For immediate release:  July 23, 2019

Youth advocating for youth in Chilliwack through the new Youth Advisory Committee.

With the additional funding received from the City of Chilliwack for Chilliwack Community Services’ (CCS) Youth Recreation Program, CCS along with the Chilliwack Child and Youth Committee (CYC), inclusive of many local agencies, will implement a Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) to enhance existing youth services provided to ages 12 to 18 in Chilliwack.

What is YAC?

  • The committee will consist of 12-16 youth who will represent the diverse youth population of Chilliwack.
  • The youth on the committee will be a representation of youth voices whose purpose is to advocate on behalf of youth through identifying, improving, and increasing services and programs for youth in Chilliwack.
  • YAC will be involved in volunteer opportunities in the community. They will plan, develop, implement, and evaluate large and small community-wide events focused on bringing youth together to connect, learn, and grow.
  • YAC will work with the Mayor and City Council to ensure youth voices are being incorporated into city-wide initiatives.
  • YAC will support the coordination, awareness, and communication of existing and new youth resources and services in our community to all youth.

Canvassing for the youth candidates for YAC is fully inclusive. CCS will be contacting local agencies in collaboration with the CYC to identify youth from public and private secondary schools. The youth will be encouraged to apply before mid-September 2019. Candidates selected will be interviewed.

YAC will meet every other Monday starting in October 2019. Meetings will alternate between alternate a between psycho-educational lesson or conversation, and a more practical planning and implementation activity. Attendance to these meetings will be considered mandatory for participants in the program. Participants will be offered other opportunities to represent the program on a non-compulsory basis.

External goals include participation in Youth Week 2020 and developing increased awareness around youth mental health. Internally, youth will be asked to develop a personal project to implement within their own communities in an effort to use their webbed capacity to directly serve and represent the largest possible number of youth in Chilliwack.

“City Council is pleased to support this opportunity to bring Chilliwack’s youth to the table to have their voices heard. The new Youth Advisory Committee will have a positive impact on youth in our community and we look forward to their fresh perspectives as we work together in the future.” – Mayor Ken Popove

Applications for YAC are available: http://www.comserv.bc.ca/youthadvisorycommittee

Filed under: Advisory, Chilliwack, Committee, Youth