“Miss, I need help, I’m stuck,” said 23-year-old Cameron. Cameron lived a whole life before he entered Job Corps. After a rough upbringing in New York, Job Corps was Cameron’s last chance. He ended up hours from home at Cassadaga Job Corps center in far western New York. Like many students, Cameron had some problems adjusting to the structured life of a Job Corps student. He was referred to anger management classes, but the classes didn’t really seem to help.

Looking for a solution to get Cameron’s anger under control, Sue Sosinski, the health and wellness manager, asked Cameron to be part of the center’s knitting club. Needless to say, Cameron was hesitant. He had big, calloused hands that had been broken and cut several times. He wasn’t used to doing work that required small, intricate movements. Like many young guys, Cameron thought that knitting was just for little old ladies. After some not-so-gentle prodding, Cameron picked up the knitting starter kit. With the assistance of Janet Forbes, center business community liaison and one of the founding members and driving force for the knitting club, Cameron began knitting. He was a natural.

Cassadaga’s knitting club is extremely popular among both male and female students. However, interestingly, Ms. Sosinski says that her male students usually pick up knitting faster than the females. Students have found that knitting can be an amazing stress reliever. On any given Thursday night, between 25 and 35 students attend class to perfect their knitting--that’s about 15% of the center’s students. Often, students arrive at the knitting club apprehensively, since this is a brand new experience. They are given a knitting starter kit to learn the basic stitches. With the starter kit, they make cell phone holders. After completing their cell phone holder, they can choose what to make next and are given a selection of colors of yarn. Most students want to start with a blanket, but the leaders of the group usually encourage them to start a little smaller. Opal, an LPN student, downloads knitting patterns for herself and other members of the group. She recently made an impressive pair of gloves to give as a gift.

Community members, including some long-time knitters that are passionate about their craft, join the class on most Thursday nights. They serve as knitting mentors to the students. Students enjoy this interaction with people from the community and the community also enjoys the students. In fact, the proprietor of the local knitting shop has taken an interest in the center’s knitting club. She offered scholarships to several students to attend a weekend knitting workshop. Students were begging to be one of the lucky few selected.

Knitting not only benefits Cassadaga JCC students, but also worldwide charitable organizations. Last year, the group worked with an organization called “Caps for the Capital.” As their project, they decided to make caps for babies in developing countries. Cameron, the student we met earlier, was especially apprehensive about this project since the knitting needles were so small.  He expressed his concern to Ms. Sosinski. Ms. Sue explained to him that babies’ lives depended on him. He made six beautiful hats.

In class, students help each other. Those who have been there longer help the new students. Conversation is quiet and usually focuses on the task at hand. Students are always eager to share their skills with each other.

Knitting seems to have an addictive quality at this center. One student came into the health and wellness center with a chest cold, but couldn’t seem to stop knitting. The nurse asked him what was wrong and he coughed right in her face. She started to lecture him about spreading germs, covering his cough, etc. He interrupted and apologized, but explained to her that he couldn’t stop knitting.

The center’s RAs have noticed the effect knitting has on students. During the summer months, the knitting club goes on hiatus so that students can get outside and enjoy the nice weather. A couple of weeks into summer, RAs started calling the wellness center to ask if the fall knitting session could be started earlier. Veteran knitters missed the group and new students were eager to get started!

Word continues to spread. Several non-residential students wanted to participate; however, they had to go home to take care of their children and other responsibilities. Ms. Sosinski convened a special 3 p.m. class so that these students could reap the benefits of knitting.

As popular as knitting is on this center, some students need other activities to cope with stress. The staff at Cassadaga is happy to oblige. They have brought in Tai Chi and yoga instructors during the colder winter months so that students can benefit from mind/body activities. Many students go for walks to enjoy the nature that surrounds the center. The center installed signage that designates quarter miles so students can tell how far they walk. The plumbing instructor and his class walk a mile loop each morning before class to get them focused for the day.

I’m ready to sign up to be a student at Cassadaga JCC. It seems like a very enjoyable, relaxing environment. It’s unfortunate that there’s an upper age limit.

Do you have an interesting stress-busting technique on your center? Send it in for inclusion in a future newsletter. Send e-mail to: julie.luht@humanitas.com.