Calendar of Events

1. Clothing, computer and bus tickets for Sanctuary Youth Drop In to assist homeless youth
2. Funded Girls Circle training and sessions at Rockheights Middle School in Esquimalt
3. Furnishings for the Victoria Sexual Assault Health Clinic Family Comfort Room
4. Submission to the Children’s Representative Five Year Review
5. Increased Indigenous Cultural Awareness: through promotion and acceptance of necessity for Cultural Sensitivity Training; attendance at First Nations Court in Duncan; education on Impacts of Colonization and TRC obligations
6. Advocacy for support of Federal Motion M-47, addressing health outcomes of youth exposure to pornography
7. Funded Restorative Justice Resource Group multi-media tools to educate the public and to assist in training the region’s first case facilitators
8. Funded the development and implementation of the Restorative Justice Resource Group ‘Trainer of Trainers’ course to launch restorative justice in three communities across the CRD
9. Funded Restorative Justice Resource Group training for youth participating in Restorative Justice Victoria’s Youth Theatre Outreach Project for schools in the CRD
10. Funded Advanced Training of Restorative Justice trainers and volunteers throughout the CRD to better equip programs for Crown and other complex cases
11. Funded Restorative Justice Victoria to develop, deliver and evaluate Mentor Training and to produce a manual for province-wide sharing on best practices and procedures
12. Advocated for improved provincial funding for Restorative Justice with the Minister of Justice and Attorney General
13. Brought Children of the Street Society to present Taking Care of Ourselves: Taking Care of Others annually in Schools for more than 10 consecutive years at no cost to the school districts
14. Advocated for Youth Mental Health with Resolutions to the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities
15. Advocated for School Based Mental Health Clinics
16. Advocated for the first Youth Medical Clinic in a School Setting (Belmont), de- stigmatizing mental health issues and increasing ease of access
17. Advocated for a Youth Medical Clinic on the Peninsula along the lines of the Belmont Clinic, with special interest in cultural sensitivity for Indigenous participants and, contributed essential funding
18. Identified gaps in services for youth, youth in care and Youth Mental Health and Addictions Services.
19. Identified youth at risk situations that exist in less visible ways, e.g., couch surfers and the inadequately housed
20. Advocated for supportive youth housing
21. Hosted five years of networking workshops for service providers and youth through the Bright Ideas Conferences
22. Co-hosted Training for Regional Police Services with the Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons on several occasions with a huge uptake in training
23. 23. Supported the Mobile Youth Services Team with letters of support for additional resources
24. Identified Resource Listings available to community members (CRAT website link)
25. Increased VFCYJC Profile through presentations of the Annual Report to Councils and Boards

• 13 Municipalities
• Capital Regional District, including electoral areas
• 3 School Districts
• Provincial Ministries
• Youth Service Agencies
• Police
• Capital Region Action Team for Sexually Exploited Youth (CRAT)

A great way to meet with other youth serving agencies and gain the attention of your local municipal and school district representatives.

Meetings are the third Wednesday of every month, except December, July and August, from 11:30 – 1:30, usually at Victoria City Hall Council Chambers. Guests may attend with advance notice to the committee. Lunch is provided. If you have a topic you would like to present or see presented, email us with your suggestion and any speaker contact info you may have. Contact:

• Secretary: Marnie Essery at:  vfamcourt@gmail.com
• Chair: Cynthia Day (cynthiaday@colwood.ca)
• Vice-Chair: Ron Mattson (rmattson@shaw.ca)
• Treasurer: Bill McElroy (bill@mcelroys.ca)