Starting tonight (Tuesday), the City of Surrey’s “Empower Surrey Parent Workshops” are back for another year.
The workshops provide parents and caregivers with a road map from experts to help keep their children out of gangs.
The free, two-hour workshop will run at different locations throughout the city from October to December.
According to the city’s Community Safety division, gangs are recruiting children as young as 10.
The city says it is important that parents and caregivers are informed and start conversations about gang prevention with their children at a young age. These workshops will help ensure parents and caregivers are well-equipt to have these conversations.
Anyone with reason to suspect their child might be vulnerable to criminal influence should consider attending a session, for the good of their child, themselves and society as a whole.
The workshops cover a wide variety of topics, from identifying and addressing risk factors, to understanding youth slang that might indicate the potential for risk, and some of the difficulties that Surrey youth face. The workshop will also provide tools on how to build “protective factors” for children and youth and where to get help if a youth is at risk or involved in negative behaviours.
For more information on the workshops and registering, visit Empower Surrey’s website (empowersurrey.ca/parentworkshops).
The next workshop is Tuesday night (Oct. 25) at Hjorth Elementary School from 6-8 p.m.
READ MORE: Surrey parents, learn the signs of gang involvement
The following workshops will take place from 6 to 8 p.m.:
• Tuesday, Oct 25, Hjorth Elementary School (14781 104 Ave)
• Wednesday, Oct 26, Queen Elizabeth Secondary School (9457 King George Blvd)
• Wednesday, Nov 2., Ray Shepherd Elementary School (1650 136 St)
• Tuesday, Nov 15, Newton Senior Centre (Presented in Punjabi) (13775 70 Ave)
• Wednesday, Nov 16, Georges Vanier Elementary School (6985 142 St)
• Tuesday, Nov 22, Grandview Heights Secondary School (16987 25 Ave)
• Wednesday, Nov 23, Cloverdale Recreation Centre (6188 176 St)
• Thursday, Dec 1, Westerman Elementary School (Presented in Punjabi) (7626 122 St)
• Wednesday, Dec 7, Clayton Heights Secondary School (7003 188 St)
-With files from the Now-Leader
anna.burns@surreynowleader.com
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