te.
THE, NORTH Shore would be
“a better place if adults Spent
more time actively involved in
the lives of the young, accurd-
: ing to two local men who are

7 ;. making a difference.

ae
is
i

: By Debbie McVittle
, Contributing Writer

. Adult mentors give young peo-
ple an opportunity to talk about the
things they would rather not discuss
with parents or peers,

Mentors can provide youth with
guidance at a time when confusion
Teigns and choices can be over-
whelming. This is not a good time
-for youth to take all direction from
peers, but that’s exactly what they'll
do if there are no interested adults
willing to put in the time.

-Most of us can reach into the
‘past: and ‘recall at least one adult
-other than ‘our Parents who took a
special interest in us.

That person may have been a :

coach, a teacher, a neighbor or rela-'

tive, or the university student down
he street who seemed perfectly
happy.to listen to you ramble on
‘about life while the two of you

bounced a basketball around on-

summer evenings.

“Is there a lack of adult mentors
for-youth in our community now?
Many local professionals who work

th young people would say there

Larry Brown, principal at
ycove secondary school, warns
tat:““youth have'no real, close con-

‘nection with adults they can trust. If

you are looking for the roots of: vio-
lence, this may be it.”

But he also offers the names ; of

individuals who have made a

people who live in the Deep Cove-

Dollarton area. :

District of North Vancouver and the

Community: Programs Society’,

keeps their support programs alive.
Eight yearsiago, the Deep Cove-

x Boaicty bn Community Programs

Society ‘hired Craig Johnston for an
‘rimental nine-month youth out-

each program. It is still going ©

ag.

Tn January. 1994, Dave Freeze
Degan a pilot project
EYouthworks. | 'His objective is to

icate young people about busi-

s and employment. _

called »

spend time with young people

or

NEWS photo Mike Wakefletd

DAVE FREEZE (left) and Craig Johnston (foreground right) work with young people living In the
Deep Gove-Doliarton area. The mentors believe that more adults should become actively

Involved with young people in the community.

Johnston, who grew up in the

Deep Cove area, explains how his

youth program began.

“It was appareni to me that
young people didn’t have a place
where they could legiti-
mately ‘spend time. They
were hanging out in
places where there was
nobody looking after
them to keep .things
within bounds.

“I thought a place in
“Myrtle Park would be
ideal and we started using the.
change rooms there for a drop-in.’

~ “It took four days before anyone
showed up. You’d see these ghostly

figures walking by. Finally, one kid.

got curious, or he just needed to'get
into the washroom, and he asked
“me to let him in. The next time he

‘came with a bunch of his friends.”

On a recent Friday there were 42
teens at the drop-in and 47 on a
Saturday. The part-time people who
‘work with Johnston were once pro-

.‘ pram participants. They now attend
“ university. Johnston is gratified.

Since: the inception of the ‘drop-
in centre, his involvement has
grown over the years.

On any given day he can be

found mountain biking, boating,
hiking or mountain climbing with a
group of. young people. Freeze
attributes much of the success of
Johnston’s program to the amount

- 66 You'd see these ghostly figures

walking by. 99

- Craig Johnston

of time Johnston spends outdoors
with the kids. «
“I think one of the reasons

Johnston is so successful is because |
his kids spend a lot of time at the |
‘top of mountains and on biking»

traits.”

Freeze adds, “In order for these
kids to get the best deal in life, they
heed opportunity. Craig is a facilita-
tor of opportunity. He has a very
Zen-like philosophy and doesn’t
judge people. He just-accepts these
kids. ve worked with kids over the
years and I’ve never quite seen any-
one that has Craig's way with kids.”

Johnston elaborates on the suc-
cess of the youth program.

IV bike plan endorsed

pel endorsed. by North
‘Vancouver District Council, but
don’t expect to see any protec-
tion for cyclists on North

fancouver streets for at least

That's how tong it will take to

Widtaw up an “implementation plan”

stand even that is “subject to funding”
fon ‘a cost shareable basis with North

Vancouver City.
District Director of Planning and

Plunkett reported to council at its -

May 16 meeting that existing staff
could not spend the time to draw up
the needed implementation plan.

Plunkett recommended the hiring
of a bicycle coordinator for two
years at an approximate salary of
$43,000 per year to oversee plan
preparation and the beginning of a
physical program,”

Coun, Jim Cuthbert, who was
instrumental in forming a Bicycle
Routes Committee in 1991, said the
coordinator. could “put the ball in
motion muds more quickly. Without
‘it there would be a slower learning
curve.”

The coordinator would be respon-
sible for defining the costs involved
in establishing a network of bike-
ways in the district and city only.

West Vancouver declined to par-'
ticipate in the Bicycle Routes
Committee,

A bikeway can be defined as a:

B Bicycle Route, which would be
designated with signage, but the
cyclist shares the road space with
automobile traffic;

Bicycle Lane, which is a marked
strip of the roadway intended for
bicycle use only;

Bf Bicycle Path, which is a dedicated
roadway for cyclists that is physical-
ly separated from vehicte traffic.

The possibility of providing
incentives to develapers to include
“end-of-trip” bicycle facilities (lock-
ers, storage space and showers) in
new and renovated developments
would also be examined by the bicy-
cle coordinator.

Ady

“The community itself has
always been very supportive. If the

. community and the agency can pro-

vide the opportunities for kids, then.
I can try to inexorably and slowly
urge kids to check them
out and I think success is
bound to happen.”

: Johnston also feels
that the success of the
original youth program
is reflected in the fact
that many of the young
people he works with

“have surpassed his own ability to
participate in some activities.

Enter Freeze. He grew up in the
travel and adventure industry and

“ran his own business until he sold it

last year. He decided he wanted to
work with kids.

“The idea of my program, for
kids to learn about being in. business
for themselves, is that it doesn’t
need to be funded. The kids just put

‘a slide show on at the Centennial

Theatre and they brought in $5,000.

“We gave a bunch of money
away to an environmental cause, we
gave money to the Dan Culver
Follow Your Dream fund and
we've got a couple of thousand dol-
lars left.. This program would even-

tually pay the kids and create a
business inthe true sense of the
word.”

Freeze’s enthusiasm for the
young people he works with goes
beyond his one-day-a-week pay-
cheque from the Communily
Programs Society, “A lot of these
kids aren’t high on life so they get
high on drugs and alcohol. They're
looking for some excitement in
their life and they're not finding il
on a rock face ara bike trail so they
come lo school at 2 a.m. in the
morning with a can of spray paint.

“They have a desire to want
more. It’s simply our job, as adults,
to ensure we provide that in healthy
ways. It's not only in terms of
recreation pursuits but nu belief is

s also in terms of employment
opportunities.”

Johnston and Freeze agree ‘that |
“small is beautiful.” Drop-in or
youth centres have to be neighbor-
hood places that young people can
walk to within the community.

Johnston said that some’adults
believe only “bad kids” attend the
drop-in.

“The notion that for a kid to be
worth my service they have to have
lots of visible indicators of prob-
lems, I think that’s'‘nonsense.

“Every. kid, at some point or:
another, has times of confusion,
times of being at risk, times of vul-- -
nerability or just getting pulled into
something.

“The community needs to have - ;
the attitude that every young person |’
is worthy of as much support as we

can give them.”

Johnston cautions that support: .
ing kids and giving them everything.
they want aren’t the same thing.

“t have a problem with. the, idea
that consultation with young people

automatically gives you all the:
answers that are right.

. “Many of the kids that I've
talked to, if | asked them’'to fill‘out

a questionnaire about what they.
think the drop-in should be like, I
don’t think I’m going to get.the .;
right answers — because they’ Fe 7’

-. kids,” ne said, ; ‘i

If more adults spent time as:
mentors, there would be more
opportunities for young people,

. Freeze said.

Johnston ‘explains the concept

’ simply: “As long as 1 and others*in

the community are willing .to treat
any young person as a worthy per-:
son to sit down and havea chat
with, that’s the whole mento ing, .
healthy community idea.”

Index

Gl Budget Beatersicctesseseussssee 5 :

@ Classified,

B Comics eaeeeoesaonss

8 Day in oT ee Fo
ANSE BNIS. sosscsssersseesssesnstegsseteen
@ LifOStyleS ssccciesssssesesesnassenseo DA

fa News of the Weird asenee seseneeere

Business..........6.00

BY Doug Collins......

@ Bob Hunter.

& Kids’ Stuff...

BE MailDOX... cleeccscsesceceeneneate
What's Going On

Weather

Thursday: cloudy with sunny periods.
High 18°C: low 10°C.

Canadian Publications Maii Sales Product Agveement Number 0087238
f

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: