Photo copyright: Black Ottawa Scene
Wednesday 16 August
About forty Ottawa Black community leaders and stakeholders were at the Richelieu-Vanier community Centre Wednesday to engage officials from Ontario’s Ministry of Children and Youth Services in a consultation around the province’s Black Youth Action Plan. The goal was to orient participants on the provinces plan to support more than 10,000 Black children, youth and families, through new services and supports across the province. According to the organisers, the plan is aligned with the province’s anti-racism strategic plan, which was unveiled a few months ago.
Discussions centred around funding opportunities in four strategic areas: culturally focussed parenting and mentorship programs; early supervention and prevention; access to higher education and skills development; and community outreach and promoting anti-violence. The province has budgeted $47 million in grants to Black community-based organisations to fund projects based on these four themes for up to a maximum of four years, with the emphasis on partnerships between diverse community organizations for each project.
Among community leaders present were: June Girvan (Black History Ottawa), Ken Campbell (Jaku Konbit), Yodit Girmay (Ontario Trillium Foundation), Farah Aw-Osman (Canadian Friends of Somalia), Yomi Pratt (Global Community Alliance), Denise Moore (Guyana Ottawa Community Association) and Mohamoud Hagi-Aden (Somali Centre for Family Services).
According to provincial officials, the Ontario Black Youth Action Plan will be located in four metropolitan areas: Toronto, Ottawa, Windsor and Hamilton.
For more information on the Ontario Black Youth Action Plan, visit: www.Ontario.ca/BlackYouthActionPlan
Photo copyright: Black Ottawa Scene