City receives provincial funding for at-risk youth

PENTICTON — City councillors, RCMP officers and staff stood outside city hall Monday afternoon as the city was given a large cheque for a community policing program from the provincial government and Penticton MLA Dan Ashton.

The former Penticton mayor gave $14,800 to the city to fund a community policing program for at-risk male youth.

A lot of youth are “disengaged,” said Terri Kalaski, community policing coordinator and manager of restorative justice for the RCMP. The goal is to engage youth in crime prevention through social development.

Schools are identifying students who are disconnected from social activity, or are at-risk. This could be students who don’t have the same opportunities as others, who have at-home issues or who are neglected. However, they are not criminally violent.

“If you’re not engaged, you’re more at risk for criminal activity,” said Kalaski.

The city, local RCMP and School District 67 are all partners in the program that will begin in April and run until June 2015.

In 2011 the city had a similar program for at-risk girls. This is the second half of a larger project.

To contact the reporter for this story, e-mail Meaghan Archer at marcher@infotelnews.ca, or call 250-488-3065.