| Purpose : |
This project will reduce the rate of incarceration and trouble with the law among Black Francophone youth from low-income neighbourhoods in the City of Ottawa through an early intervention model based on a family?community?school board alliance. The pilot project will directly target 80 children aged 6 to 12 attending the Séraphin-Marion and Charlotte-Lemieux elementary schools. The CEPEO will oversee the selection process, which will be based on the referrals from school board staff using a predetermined set of criteria and data from the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO).
A two-year intensive activity and intervention program will be implemented for these at-risk youth. These participants will attend a six-week summer camp session orchestrated by the Patro d'Ottawa, offering various sporting activities, a cultural and social program. These programs will be supplemented by workshops on conflict resolution, self esteem and awareness of various criminal issues. A minimum of 15 workshops per year will be offered to parents, covering wide-ranging subjects such as family violence, literacy, and mental health. During the school season, the summer camp will be replaced with after-school programming three evenings a week. This program will provide children with alternatives to delinquency by preventing them from participating in illegal and harmful activities, while, at the same time, encouraging them earn their high school diploma.
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