RCMP recognize partner agencies for work with youth

Kay praised Marilyn Shand with Child and Family Services for her strong leadership in working with RCMP to provide the best possible support to youth and their families.

“There is no doubt that Marilyn gives all of the youth she works with an opportunity to thrive and succeed,” said Kay. “She offers supports and referrals, and she is there to push her youth, to hold them accountable, to hold the families accountable, and to help them reach their full potential.”

“A lot of time they don’t realize the impact their behaviour has on others,” noted Shand. “If they hear that directly from the person who was harmed, that can have more of an impact than going through court and having a judge say ‘This is what’s going to happen.’”

Bennett says their process at the John Howard Society is set up to engage youth in discussion about what they were thinking and what was happening in their life at the time a crime was committed in order to address root causes.

“Through the ‘compass of shame’ they are able to address some of their triggers,” Bennett explained. “The people who are important to them in their life come as support. Together, through consensus it helps you address the harm in a meaningful way and repairing it so everyone can move forward in the best way possible.”

“(Dianna) said something the other day that was very impactful – that ‘hurt people’ hurt people,” Shand recalled. “Through the restorative justice program, you can see why they were hurt and the people they hurt can talk about how they felt.”

Shand says the relationship they have with the RCMP is huge.

“You can get to youth faster, you can think out of the box (and) you can use harm reduction. Just that whole collaborative approach is very, very helpful.”

by Troy Gillard (Twitter: @Troy_Gillard)

RCMP recognize partner agencies for work with youth

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