Katimavik program looking for good homes
Posted Feb 9, 2012 By Michelle Nash
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EMC news - A Canada-wide personal development program for university age students is looking for families to billet participants in the Ottawa chapter. 
Michelle Nash, Ottawa East EMC
Sandy Hill-based Katimavik group, top left, Stephane Gallant, bottom left, Marie Pascale Roy, Emely Longpre, Meryn Avery and Ashleigh Baxter all just completed their billeting portion of their programming. Each of them had a chance to spend 10 days with a host family to learn what life is truly like in Ottawa.
Billeting provides participants in the Katimavik program a chance for the youth to step outside of the Sandy Hill-based Katimavik house and become immersed in the Ottawa community.
It has been difficult for the Katimavik group in Ottawa to find enough homes for all the participants.
Sophie Maranda is the Katimavik house project leader and her job is to keep the youth on the right path and find opportunities for them. The six-month program includes a period of time the participants must spend living with a host family.
She said finding host families have proven to be difficult.
"You find people are open to the idea, but when it comes time to send them there, the families do not respond," Maranda said.
For this group, Maranda wasn't sure where all the participants were going until just before the billeting portion of the program began back in November.
"I had wanted to have a meet and greet with the families, so everyone could feel more comfortable, but everything became last minute," Maranda added.
The Katimavik's billeting experience is something the young people in Maranda's group were excited about. She managed to find homes for the participants, but was forced to put two participants together with one family.
For the participants, they found it both comforting and frustrating.
"You look forward to the time alone," said Meryn Avery, one of the Katimavik participants. "But at the same time, it was nice to know if it was going to be uncomfortable, you would still have someone you could talk to."
Avery and her fellow Katimavik housemate, Stephane Gallant, went to a family farm in St. Hubert. Maranda said it is not ideal, because the further the students go to be placed, the more difficult it is for them to participate in the program.
Emely Longpre had the opportunity to be placed on her own and ended up living with her work placement boss which worked out better than she expected.
"They made me feel welcome and I was very comfortable," Longpre said.
Maranda said it wasn't ideal to have participants placed with people from their work placement, but it did manage to ensure Longpre had a billet.
Maranda is currently looking for more families to participate in the Katimavik billet program. For more information she can be contacted at 613-558-6069.
michelle.nash@metroland.com
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