Correspondence: Victoria Family Court and Youth Justice Committee Re: CRED Program

Victoria Family Court & Youth Justice Committee

September 19, 2014

Dear Mayors and Councillors of the CRD,

Our job at the Victoria Family Court and Youth Justice committee is to review the circumstances of youth who may come into contact with the legal system, their environment and the programs available to them. We are mandated to exist through both provincial and federal law, to be that voice from the community.

Ministries, Police, service providers and educators report to us that fewer youth are being charged, (and services are not available without charges), and those youth who are charged have had upwards of 40 incidents prior to being eligible for assistance. In a nutshell, the youth who are getting services are fewer and more hard core and shrinking resources are being deployed later.

Youth mental health, substance abuse and housing instability continue to push our kids towards poor choices. We're aware of the impact of social media on our youth, including peer pressure, cyber bullying and most recently the idolization of pop star gangsterism. Gangs, prostitution and drugs go together. Youth are being lured into a life they don't know how to get out of. Fingers are being broken, kids are being forced to pay debts for drugs they don't know how to handle/protect/sell and there are no services to educate and help them avoid it. I'm talking about 12 - 14 year olds - kids.

One great thing that has been done is the creation of MYST a multijurisdictional police intervention who can track sexual exploitation across municipal boundaries. Working with MYST we have CRED with provincial funding to explore our gang issues. It has taken a lot of time to learn the circumstances in the CRD and I do not want our communities to lose that resource. CRED funding runs out mid-October. CRED has identified 6 gangs operating within the CRD and I have attached an information sheet provided to the police chiefs outlining the CRED program activities and success to date. We are fertile ground for gang satellites as the heat is on in places like Vancouver and Calgary while we have fewer resources.

The Family Court Committee is funded through the CRD (~ $13,000/yr). We have provided a grant of $2,500 to help bridge fund the CRED program until the next round of provincial funding (March). I am asking each municipality to also contribute $500 to assist CRED.

We want to provide assistance to those kids who have put their trust in the program - exiting the gangs. I realize this is an unusual and untimely request. I ask that you consider where you might find and reallocate a tiny amount of budget or find a community partner to assist and help make the case that this is a needed service and should be provincially funded.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Day, Chair Victoria Family Court and Youth Justice Committee Councillorday@shaw.ca vfamcourt@gmail.com

cc: Victoria Family Court and Youth Justice Committee Appointing Agencies