36
M AY 2 018
YOUNG LEADER:
Tamanawis grad inspires young people to make a difference, 3
Educate & Communicate
Shattering the Image
‘The key here is starting young’ Gang-prevention presentations are hitting home with thousands of young Surrey students Amy Reid amy.reid@surreynowleader.com
A
B.C. gang-prevention presentation has been tailor-made for young Surrey students this school year, and so far, it’s reached about 4,000 students. Called Shattering the Image, the presentation was launched by Surrey RCMP’s Gang Enforcement Team, and aims to share “the true story of gang life in Surrey” and its consequences, said Sergeant Mike Sanchez of the Surrey Gang Enforcement Team. “With the current drug and gang climate in the Lower Mainland and kids being recruited at younger ages, we knew we had to adjust the way we were approaching gang prevention in Surrey,” Sanchez said. “We found that when we share stories of kids who have gotten caught up in dial-a-doping right here in Surrey, it really hits home with the youth.” It is geared toward a younger audience – primarily students in Grade 6 and 7 – and an average of two to four presentations are put on each week. Sanchez told the Now-Leader the rash of shootings on Surrey streets in 2015 sparked the
PHOTO: SURREY RCMP
Sergeant Mike Sanchez of the Surrey Gang Enforcement Team says a new gang-prevention program, geared toward students in Grades 6 and 7, is hitting home with Surrey students. The new program is called Shattering the Image. idea for the presentations. “We were experiencing a rate of shootings in our city that were occurring almost every other day,” he recalled. “There was a lot of pressure from the mayor’s office and management to curb these shootings because a lot of these shootings were occurring in public, on the street.” A shooting near Strawberry Hill Elementary that year sticks out in Sanchez’s mind. “That was when we started looking at all the individuals that were involved in the shootings, and what we determined is they were all roughly the same age. We broke it down even further and tried to
Make a difference as an
EDUCATION ASSISTANT • Become an Education Assistant in just 40 weeks including an 8 week practicum • Earn up to $27.44/hour • In-class & combined delivery (online) options available • Training & Certification from the Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders (POPARD) “Before Stenberg I was working in a pet store earning minimum wage … I got a job right out of practicum and I can’t think of a more fulfilling career.” – Kody Lacroix, Stenberg grad
604-580-2772 • stenbergcollege.com
identify what neighbourhoods these individuals came from,” he revealed. “What we found is they all came from one particular area in Surrey and that’s where we starting. The question was brought up – where that neighbourhood is and where the concentration of these kids were, has anybody talked to the elementary and high school kids there?” From there, Surrey RCMP delved into analytics to zero in on areas and high schools where youth were known to be involved in gang life. They then developed this presentation to reach children in the elementary schools that
would feed into those secondary schools. “The key here is starting young,” stressed Sanchez. “We’re hoping to deliver a message, then follow up with that generation of kids when they go into that high school,” he added. “Next year, when they go into Grade 8, we’re going to follow up with those kids as the gang enforcement team and hopefully do some type of outreach or after school program to open up with them and continue with that relationship with the kids. The following year, we’ll go into Grade 9. It’s a four-year commitment, working with the
Surrey school district.” In addition to real-life, tragic examples of youth who didn’t make it out of gang life, the presentation also highlights the use of social media in gang recruitment. “Young people can get exposed to glamorized ideations of gang life through videos, images or chat rooms, normalizing these behaviours at a young age,” notes an RCMP release. “Gang recruiters then prey on individuals showing interest in this material, and draw them into a lifestyle that is extremely difficult to escape.” Rob Rai with Surrey Safe Schools, says there is “definitely a need” for safe, open discussions with youth prior to them entering secondary school. “Building these connections early and often has a real impact on students and can start to turn the tide and prevent the next generation from entering this lifestyle altogether,” Rai said. “The Surrey RCMP is shedding light on the realities of drugs and gangs and instilling confidence in our students to make positive life choices.” A modified presentation is also available for adults, with tips on how to recognize the signs of drug dealing, along with the emergence of fentanyl and the young victims it has killed. For more information visit surrey.rcmp-grc.gc.ca or email the Gang Enforcement Team at surrey_sget@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
You are invited to an Education Assistant
INFORMATION SESSION
Thursday
MAY 24 7 – 9 pm
Tuesday
Wednesday
7 – 9 pm
7 – 9 pm
MAY 29
7th Floor Abbotsford Senior 13450 102nd Ave, Secondary School – Surrey Room 102B, (Central City Tower) 33355 Bevan Ave.
SURREY
ABBOTSFORD V2S 0E7
MAY 30
Coquitlam Public Library – The Nancy Bennett Room, 575 Poirier St.
COQUITLAM V3J 6A9
Thursday
Wednesday
7 – 9 pm
11 am – 1 pm
MAY 31
JUNE 6
Burnaby South 7th Floor Secondary School – 13450 102nd Ave, The Multipurpose Surrey Room, (Central City Tower) 5455 Rumble St. SURREY
BURNABY V5J 2B7
Please register online at stenbergcollege.com/events or by telephone: 604-634-0384