Did you know that Sun Youth hosted the 18th annual training symposium of the International Society of Crime prevention practitioners in 1995? As its name suggests, the ISCPP is an international organization whose mission is to “encourage crime prevention education and practice in public, private and voluntary sectors”. At the time, our founder, Earl De La Perralle was its first Canadian President Elect.
Things have changed since the 1990’s but we still are very active in the crime prevention sector of Montreal. First and foremost, the core of Sun Youth since its creation : our sports and recreation programs. The reason behind the creation of Sun Youth was for kids to stay safe, active and out of trouble.
The best way to prevent crime, we believe, is to give a sense of belonging to kids, and our sports teams do exactly that: our Hornets are “one heart, one team, one family” and have been so for generations. More than 2000 children participate in our activities every year.
By encouraging civism in our society with our Good Samaritan program and New Bikes distribution, we also make sure to encourage people whose actions have had a positive influence on their community or who have shown exceptional courage in difficult situations. In this way we promote altruism, courage and good citizenship.
Playing a very active role in crime prevention as always, our bike patrol was out on the streets, parks and cycling paths of Montreal for the 37th year last summer. Our teams work with the SPVM to make our city safer during the summer by keeping contact with the citizens, patrolling the parks, keeping an eye on children and the elderly, participating in special operations such as bike engravings and pedestrian safety.
Last summer we made close to 900 interventions and close to 1400 visits to parks, pools, day camps, businesses, etc.
On the opposite side of the crime prevention spectrum, we also work with police forces to offer rewards leading to the arrest of people suspected of criminal activity. Police detectives ask for our help in trying to solve cases and by doing so, we help prevent other crimes being committed.
Finally, it is proven that the best way to prevent crime and poverty is education and our free tutoring and scholarships to underprivileged children. When all prevention fails though, we are left helping crime victims. In the last 10 years, we’ve helped more than 350 crime victims with food, clothing and temporary lodging.
Our partners in this program, the SPVM and the CAVAC (Centre d’aide aux victimes d’actes criminels) use this service more and more every year. Last year only, 61 people were referred to us for help, most of them women victims of conjugal violence or victims of sexual exploitation.
To help us in our efforts in prevention or emergency help to crime victims, you can donate online.
