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Relationships help to reduce
youth violence, says Coles Tim's message is simple and strong: "If you know a kid, a neighbour who's a youth, invest in them - a little time, maybe over the fence. Maybe it's uncomfortable, but just do it. You invest, you build a relationship, and when the violent behaviour appears, you have a relationship, so you have an opening. You have the right to speak to the person about the behaviour." Kawartha Youth for Christ is one chapter of many that exist in 127 countries around the world. Although the overriding mission of YFC is to communicate the life-changing message of Christ, the focus of the Kawartha chapter is on building positive relationships with youth. The Bridge is KYFC's drop-in centre where positive connections are made and nurtured. Counsellors take time with youth to build trust and respect. Youth learn that the support they get at The Bridge will be available even outside of drop-in hours. "A lot of centres do a good job on relationships in a drop-in context, but not with following up with at-risk kids," says Tim. KYFC goes one step further. According to Tim, youth often end up on assault charges. As soon as they know that a youth is in custody, counsellors follow up by making contact and talking about what happened. They talk about alternatives to violence. Tim explains how the presence of a previously established relationship and follow-up make a difference: "There's this one guy, we'll call him Tom. Tom was always getting into fights. We were trying to talk to him at the drop-in. Because of his behaviour, we'd have to throw him out. Some centres would say, 'You can't come back.' But our outreach worker followed up. Instead of saying he could never come back, we'd follow up by talking to him about violence - 'This is what I would do in this situation.' Later, Tom had some issues with a guy. He was toe to toe with the guy, ready to fight. Instead, he asked himself, 'What would Tim do in this situation?' He walked away." The dialogue that takes place while relationships are nurtured helps to discourage violence, according to Tim. "We encourage violence by being silent," he says. "By talking about it, youth learn how to respond. Tom has learned that having a respected relationship will offer you an alternative. It will get you places." Located on Bethune Street at Brock Street, The Bridge drop-in is closed until renovations are complete in September. When it re-opens, the drop-in will be open Thursdays and Sundays from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m., and on Fridays and Saturdays from 7 p.m. until 11 p.m. It will also be open on Saturday afternoons from 2 p.m. to 5:30. There is no cost. |
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