From the Smoky Lake Signal, November 21, 2001

Changes to Children's Services Funding

The Smoky Lake Advisory Board for the Smoky Lake Youth Program at H.A. Kostash School does the background work to keep the much enjoyed youth program going - hiring the staff, providing the facilities. They administer an $80,000 per year budget. This year $55,000 of it, from the Early Intervention Program part of the $39 million Children's Services budget, is at risk.

Chairman Pat Flinn says the board can live with the 5% cutbacks, but were disheartened to see the three year contract they had with Early Intervention, will have to be renegotiated by March 31, 2002. It is not just a matter of the paper work, the criteria for Early Intervention has changed. The re-application package questions and answers specifically says they will not be running any recreation programs. The Youth Center is partly recreation.

It's a mix. The movies and the field trips are the hook to get the youth to the program, where they can learn life skill development in a positive environment with mentors, the community can be proud of. It's valuable work. It is preventative. It keeps vandalism down, and youth from becoming problems if they have nothing to do.

Because Children's Services Early Intervention Program is now moving closer to crisis interventions. The applications will have to show how the Smoky Lake Youth Center is helping children who are seriously at risk. This new slant could totally jeopardize the program.

Vilna's Early Intervention Program has been cut and will end in December. It's self-esteem, anger management courses will be gone. Vilna's program helped fund 60% of the cost of a teacher and 40% of the cost of a teacher's aide at Vilna School. A number of family liaison workers in St. Paul and Bonnyville have also been cut.
Children's Services, by eliminating funding for the youth programs, will be able to use the money to fund other projects. Smoky Lake's Youth Center has been ongoing since 1996.

e-mail to flibson at telusplanet.net

From the Smoky Lake Signal, April 10, 2002. Volume 24, Number 47.

Youth Centre seeking support

The Smoky Lake Youth Program Society Board Chairperson Pat Flinn and Secretary Karen Chipchar have been working, ever since the November announcement that the Region 12 Children's Service was dissolving the Early Intervention Programs, to create a new project to help children in the area, a project that would match the new funding criteria of the Sakaigun Asky Children's Services, and still, if at all possible, keep the Youth Center going. They have succeeded in part, and are hopeful.

This week Sakaigun Asky announced that the Smoky Lake group was eligible for $50,000 funding for the new project, which would provide advocacy and counseling for families in need or at risk in the community. It might not be enough to run the program. They applied for $87,000. They hope to hire a professional child and family outreach worker for four days a week. The worker would have a presence at local schools and do family counseling as well as work with the youth program.

There is a gap, a need for counseling, mentoring, referrals and direct assistance for children and families who in other times would have been aided by Children's Services. But instead of the government doing the job, they are asking community based groups to take on these responsibilities. Smoky Lake at least will try.

The Youth Program feel it is very important to try to keep the Youth Centre operating, although it will be scaled back. They will be totally reliant upon local funding. The $2,500 that the Town of Smoky Lake FCSS grants provide and the $3,300 that the County FCSS program provides will be the basic funding. It will, theoretically, be enough to run a program two days a week for ten months a year, with no summer program. With the loss of the lottery funding, there is little else that volunteers can do, other than what they are doing now - asking the public itself to support the program financially.

"We have never gone to the Kinsmen, Lions or individuals in the community for funds," said Chairperson Pat Flinn, "but now we must, if the Youth Center program is to run in the fall."

The equipment is still available. The school will still house it, but money for repairs and replacement is needed. The pool table and foos balls are decades old. The floor hockey sticks, as they get broken, cannot be replaced, under the present funding. But it's the events that will need local support.

While in the past transportation and supervision was provided by the Youth Center and the kids generally paid their own admission, now not even bussing can be paid out of what the program has left. It will be up to donors to provide for the trips and pizza and pop. The business community have been very supportive of the Youth Center in the past, but to ask them for even more is not fair. It's up to individuals to help. There is now no money from provincial funding available.
The Youth Program Society had discussed membership fees, but decided it would exclude the youth that most need the program, the ones whose families can't afford to provide the support. We don't want to take opportunity away from those kids, said Pat Flinn.

The two week summer program for teens had provided free busses to K-Day events, white water rafting and camping at Moose Lake. That part will have to end. The Youth Center saw youth workers Barry Sliwkanich and Kevin Fleming also provide a weekly program that was fun for youth, for the past five years. Crystal Mendiuk ran the after school program when the school board decided that teachers shouldn't be involved until 6:30 in the evening. But other than that philosophical difference, the Youth Center was well supported by the community, and if it is financially supported in the future, it will continue. Call Pat Flinn at 656-2463 to offer your support. Charitable tax receipts are available.

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