Cities Fit for Children Summit – Chilliwack May 2020
Photo by Andrew Seaman on Unsplash
In an article for the July 30, 2019 Chilliwack Progress, Jennifer Feinberg interviewed Dan Bibby, Co-Chair of the Chilliwack Child and Youth Committee, a network of more than 30 agencies in the local area.
Bibby spoke about how Chilliwack has developed a number of projects which they are looking forward to sharing, while learning from other BC communities about how they are addressing social and health challenges.
The Chilliwack Youth Health Centre: The centre was created to provide integrated health and wellness services to youth and young adults (ages 12–26) on a drop-in basis in a safe and supportive environment. The philosophy of care includes low barrier access, one-stop service integration, early detection and intervention, family doctor connections, and a mandate to build youth capacity to take responsibility for their personal health journey whilst offering encouragement to consider existing supportive relationships. The centre involves a group of local agencies, including Chilliwack Community Services, Chilliwack Division of Family Practice, Chilliwack Local Action Team, Fraser Health, First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada, the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development, Pacific Community Resources Society (PCRS), Chilliwack School District, Stó:lō Service Agency, and the University of the Fraser Valley.
Chilliwack Bowls of Hope Society: With the support of local organizations and volunteers, the society is able to consistently provide a fresh, hot, healthy lunch each school day to over 850 children in 21 schools in the Chilliwack community. Community organizations engaged with the society include Envision Financial (a division of First West Credit Union), the First West Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Fraser Valley, and Chilliwack Chiefs, as well as a number of local businesses whose employees offer service as volunteers.
PCRS’ Learning 2 Lead (L2L): L2L is a leadership and resiliency program that supports youth while doing positive activities including outdoor wilderness experiences. The program includes three components that work together to promote healthy choices for local youth. Resiliency groups meet weekly during the school year, allowing participants to be part of a positive, healthy community that works together to bring out an individual’s strengths. Monthly adventure activities, after school or on the weekend, include kayaking, hiking, ropes courses, fishing, yoga, rock climbing, and other outdoor adventures. Monthly community volunteer experiences are planned and executed by each group, taking place after school hours.
The article notes that the Framework for Recreation in Canada serves as the guiding document for public recreation providers in Canada. The summits, of which this will be the 6th, have been developed to “engage local governments, health authorities, service providers and committed citizens to share best practices for improving environments and better utilizing natural environments for children, youth and families.”
The main focus of these Chilliwack initiatives appears to have been on youth. It would be encouraging for other communities who have initiated activities to make their communities function better for families with young children to bring and share their projects with those attending the summit.