Chebucto News January 2012 - Welcoming Place for Youth

Michèle Raymond
Monday January 9, 2012

WELCOMING PLACE FOR YOUTH IN THE NEW YEAR— RAYMOND

The longest night of the year, coming just as the Old Year ends, is also the time of growing daylight, and around the world, as the beginning of a new season of hope. Writing at the end of 2011, I’m glad to know that the year just ending has brought some important good news for young people growing up in Halifax Atlantic, in 2012 and years to come.

Not only did the Community Health Team formally open its doors this year, but just this week it was announced that the IWK will be operating a pediatric clinic from the Spryfield Centre. For anyone who’s followed the results of the federally funded Understanding the Early Years studies, this will be an especially significant announcement: the first studies showed that in some parts of Halifax Atlantic, children entering school had undiagnosed developmental problems (such as hearing and sight difficulties), that would have been picked up with early screening. Sometimes these simple problems, if undetected and untreated, can lead children to frustration that is played out at home and school, and measurably increase the chances of academic and social problems later in life. Better access to specialized, developmentally appropriate care to children from birth to age 16, will make a huge difference to the children themselves, as well as their families and the community as a whole.

The UEY reports also identified a lack of formal childcare opportunities as a problem for many families in the less densely populated part of the Chebucto Peninsula, (particularly given the shortage of public transit, a deficit which HRM has been working to address in instituting the long-awaited Community Transit buses on the Sambro Loop), but there’s also been major progress on this front.

Many people will remember that the 2004 closure of the Riverview Childcare centre took away the chances of licensed daycare for some 80 children in Halifax Atlantic, and left young working families with a real challenge on their hands in finding safe, affordable places for their preschoolers to grow and learn.
Last year, however, the Department of Community Services announced an expansion grant for the Edward Jost Centre, and earlier this fall, the Jost opened its new, additional building for infants and toddlers. The building itself is a tribute to the dedication of the Jost staff, and they have also designed an imaginative and imagination-stimulating “natural” playground, complete with boats and water wall, which was built by staff, community and Katimavik volunteers in some of the most torrential rains of the 2011 summer.

The UEY studies also identified some outstanding strengths in parts of Halifax Atlantic though, and preserving traditional strengths is as important as creating new ones. Many factors contribute to healthy child development, and as the UEY reports point out, “the small, close-knit communities that make up [the rural areas of Halifax Atlantic] offer safe, non-threatening neighbourhoods that promote active, outdoor play – an asset that contributes to the physical health and well-being of children and families. I continue to advocate within government for planning rules allowing communities to direct their own destinies. If “it takes a village to raise a child”, it’s important that the ‘village’ has a shared will and vision, and is able to exercise that will. If small, close-knit communities are to rapidly double or quadruple in size it must be with their consent and participation, or we run the risk of adult resentment and disempowerment affecting children.

In this vein, I am pleased to see that the province’s Schools Plus initiative is being expanded. This project allows additional services to be housed in school buildings, and has promise as a way to keep small schools open as community facilities, particularly in outer lying areas. It’s up to the individual school boards to decide which schools to use in this way, but I hope the Halifax Regional School Board will see fit to use this approach in Halifax Atlantic. Schools have traditionally been “the heart of the community”, and walking distances from school (at least in the younger years), have long represented the community boundaries. That walk should be a little bit safer, with new legislation passed this fall to restrict driving speed in school zones across the province.

Safe communities foster youth in other ways. Katimavik is a federal program for young people (ages 17-21) who want to learn more about other parts of the country, and themselves, as volunteers. The Katimavik youth who helped in various projects around Halifax, are young people who have come here to learn, and lived and worked in Spryfield again this year. It’s a tribute to this area that the program returned, and that so many volunteer organizations exist, and are able to support and work with these enthusiastic, energetic visitors, who definitely go home as emissaries from a welcoming community.

Other young people arrived here this year, through the efforts of Spryfield volunteers. Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the dedication of two Habitat for Humanity houses, bringing two committed young families to Spryfield, after months of hard work by Habitat, its volunteers and the families themselves. It was a moving experience for all, as the chilly day brought home yet again the importance of a warm, rooftight home in building a family’s future. The fact that Habitat chose again this year to build here (and is continuing the project in 2012) is a testament to the community, the welcome it offers to young families, and the promise for their future.

If they grow up healthy, in communities as generous as they have ever been, and are secure in the knowledge that they in turn can afford to be generous and welcoming, then I believe the children of Halifax Atlantic, and Nova Scotia, have many Happy New Years ahead. My best wishes to all for 2012, and my thanks for all the care and generosity of this place and people.

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Chebucto News December 2011 - Ships and the Future Start Here