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Red Deer youth coalition started in 2009 gets new name

Jan 30, 2024 | 8:00 PM

The Red Deer High-Risk Youth Coalition has re-branded to become the Red Deer Coalition for Youth (RDCFY).

The group began as community members from a diverse array of agencies working collaboratively to meet the needs of vulnerable youth, in 2009.

It was born out of a High-Risk Youth Initiative Planning day, which was a regional initiative first introduced by Child and Family Services, says the group.

“The Coalition has continued to be an active partnership among members demonstrating the community’s commitment to serving youth,” a media release states. “The Red Deer Coalition for Youth work together as a collaborative to increase the community’s capacity to meet the needs of vulnerable youth and advocate for systemic change that leads to comprehensive supports for youth.”

The Coalition is comprised of three main components:

1. The Interagency Collaborative Group is open to anyone from Red Deer and surrounding, meeting on the fourth Tuesday of every month and working to identify challenges in the community while also enhancing awareness and understanding of other agencies and their programs.

2. The Collaborative Case Consultants are identified committee members that meet on the third Tuesday of every month and facilitate monthly case consultations with specified agencies to discuss individual cases and collaboratively create a plan to better serve the youth.

3. The ad hoc subcommittees are temporary working groups formed by the members around the table to collectively address a specific topic. This includes the creation of the Youth Resource Guide.

The coalition, which is an arm of Youth HQ, is requesting sponsorship and donations so that it can effectively carry out its work, including the printing of Youth Resource Guides.

These guides, they say, are currently on their third major revision and redistribution, and is comprehensive collection of the available organizations and services in Red Deer and the surrounding area, as well as how to reach them. There is a digital version that will soon be uploaded on to the websites of agencies around Red Deer, such as Youth HQ. This information is constantly updating and evolving, thus the ask for financial support.

Anyone able to donate is encouraged to do so by making a deposit into the coalition’s account at any Servus Credit Union location. For more information, reach out to Theresa O’Hara, at theresao@youthhq.ca or Levi Castle at levic@youthhq.ca.