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Real Talks provide leadership in prevention
In May of 2015, the East Kootenay P.A.R.T.Y. Program and the RCMP Drug & Organized Crime Awareness Service (DOCAS) created the first ever prevention convention for youth at the College of the Rockies (COTR).
Approximately 1,000 students from across the region convened on the COTR Campus in Cranbrook to take part in prevention education sessions and to hear from keynote Retro Bill (sponsored by Alpine Toyota). This convention has now led to a provincial approach to prevention that has expanded to nine similar conventions throughout B.C.
“The concept of this prevention convention came about over discussions of how to access more youth with a primary prevention message,” said Executive Director of the P.A.R.T.Y. Program Mandy Bessie. “We knew as we built this concept it was going to be looked at by the RCMP DOCAS for roll out provincially.”
The East Kootenay has often been looked at for its creative and inclusive approach to prevention. In 2008 a study completed on the region by Dr. Colin Mangham and published in The Journal of Global Drug Policy and Practice supported the developing prevention strategy and its effectiveness.
Cpl. Al Nutini of the RCMP DOCAS says the approach has been a product of creative people and a ton of community support.
“We could never have done this without the community. Our school districts (nos. 5 and 6) have been unbelievable. They have opened the door to us to work with them to bring primary prevention to youth. When we started this we knew we wanted to provide prevention education to youth the same way they receive their math curriculum – every year and progress as they go. We were doing this classroom by classroom and it was a huge drain on human and financial resources. We needed to find a better way – so we turned to the conventions,” he said.
After a successful 2015 convention attended by the entire RCMP DOCAS team, the approach has now grown to several areas throughout the province.
In 2016 there will be additional conferences in the Northwest, West Kootenay, Okanagan, Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island all coordinated by the RCMP DOCAS team in conjunction with their community partners.
“There is a long way to go to get this to where we need it to be for youth,” said Cpl. Nutini. “We are excited to see what this will grow into, we don’t want to just ‘lock it in’ we want to see it grow each year. We really believe this primary prevention message is important for our youth to help them navigate the information overload they face on a daily basis. We know from speaking to them they know the issues but they are just sometimes overwhelmed by all the information and demands they face in this world of immediate response.”
As for the 2016 East Kootenay Convention (East Kootenay P.A.R.T.Y. Youth Convention 2016: Real Talks), it will be held May 17-19, at the COTR Campus.
Organizers have added another grade so the conference will include students from grades 8 through 10. Also new this year is the inclusion of Prince Charles Secondary School out of Creston.
It is expected attendance could be up to 2,400 students over the three days. The keynote speaker this year is Jordan Axani. You can find Jordan online at jordanaxani.com
If you have any questions or would like to provide support to assist these conventions or other initiatives please contact Mandy Bessie at (250)426-8211 (extension 370) (East Kootenay Realty Office.)
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