$625,000 to a YMCA of Québec Project for At-Risk Youth in Saint-Léonard
The YMCAs of Québec - August 18 2016
On Monday, the YMCAs of Québec announced that it will receive $625,000 in funding over five years to support a The announcement was made in the presence of Martin Coiteux, Municipal Affairs Minister and Land Occupancy, Minister of Public Security and Minister responsible for the Montréal region, Anie Samson, Mayor of Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension borough, Vice-President of the city’s Executive Committee and member responsible for Public Security and Citizen Services, and Stéphane Vaillancourt, President and CEO of the YMCAs of Québec.
The funding will allow the YMCA and its partners from the St. Leonard Youth Collective to improve services for vulnerable youth that offer alternatives to dangerous behaviour and encourage them to get along with each other. The project will coordinate the joint actions of different youth organizations to tackle delinquency, street gangs and radicalization leading to violence. The YMCAs of Québec have been actively involved in Saint-Léonard for almost 10 years, with programs like Alternative Suspension, the Zone 16-24 and the Entre-Deux cooperative café.
Bringing together 25 local organizations and stakeholders, including the YMCA, the St. Leonard Youth Collective’s mission is to improve the quality of life of young people in the neighbourhood. This cross-sector collaboration has created a variety of initiatives that target issues such as bullying, physical health and intercultural relations.
The YMCA works with more than 35,000 young people each year. Their current youth programs are already very successful. In fact, a recent impact study has shown that 65% of participants in the YMCA’s Alternative Suspension program experienced fewer disciplinary actions after they completed the program, compared to 40% of participants in a control group.