New italiaN taste oN the heights
page
3
PiPeliNe PosturiNg page doesN’t helP
6
rCMP Class aCtioN page suit gaiNs steaM
24
friday
August 8 2012 www.burnabynewsleader.com darlene Currie is gearing up, as it’s almost time to let the (BC senior) games begin. see Page A12
China trip in works Cost to city for delegation’s 6-stop sojourn $30,900 grant granger
ggranger@burnabynewsleader.com
MARIO BARtEL/NEWsLEADER
Chris Preston and despina stratidakis, youth outreach workers with i-rayl, hand out snacks to a group of kids on the concourse outside the Metrotown skytrain station. Bags of bright orange cheese puffs are particularly popular.
Reaching out, on the rails I-RAYL teams fan out on SkyTrain to make link with at-risk youth Mario Bartel Black Press
Most SkyTrain commuters give a wide berth to gaggles of loudtalking, gum-smacking, cigarettesharing young people. Chris Preston and Despina Stratidakis make a bee-line right for them. They’re one of two teams of youth outreach workers (three in the summer) with the Inter-Regional At-Risk Youth Link (I-RAYL)
that ride the elevated rail lines from Surrey to Vancouver to Richmond five days a week, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., talking to kids under 19 years old, directing them to community resources, handing out meal coupons, transit tickets and snacks. The snacks are the key, says Preston, opening a dark blue/grey backpack filled with candy bars, juice boxes and bags of bright orange cheese puffs. “They’re a huge icebreaker,” says Preston, who’s been with I-RAYL for two years. “When we first approach kids, they have no idea
Featuring Indigo Girls Saturday, August 11 Deer Lake Park for the full line up visit burnabybluesfestival.com
who we are.” But the universal language of free snacks creates a connection that can lead a troubled youth to the help they need to steer clear of a life of crime or other high-risk behaviour, give them the support and stability they might need. “You always try an approach to make conversation, build a relationship,” says Preston. The teams meet 700 to 800 youth each month. The four-year old program, which is unique in Canada, is funded by $360,000 from the
Ministry of Children and Family Development, and administered by Pacific Community Resources. The outreach workers tap into resources available to youth in the various communities along the SkyTrain lines, from shelters to social services to food banks to counseling to recreation and youth centres, as well as local and transit police. “Youth are so transient,” says Preston. “They’re traveling between communities and SkyTrain offers them a conduit. We’re meeting them where they’re at.” Please see stEERINg, A9
ENjoy ANy burgEr for $11.95 No cash value, one coupon per customer, valid any day from 2-8pm. Expires August 31, 2012. Taxes and gratuities not included.
Riverway Clubhouse 9001 Bill Fox Way Reservations: 604-297-4888 or facebook.com/riverwayclubhouse
Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan and three councillors will be heading to China and Taiwan in September as part of a delegation visiting the municipality’s sister and friendship cities. A report to council from its international relations and friendships cities committee estimated the cost to the city at $30,900. The delegation will also include representatives of the Burnaby Board of Trade (BBOT), including president and CEO Paul Holden, and three delegates from the Taiwan Chamber of Commerce. The trip will be from Sept. 20 to 30. The first stop will be Zhuhai, China which has an economic trade agreement with the BBOT. The delegation will then go to Zhangshan, a sister city to Burnaby, before moving on to Shenzhen, the third busiest port in China, where the delegation will tour a light-emitting diode manufacturing plant Please see tRIP, A4