2016 Youth Programming
This winter Grande Prairie & Area Safe Communities invited city and county high schools to participate in our new youth programming initiative. The overall objective of introducing this programming is to highlight injury prevention topics that pertain to youth in our community. The topics chosen for our winter sessions included distracted and impaired driving, as well as education on addictions, bullying, and suicide. We were able to collaborate with city and county Enforcement Services to deliver the Distracted Driving lecture and the RCMP for the Impaired Driving topic.
We felt that it was important for the students to hear from uniformed officers about the seriousness and dangers of participating in distracted and/or impaired driving. To facilitate education on addictions we invited HIV North’s public educator to talk about different types of addictions, harm reduction, and how you can help someone who is battling with addictions. In addition, their youth mentor shared her personal story of living a high-risk lifestyle, how she was able to get healthy and become a thriving member of our community. Finally, we had Faris Atkinson from the Suicide Prevention Resource Centre give her “Living an Impression” presentation. The talk included topics on bullying, suicide, and being true to yourself. Faris used a combination of education and hands on activities to keep the students interested and to make sure her message was understood.
We held this programming during February and March of this year and were able to see approximately 175 students. We saw students from as far as Crooked Creek, as well as local schools, which included Peace Wapiti Academy who sent all their Grade 9’s to the driving sessions. The evaluations from the students were all positive and during the sessions, they were engaged and asked many questions. The only request was that they would have liked to have some hands on activities to reinforce what they were learning. Overall, the youth programming was successful and Safe Communities is looking forward to bringing new topics to the youth in our area in fall.
We felt that it was important for the students to hear from uniformed officers about the seriousness and dangers of participating in distracted and/or impaired driving. To facilitate education on addictions we invited HIV North’s public educator to talk about different types of addictions, harm reduction, and how you can help someone who is battling with addictions. In addition, their youth mentor shared her personal story of living a high-risk lifestyle, how she was able to get healthy and become a thriving member of our community. Finally, we had Faris Atkinson from the Suicide Prevention Resource Centre give her “Living an Impression” presentation. The talk included topics on bullying, suicide, and being true to yourself. Faris used a combination of education and hands on activities to keep the students interested and to make sure her message was understood.
We held this programming during February and March of this year and were able to see approximately 175 students. We saw students from as far as Crooked Creek, as well as local schools, which included Peace Wapiti Academy who sent all their Grade 9’s to the driving sessions. The evaluations from the students were all positive and during the sessions, they were engaged and asked many questions. The only request was that they would have liked to have some hands on activities to reinforce what they were learning. Overall, the youth programming was successful and Safe Communities is looking forward to bringing new topics to the youth in our area in fall.
Safety City
Injuries are the leading cause of death for Alberta children and youth between 1 and 19 years of age. The world we knew as kids has become more rushed, more dangerous, and more complicated for young people. Today more so than ever before, there is an increasing demand to ensure children learn about safety in all areas of their lives. Grande Prairie’s Safety City will provide children with an experience that they won't soon forget as they practice safety rules in a child-sized environment built for them, while providing the region with a well equipped Safety Resource Centre.
At Safety City, children will be given a chance to practice safety skills in a specially designed outdoor small city atmosphere featuring streets, sidewalks, buildings, traffic lights and signs, and a railway crossing, all designed to teach a variety of safety skills. Through experiential training, children will develop a positive attitude toward safety by learning their safety lessons in a classroom setting and then practicing them on the streets Safety City. Areas of safety training will include but are not limited to: Pedestrian Safety, Fire Safety, Bicycle Safety, Water Safety, Farm Safety, Electrical Safety, and First Aid. In addition to the educational opportunities for youth within the Safety City Project, the community at large will have a one-stop safety resource centre. Training rooms are now available within the Resource Centre as well as a variety of safety related materials for the public to access from a central location. |
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These great local businesses have already joined our Safety City! Join today!
Tim Hortons
Regional EMS Foundation
City of Grande Prairie Fire Department and Enforcement Services
Aquatera Learning Zone
Grande Prairie Regional College (GPRC)
ATCO Electric
The County of Grande Prairie No. 1 Farm Safety Barn
The Burn Society Burn Trailer
Ag for Life
Regional EMS Foundation
City of Grande Prairie Fire Department and Enforcement Services
Aquatera Learning Zone
Grande Prairie Regional College (GPRC)
ATCO Electric
The County of Grande Prairie No. 1 Farm Safety Barn
The Burn Society Burn Trailer
Ag for Life
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