Primary Years (6–12)
Families Empowered: Primary Years
We will be identifying what assets we have in our community and identifying gaps for the primary year family specific demographic. We will host a community engagement session and our Community Navigator will engage with families who have kids in the primary years, to ensure that they are aware of the supports and services available to them. We will also kick off a primary years’ working group, for organizations that currently offer supports and services for this age range to action solutions. This project is aimed at building on our current early years work to now include families with kids in the primary years.
Primary Years: Project Goals
Inclusive Communities: Advancing Youth Wellness
The project will engage primary and middle school students from diverse backgrounds—including Indigenous, immigrant, 2SLGBTQIA+ youth, and those with diverse abilities—to document their connections to the region through creative activities such as mapmaking and photography. These tools will allow youth to visually and narratively express what belonging means to them, highlight challenges they face, and celebrate positive experiences. The goal is to better understand the region’s strengths and challenges from the unique perspective of children and youth.
Community Connections For Children and Families
Community Connections for Children and Families is a project that provides a proactive, upstream approach to crime prevention. By offering consistent, structured engagement through monthly and quarterly pop-up hubs, our goal is to address gaps in current service availability and reduce the risk factors for children and youth that may become justice involved. By providing monthly and quarterly pop-up hubs, the project offers safe, supportive spaces for children aged 7-12 to engage in positive activities, build relationships, and access critical resources. These goals align with the protective factors that reduce justice involvement across children and youth including: building stable interpersonal relationships, increasing employment opportunities, and developing positive self-esteem. The program will also offer supports for families to help build confident, positive and resilient parents.
The program will reach out to identified youth and children who are at high-risk of becoming justice involved by applying a target universalism approach. This includes supporting children and youth who may lack access to supportive networks, face mental health challenges, or experience increased economic and social pressures. The Hubs will also ensure a welcoming environment where children and youth can experience community support, receive mentorship, and access resources to build their resilience and decision-making skills. Included with this are direct supports for parents to assist in skills development that increases capacity to navigate challenging behaviours in children and youth. By addressing the risk factors associated with child and youth justice involvement we’re able to reduce crime rates and build a stronger, more connected community.
