Ottawa’s Youth Action Panel “Makes it Happen”

Youth Success Stories

United Way/Centraide Ottawa’s Youth Action Panel “Makes it Happen” The United Way/Centraide Ottawa Youth Action Panel is made up of dedicated volunteers aged 13 to 18. Their goal is to take ideas for creative projects and turn them into reality, empowering young people to believe in change, to take action and to make decisions about their community - in short, they support other youth in making a difference.

Each year on March 1st and November 1st, funding applications for youth-led community projects are submitted by local teenagers. These applications are reviewed by the Youth Action Panel, which submits its recommendations to the United Way/Centraide Community Services Cabinet. Grants of up to $2,500 are awarded for individual projects; up to $60,000 annually is invested by the Cabinet in helping teams of young people make their projects come to life.

How an idea can come to life
When a group of teens living with disabilities realized that children with special needs didn’t have many recreational choices, they took matters into their own hands. The group organized the first-ever “Great Ottawa Overnight” - a one-night sleepover for teens with physical and developmental challenges. The night’s activities included arts and crafts, wheelchair basketball, memory books and a group dinner. The event, which was supervised by recreation therapists from the Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre, was funded by a Youth Action Grant from United Way/Centraide.

For 12-year-old Celine Walker, it was a fantastic night filled with new friends and experiences. “Even when you’re in a wheelchair,” she says, “it’s important to get to try new things.”

Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre
2005 Youth Action Funding
Youth Action gives young people a voice and helps to build leadership

Success!

Success! CAYFO reps and friends have successfully convinced the City of Ottawa to keep its dismal 29.000$ budget for the Ottawa youth Commission! This group of young activists has as a mandate to get to real opinions and express children and youth concerns to the city. They speak to services and activities that affect their lives. So in a city of close to a million people with approximately 150.000 young people is 29 grand even enough to get to real opinions, those from vulnerable and disenfranchised youth? Why did the city even consider cutting fund to a program that delivers Children and Youth basic human rights? Was the coucil simply testing Ottawa’s youth response to an unjustifiable budget cut? In 1989, when Canada and most of the world’s countries signed on the Convention of the Rights of the Child at the United Nations, we as a society accepted that Children and Youth HAVE a right to be heard and listened to on issues that affect them. (It’s Article 12, look it up, it should be a given.) Why then was the only Municipally recognised youth committee in need to fight the city for survival? Oh I’m sure Larry was saying “Oh those kids are so cute to be sitting there and presenting their ideas at the grownups table". Can city hall be any more condescending? In any case, Thanks for being so kind in letting us have some rights.

Help Support Young Peoples Rights to be Heard and the Ottawa Youth Commission

Hello Friends of the Ottawa Youth Commission and CAYFO

As you may know, the Ottawa Youth Commission is slated to be cut in the new 2008 Budget. We believe that youth have a legitimate place in the governance of Ottawa and that to eliminate funding to the youth voice eliminates their rights to be heard and participate in matters that affect them. We are asking for your help in our letter writing campaign. We are aiming to fill the in boxes and mail slots of our City Councilors and lead them to vote in favour of keeping the youth voice within City Hall and the Commission.

I have attached a sample letter which you can choose to paste onto your own letter head and sign as is, but feel free to write your own letter and share your own perspectives. I have also attached a link to the City of Ottawa website which lists all the contact information for the Ottawa City Councilors. Considering the timely nature of the request, I urge you at act quickly. As well, please feel free to send this email on to your contacts.

http://ottawa.ca/city_hall/mayor_council/councillors/index_en.html

Also, the Commission will be making a presentation to the Committee of the Whole Budget Review on DECEMBER 3rd at 5pm. We are hoping to fill the Council Chambers at 110 Laurier Ave with over 200 youth and friends of the Commission. Pizza will be supplied.

Please JOIN US on December 3rd in the Council Chambers for our presentation. Please join us and support young people's rights to be heard.

With appreciation,

Melanie Davis, Keri Abella and CJOYC



The letter is pasted here for your convenience.

___________________________________________



Dear Councilor __________,


Youth have a legitimate place in the governance of Ottawa and should not be silenced!

Cutting the Youth Commission's $29,000.00 from the city budget will put an end to the representation of young people and the advocacy of youth within the City of Ottawa. I strongly urge you to reconsider the proposed budget and vote in favour of keeping the Youth Commission. By doing so, you validate and recognize youth participation and young people's rights to be heard as integral components of a healthy and inclusive society.

In 2006 City Hall put out a call to community agencies to create a Youth Commission in the City of Ottawa. Commission de la Jeunesse d'Ottawa Youth Commission answered this call. Through this partnership the City of Ottawa stepped up to recognize and validate young people as active and contributing members of Ottawa now, not future citizens or leaders of tomorrow. This partnership has served the City, its tax payers and its young residents well.

Since its inception, Commission de la Jeunesse d'Ottawa Youth Commission has facilitated youth inclusion and engaged over 1500 young people in youth surveys, community mapping and dialogue sessions to find out youth needs in Ottawa, what changes they would like to see, how youth can bring about these changes and how adults and City Hall can shape policies and take action on issues that directly affect youth. Engaging youth in decision making processes has real value. It helps the City of Ottawa make meaningful decisions that are more responsive and relevant to youth needs and interests and benefits the community at large.

Youth between 15 and 24 years of age comprise 14% of the Ottawa community (Statistics Canada, 2006). That is 14% of the population whose contributions and potential as community decision makers, planners and builders will be undervalued and not recognized if the Commission is cut. The Commission is in its infancy, but imagine the potential positive change that is possible if the Youth Commission continues and the energy, talents, creativity and unique perspectives of these 114,000 youth were encouraged to their full potential.

Do not choose to cut this very valuable Commission. Commission de la Jeunesse d'Ottawa Youth Commission must be an integral component of the City of Ottawa. Only then will the traditional approaches towards youth begin to evolve and the commitments to them begin to have meaning.

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RESEARCH MEDIA LAUNCH!

On October 30th 2007 the team will launch the final report Talking Back To Grownups: Healthy Children, Healthy Communities – a report on the social determinants of health and middle childhood in Canada at Ottawa’s National Press Club in the Sheraton Hotel. Eventually, we will also present to the Senate Sub Committee of Public Health at the Canadian Senate. Although, this research will soon be publicly launched, last July we took the opportunity to present our findings to a multi-sectoral team of specialists at the Pacific Palisades Hotel in Vancouver. That meeting was a unique opportunity for us to receive feedback on our research prior to the report’s official launch. Since then we’ve been working hard to implement necessary changes in order to further clarify the methodology, validity and statistical significance of our findings. For those of you, who are in the National Capital region, please contact us to reserve a spot at our launch.

To register for the Breakfast event please call (613) 232-5751 ext:233 or Email Maria.sterniczuk@unac.org



Registration : 7:45 am


Continental Breakfast and Programme: 8:00 - 9:00 am



the event is RSVP only

hey gabo- testing, testing..

Bad policy feeds obesity problem

ottawa citizen
Fridau August 24 2007
by, Éric Beauchesne and Derek Abma


"Farm regulation is costing families big bucks, study finds... Canada's protection of its milk, egg and poultry farmers from foreigh competition acts as a regressive tax that costs families...approximately 200 - 250$ a year... and hurt's Canada's international trade reputation."

"When...two litters of coke is 99cents...and a carton of milk is $4.50 to $4.75, we're encouraging families to buy cheaper, less noutritious products."

However, this system "ensures farm families have stable revenue for what they produce, guarantees processors a secure supply of milk for processing and this ultimately serves consumers through the availability of safe, high-quality products when they go to the store."