Roots of Youth Violence - Ministry of Children and Youth Services

Volume 3: Community Perspectives Report
life-skills needs of neighbourhood youth. This means
providing a continuum of services that offer programs
to all individuals, at all ages and stages of development
(including parents). That includes income-generating
or experience-gaining programs — like apprenticeships
and co-op employment.
“There also needs to be an emphasis on mentoring.
Youth need that one person in their life that gives
them attention, believes in them, supports them. It is
important to connect youth with both peer mentors
and one-on-one relationships with adult/older role
models. This is especially important for youth that
are hardest to reach. Gang exit programs are also
needed, as are programs for youth who are newcomers
to Canada and who need violence trauma counselling
and supports.
“Participants often talked specifically about the value
of youth drop-in centres, as they provide a safe haven
for kids to hang out with their peers, youth workers
and positive role models after school.” (pp. 92–93)
GYC, in its report, listed three actions that would address
the space issues: build and invest in community space,
stop the privatization of social spaces such as the Yonge-
Dundas Square in Toronto, and develop a plan to fund
physical infrastructure for youth-led work. Details of these
proposals are included in the GYC Report, reproduced in
full in Section 3.
The Education System
There are three issues related to Ontario’s education system
that you told us must be addressed: the future of the Safe
Schools Act, reforming the curriculum and creating an
equitable learning environment.
From the Insight Final Report:
“Zero-tolerance policies result in drop outs/‘push
outs’ from school. When students get suspended or
expelled, they’re abandoned. Punishing youth by
suspending them is not helping. Youth often use that
time to find and hang out with others who aren’t in
school. Idleness causes more damage and possibly
violent behaviour. The attitude of some youth is
that a three-day suspension is like a vacation. They
spend this time hanging out with older unemployed
or out-of-school individuals, who may not be
positive role models. It is also the time when most
youth are recruited into gangs, prostitution or other
illegal activity.” (p. 88)
The GYC Report sees the Safe Schools Act as discriminatory
against racialized and marginalized youth and calls for its
repeal. It supports the idea that reforming the education
system is a requirement of dealing with the roots of
violence involving youth:
“The idea that education is a path to empowerment is
not a new one. Throughout history, around the globe,
people have always demanded access to education as
a means of asserting their civil rights. Denying such
22 • Roots Review