Council’s approval of its new Youth Action Plan is an excellent first step toward filling a gap in services for this city’s young people.
The plan includes 40 recommendations designed to improve access to services ranging from mental health counselling and bullying awareness to education and employment services.
Creating a one-stop shop in a standalone space that is welcoming to youth – unlike the intimidating halls of city hall or some other government institution – will go a long way to ensuring they feel comfortable accessing the information.
Unfortunately, despite the lengthy study and host of ideas, the plan may miss an important demographic – at-risk and disenfranchised young people.
While Scott Rodda, the director of the city’s Family and Community Support Services department, might be correct when he said it would be difficult to be all things to all people, a youth centre should be geared toward those youth who are “falling through the cracks” so to speak.
The city’s inventory of programs and activities available for young people shows an extensive list of everything from sports and music programs to movie nights and youth drop-ins.
While on the surface it appears there should be no excuses for our youth to not be busy and engaged, all of those programs appeal to niche groups – church-goers and those with money.
What about young people who are from poorer homes? Or those from unsafe – read abusive – homes where there is little supervision? While it ultimately comes down to parenting, not all youth have the luxury of attentive or quality parents, a sad fact.
The information the city is proposing to provide access to is exactly the type the aforementioned youth need. The key is getting it into their hands. As it stands, the concept for the one-stop shop seems to appeal more to the type of youth who might already be community-minded or already involved – the types who join groups such as Building Assets and Memories for Youth (BAM).
What is needed is a drop-in space. A venue for youth who do not have a safe place to hang out, which puts them at risk to be involved with drugs and crime. A space similar to what the city once had before it closed last year.
Any good shop owner knows the key to a successful business is getting people in the door. While the services offered at the city’s new youth hub will bring in a lot of a certain type of young people, the rest are looking for a safe haven. Having support services available will only sweeten the pot and get the information in the hands of people who truly need it.
We might not be able to save everyone, but we can endeavour to help as many as possible.
