it to come from youth and we really want to know why does a service like us exist and what is the need for it and what do they think that means?”
E: “Do you have any tips or advice for youth wishing to enter the contest?”
V: “I’d say being as creative as possible and there’s no better population to do something like this than the population we provide the service for. Using their perspective and using what they already know. ConnecTeen is willing to support them and our communications coordinator is more than happy to be consulted during the process at all. And I’m here if they have questions about the agency or what it is that we do.”
E: “Why is this a good opportunity for youth?”
V: “I think it’s a good opportunity because there aren’t many opportunities for youth to showcase their work. There’s more now than there were in the past, but I feel like it’s such a good creative outlet to put together that portfolio because I know how important that can be when you’re applying for different scholarships and schools and things like that. Especially if you want to go into a program that has to do with filmography, or if you’re just passionate about your community, it’s always great to have that in your back pocket. I think it’s a good opportunity because it’s coming from a youth voice. I go out in the community, but I’m old, and I could say this is a great service, but that doesn’t mean anything to someone who’s 13 and doesn’t trust anyone over the age of 25. I think it coming from a youth perspective for a youth service is everything, and it’s really powerful.”
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E: “What are your volunteer opportunities?”
V: “We have our youth program crisis line volunteer position and that entails answering the lines. This means coming in once a week for 10 months and picking a shift that best fits you. Talking to other youth around the city who are going through something tough. That tough can be anything. We’re never going to minimize an issue or tell someone it doesn’t matter. It’s about supporting someone in their need at that time. So basically you’ll be answering text messages, emails, chats and phone calls. Going through the three-week volunteer training program which is through a classroom. So it’s all theoretical based, and then you actually get application after where you work side by side with a leadership volunteer or a senior volunteer. They will coach you one on one until you feel comfortable, confident and ready to go. And then you’d go solo, but even then you’re still working with other volunteers and staff.
The other opportunity we have is blogging. We offer a blogging position for six months where they can submit two posts per month. They can be on any youth related issue so anything on their mind personally, anything that they’re noticing, their experiences or something going on around the community.”
In addition to this contest, ConnecTeen is currently holding another contest to sell tickets. Whoever sells the most tickets is eligible to win a signed Hitmen jersey. To participate, contact Mike, a Youth Program Coordinator at ConnecTeen for a special code that they can use when you’re selling tickets to Family/Friends. His email is mikek@distresscentre.com
After a lovely chat with Vanessa and a tour of the office, I met with three Distress Centre volunteers to see what they think about ConnecTeen and their contest.
E: “What’s been the most rewarding part of being part of ConnecTeen?”
C, 17: “I think it’s just being able to help other teens in my city and being there for someone who really needs to talk.”
G, 17: “I think the most rewarding part is just being able to give back to the community and just being able to help teens that are our age. Sometimes it’s hard to find adults to relate to or even if you go to your school counselor, it might not be the same. So it’s good to connect with people that are your own age and to hear their problems and to be able to be like “Oh, someone else feels the same way.” It’s probably the most rewarding thing to know that you’re making some sort of difference.”
J, 17: “The purpose of ConnecTeen is to help other people, and so definitely the most rewarding thing is to help other people. When you have a connection with that person and you help them in a way that they wouldn’t be able to do themselves, it’s definitely rewarding.”
E: “Why is the ConnecTeen Video Contest a great opportunity for your fellow youth?”
C, 17: “I think it allows them to get their work out there and showcase their work at such a big event, which is a benefit to whoever is entering the contest and a benefit to the Distress Centre as well because it gets the word out about a really good cause that not a lot of people may know about.”
G, 17: “It helps promote us and get the word out. A lot of people might not have heard of our services so they might need it but maybe not know about it, so it’s good that we’re making awareness. It’s a great opportunity because it’s a contest so they can get involved and there’s a prize so it’s fun, enjoyable and for a good cause, too.”
J, 17: “The ConnecTeen Video Contest is a way to get exposure and ConnecTeen lends a very valuable resource, and a lot of people overlook it because it may be too intimidating or they may be unfamiliar with it, so if we do this contest we can gain exposure and just help people learn about us.”
E: “Do you have any advice for youth wishing to enter this contest?”
C, 17: “Just be creative and just know that you’re promoting a really good cause. And tell your friends about it because it’s a really great idea.”
G, 17: “Be creative. Be spontaneous. I mean there isn’t a lot of limits, so have fun with it.”
J, 17: “Be genuine. As long as you’re real with what you say, people will be able to connect.”
Want a discount on Hitmen Tickets? Enter the code “teen” when buying tickets here for a %50 off discount!
Have any other questions? Contact Vanessa De Souza at 403-264-8337 or vanessad@distresscentre.com
Connecteen Video Contest Article
Want to use ConnecTeen’s line? Here is various ways of contacting them.
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