Possibility Programme Successful in Improving the Lives of at-Risk Youths

Deputy Chairman of the Possibility Programme, Robert Gibbs, said that the initiative has been “very successful” in improving the lives of at-risk young men by providing them with the skills to gain employment.
“We have had a very good success rate in terms of the placement of these boys because some of them have been successfully placed in (various) organizations,” he said.
“Two of the graduates from last year are pursuing courses in food processing and food preparation at the Ebony Park Training Centre and the Boulevard Baptist Church, respectively,” Mr. Gibbs informed further as he addressed the graduation ceremony and Christmas dinner held yesterday (Dec. 12) at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.
He noted that the success of the programme is “certainly a good sign for us as these young men should not be cast out as they also have a future, and we should ensure that we try to encourage them as much as possible.”
Established in 2002, the Possibility Programme is a social intervention project, which is aimed at getting at-risk youths in the corporate area off the streets. Targeted are children, who wipe windscreens at the major intersections, who are provided with the necessary skills and emotional support that they need in order to maximize their full potential.
“The programme teaches them vital skills such as how to engage themselves in business after they have left the programme,” Mr. Gibb stated.
There are three components to the programme; a care centre, a skills/employment centre, and a behaviour modification centre.
The initiative involves collaboration among government ministries and agencies, the non-government community, the police, church groups and private persons.
Based on the success of the initiative in Kingston, consideration is being given to expanding the programme offerings to western and central parishes next year.