June 15, 2009 - District of Mission

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3. Assisting Public institutions to eliminate systemic barriers (institutional change).
Currently, I am meeting with the representatives from Citizenship and Immigration Canada to
discuss application and funding details. I then hope to partner with Meredith Egan and Mission
Community Services Society to identify a focus for our application and complete this as soon as
possible.
Section 3 - Social Development Sub Committee Updates
The sub committees represent the 10 following Initial Priority Areas:
1) 40 Developmental Assets, 2) Town Squares, 3) Housing, 4) Integrating Social Planning, 5)
Central Resource Bureau, 6) Outreach, 7) Detox facility and Treatment, 8) Community
Schools,i rd —
Spaces, 10) Transportation
40 Developmental Assets
The purpose of this sub-committee is to initiate the implementation of the Search Institute's 40
Developmental Assets throughout the community.
The 40 Developmental Assets are those assets identified by this organization as the building
blocks of development that help young people grow up healthy, caring and responsible.
They are built around eight key asset topics: support, empowerment, boundaries and
expectations, constructive use of time, commitment to learning, positive values, social
competencies and positive identity. These have been presented in poster form which can be used
by the community as a tool to create awareness.
A grant from the Union of BC Municipalities funded many initiatives including: articles in the
local paper and in a youth-oriented local magazine; dialogues with interested parties in the
community; local social service agencies will consider how to embed the 40 assets in their work;
connections with business to promote awareness of where they can support the assets.
The grant funded a professional survey of most Mission students from Grade 8-12. The results
will help provide insight into the perception the youth in our community have of themselves and
of the support they feel is provided in their lives.
The remainder of the grant has funded the creation of a youth website, MOLTspace.ca
(Mission on Line Teens Space) which will be up and running soon. Additionally, a forum
entitled "Focusing on Our Youth" was held at the Leisure Centre on March 26 th .
This forum was a gathering for Mission's citizens of all ages to celebrate our communities'
support of youth and to encourage dialogue to garner suggestions of how we can improve and
build on what we have.
There are many initiatives envisioned by the sub-committee that can be implemented and the
degree of success will depend on consistent support, participation and organization.
P.O. Box 20, 8645 Stave Lake Street, Mission, B.C. V2V 4L9
Phone (604) 820-3752 Fax (604) 826-1363 6 (604) 820-3715 Web Site: www.city.mission.bc.ca E-mail: khargreaves@mission.ca