Keeping people safe & well

 

Icebreaking Session

Ottawa Police Service and Youth in Banff community

 

As the No Community Left Behind (NCLB) initiative gradually expands, partner organizations are making attempts to engage youth under the crime prevention component.

Community House, South East Ottawa Community Health Services, Youth Services Bureau and the staff members working with youth in Banff community met on March 02, 2006 to review the existing activities for youth and come up with strategies and alternatives which would increase youth engagement. Assessment of the situation will be presented to the Steering Committee in the upcoming meeting.

As an initial step of the next implementation phase, an icebreaking meeting of the youth with the Police Officers, assigned to the NCLB initiative, was arranged on March 8, 2006. Both officers dropped in to meet the available you in the homework club. As expected, youth were reluctant to share and openly discuss relevant issues. Feedback after the event suggests that misconceptions among youth exist to the same extent as among the rest of the community. Serious interaction with youth is as much necessary as it is with the adult population.

Some activities identified as a result of the earlier meeting among partner organizations will lead to more youth and police interaction. Engaging youth is basketball and other activities is one thing, whereas engaging them in discussions with experienced police officers for building trust and opening communication channels is totally another. The objective of the upcoming activities for increasing interaction of youth with the police is to engage them in thought provoking discussion and reduce the influence of negative elements in the community.

Removing negative perception of the police services is of paramount importance for making a difference. The activities identified for this purpose will provide youth possibilities to open up their minds to the reality and turn them away for the negative role models to establishing friendships with peers who have similar interests and values, as well as opportunities to form positive relationships with supportive adults in the community.

Adults who are volunteering for the community development activities in Banff community can serve as role models and mentors, as well as providing social, emotional and instrumental support. Trust in police and relationships with adults in the community may help youth establish the autonomy necessary for a successful transition to adulthood without getting influenced by the negative elements. The problem is that so far the youth are open to the negative influences but there is no concerted efforts to remove their misconception of many crime and crime prevention related actors and factors.

The engagement activities will be planned in a way to facilitate social integration of youth into the larger community, since such activities will frequently provide connections to adult community leaders, promote community values and a sense of social responsibility, and introduce youth to community organizations and how they function.

 

© 2005-08 South-East Ottawa Community Health Centre
Centre de Sante Communautaire du Sud Est D'Ottawa

Contact: Abid Jan Tel./ Tél: (613) 737-5115  Fax/Télé: (613) 739-8199

NCLB matters because neighbourhoods matter