Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thanks for the opportunity to address this committee.
Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg has been in existence for over 30 years. We run after-school and evening programming for children. Last year we served almost 4,000 children and youth, six to eighteen years old, in our ten sites in areas of this city where they are needed most. Our membership is 70% aboriginal and 25% newcomer children and youth. Most of our newcomer families come from war-torn countries.
Organized crime impacts on our members through youth gangs. Youth gangs are controlled by organized crime through organized crime control of the supply of illegal drugs.
There have always been youth gangs in Winnipeg. Initially, they were loosely organized neighbourhood territorial gangs. Violence between various gangs consisted mostly of fist fights, with the occasional use of some kind of club.
In the early 1990s, that all changed. Territorial gangs began to imitate the youth gangs in America. They became involved in drug trafficking and controlling prostitution. Inner city neighbourhoods became dangerous places to be. Knives and later guns became the weapons of choice. Gang recruiting became very active. Kids would join gangs because they were afraid not to. Young people have been maimed and killed because they were in the wrong part of town and were or were suspected of being in rival gangs.
We believe what is needed is a commitment to crime prevention programs that focuses on creating positive opportunities for youth, particularly for those most at risk. It is not only a more effective way of reducing crime, it requires less funding in suppression or secondary intervention methods. Investment in after-school programs and other systems of support is seven times more effective than incarceration.
Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg provides safe places for kids to be after school, and we build resiliency in kids. The "safe" part of the statement is pretty well understood. We provide a place for kids to go where responsible adults supervise what happens and make sure the kids interact with respect for each other and conduct themselves in an acceptable manner.
It is the "resiliency" part that often needs explaining. The word is mostly understood to describe the ability to recover from a bad situation or to overcome adversity, a life skill that challenges each and every one of us. In a healthy living environment, the skill can be developed and nurtured. In a less healthy and more challenging environment, resiliency is far tougher to achieve.
Many of our kids and their families come to Winnipeg from isolated northern communities or from war-torn countries. Each of these situations brings unique cultural and social barriers into play, but for all of these groups, there are some common challenges.
Adjusting to our city's urban society is the obvious challenge for many of our kids and their families. Many from both communities face language barriers and are separated from the support of family and friends. Adjusting to different expectations regarding social and employment situations is often difficult. Limited resources and access to support also puts more pressure on people. The challenges and barriers people face are multiplied in a single-parent family situation.
It is well understood that young people are most likely to be drawn into criminal activity when they are living in low-income circumstances, experience social isolation, generally are not successful in school, and have little hope for later success in life. Violent youth crime is most often gang-related, and gangs have a powerful appeal to youth without opportunities, because they offer status, profit, protection, mentoring, affiliation, and excitement. These are normal developmental needs being fulfilled in unhealthy ways.
There is no way that we have the human or financial resources to deal with all the issues that our members face on an individual basis, but we do provide programs that make our members more self-confident, that inspire and encourage them to learn, to stay in school, and to build their hope for their future, programs that make them more resilient and less likely to join gangs.
We provide exciting programs that cover a wide area of interests that appeal to kids. We make sure that kids are in programs where they are likely to succeed, because we know that success breeds success. The more successful a person is, the more likely they are to try new things and learn new skills.
This is accomplished by being very selective about the staff we hire and the volunteers who support what we do. We hire people who want to work with kids, and relate well with them, who are good role models, who represent the community they work in, and have valuable life experiences or appropriate post-secondary education.
If we can help kids believe in themselves, to have confidence in their ability to learn and deal with issues they face, they will be less susceptible to negative influences and peer pressure. If we provide opportunities for them to take part in organized sport, to experience the arts, and to further their education, the more they will believe in their potential, the more resilient they will become, and the better off our communities and families will be.
Crime costs Canadians $70 billion each year. That’s a quote from Vic Toews. This means that it costs each citizen $2,000 a year. More than 70% of those who enter federal prisons are high school dropouts; 70% have unstable job histories; four out of five have substance abuse problems when they are convicted; and two out of three youths in the criminal justice system have been diagnosed with two or more mental health problems.
One of Canada's pre-eminent researchers on youth crime, Dr. Michael Chettleburgh, suggests:
...supervised, high-quality, challenging after-school programs have been shown to be an effective buffer against delinquency and victimizations and to benefit children greatly... These programs are already everywhere across Canada, but their chronic underfunding renders them incapable of addressing our growing gang problems.
A recent report from Canada's National Crime Prevention Centre identified after-school recreation as a promising tool to prevent crime. James Alan Fox, a well-known criminologist in the U.S., recently suggested: "after-school activities targeted at the "prime time for juvenile crime" (such as the Boys and Girls Clubs) all have payoffs far greater than the investment."
He goes on to suggest that we need to
identify and promote healthier means for [young people] to achieve the same need-fulfillment, constructive ways to feel good about themselves and their prospects for the future, while at the same time having fun. This...is where youth enrichment initiatives play a significant role, and a role that, given ongoing trends, needs to be expanded.
The key to effective interventions is they are long term and reliable. Many effective programs have been undermined by either being time-limited or ending after the completion of the pilot phase. Ensuring the availability and reliability of successful youth crime prevention programs must be our first priority. Youth themselves emphasize the importance of having access to programs that are welcoming and safe, and that are consistently available. Sustaining programs through multi-year investments and public policy is a key ingredient to achieving any lasting impact on delinquency, crime prevention, and positive outcomes.
In 1993 the Horner commission called for an allocation equivalent to 5% of the federal criminal justice budget towards tackling risk factors associated with crime. We believe this is a reasonable investment and that more than half should be targeted to sustainable investments in community-based crime prevention programs for children and youth. In particular, we believe a portion of these investments should be directed to the successful and proven after-school recreation programs.
Furthermore, we believe sustainable funding needs to be targetted to underserved and high-needs populations, such as aboriginal children and youth, newcomer children and youth, youth involved in gangs, young girls, and youth living in poverty. It is critically important that funds are directed in a manner that supports multi-year funding to existing reputable organizations working with young people.
One of the fundamental principles for the allocation of resources should be the creation of positive environments and opportunities that engage youth and contribute to healthy youth development. Young people have spoken strongly for the need for programs that provide them with opportunities to gain skills and confidence, which they can do only over time and in positive environments in which they built trusting relationships.
By providing adequate base funding, strengthening the capacity of organizations to expand and enhance programs, and supporting evaluation to measure long-term impact, the government would ensure that its funds are providing the greatest benefit.
We believe that investing significant funds in youth crime prevention will generate dividends for all Canadians, as young Canadians and their families will live better lives and be productive, contributing citizens, participating in the labour force and saving taxpayers' costs many times over by reducing the need for a more costly criminal justice system to respond to crimes.
Thank you.