The Surrey Anti-Gang Family Empowerment (SAFE) Program has been awarded the “Excellence in Service Delivery” award by the Union of BC Municipalities’ (UBCM).
The award recognizes “UBCM member First Nations, regional districts and municipalities that have implemented projects or programs that go above and beyond in meeting the purposes of local government in BC,” reads a City of Surrey release Tuesday (Oct. 17).
SAFE is funded by Public Safety Canada and run by the City of Surrey, aims as its name suggests, to keep youths out of gangs while helping them build positive life skills. The five-year $7.5 million program involves 10 partner agencies and 11 individual programs from “youth outreach and mentorship, caregiver education and family support, clinical counselling, and opportunities for youth enterprising and peer leadership.”
Since the program started in 2019, SAFE has supported 4,500 children, youth, and parents in Surrey. The supports are tailored to be gender specific and culturally appropriate.
Surrey mayor Brenda Locke stated in the news release Tuesday (Oct. 17) that programs like SAFE are essential.
“With Surrey having the largest youth population of all municipalities in British Columbia, it is critical that we provide innovative, proactive, wraparound services for our young people,” Locke stated. “The SAFE Program does that by helping children and youth build positive life skills and strong connections with family, school and community. I am glad this essential program has been recognized by my fellow members of the UBCM and I applaud the great work that is being done by the SAFE team.”
The city’s partners in SAFE, which works to disrupt “negative pathways to gang violence,” are DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Options Community Services Society, Pacific Community Resources Society, Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Simon Fraser University, Solid State Community Society and Surrey School District.
For more information on the different programs, visit surrey.ca/safe.
-With files from Tom Zytaruk