| Purpose : |
The Boundary Region Comprehensive Community Safety Initiative will use a two pronged approach to achieve a safer, healthier, more inclusive and vibrant community. The first approach will work to enhance the capacity of individuals, associations and institutions to work collaboratively on the root causes of crime and victimization. This will be achieved through the development and implementation of a Collaborative Leadership and Learning Centre at the Grand Forks Campus of Selkirk College. A curriculum will be developed to support the Centre, which will provide emerging leaders with the knowledge and skills to take action on the root causes of crime and victimization. Community animators will work to recruit emerging leaders from the Aboriginal, youth, and other communities. The animators will then support these individuals in addressing their priority safer community issues.
The first approach will also include the development and implementation of a healthy relationship curriculum for youth, called the Violence Intervention Prevention Program. In order to prevent future spousal assaults within the community and to empower youth to choose safe relationships, a program will be developed for the local high schools. It will be based on existing best practices and will be designed to reflect the particular needs of the Boundary region, while also being self-sustaining.
The second approach will support the establishment of two new Boundary Region-wide tables, which will address the key risk factors of poverty and drug and alcohol misuse. During every stage of this process the Rural Community Safety Lens will be applied. In addition, the Collaborative Leadership and Learning Centre will provide skills and content to help support the emerging learning culture that strives for best practices at the Boundary tables. It will also be designed to support effective dialogue and understanding of issues at the emerging Boundary Four Pillars table and in the new mechanism to be developed to increase citizen voice in economic development decision-making.
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