Updated guide for West Island youth

BY MARC LALONDE

marc.lalonde@transcontinental.ca

A new resource guide for young people will enable them to have access to information they might not be comfortable asking their parents for, Nelligan MNA Yolande James said Monday.

“Sometimes, as an adolescent, it’s hard to figure things out,� James said. “When you’re looking for information, it’s not always easy to ask your parents for help. Whether you live in a single-parent family, or you have two parents at home, sometimes there are things you just don’t feel comfortable talking to your parents about.�

It’s in that vein that James’ office

enthusiastically found funding for, and supported, the West Island Community Resource Centre’s 2007 West Island Youth Resources Guide, launched last Wednesday in Pointe Claire.

“We’re talking about young people at the most vulnerable point in their lives, who are just starting to learn about themselves. Just knowing where to go to get the help you may need is a load off the mind. Schools are good, but sometimes, you might need help outside school, and in that way, these resources are available to them,� she said.

The guide, available in either French or English, can be downloaded from the West Island Community Resource Centre’s website www.crcinfo.ca">www.crcinfo.ca">www.crcinfo.ca) or can be obtained through specialized youth workers in the West Island.

Increased funding through James’ office and her West Island MNA counterparts enabled West Island Community Resource Centre coordinator Ann Davidson to double its usual output of hard copies. The budget was about $3,000, she added.

“We’ve always put the resource guidebooks in the hands of people on the ground, like educators, youth workers, police and people who work with the kids that don’t get the book at school,� she said.

Students at Lindsay Place, Beaconsfield, Macdonald, John Rennie and St. Thomas high schools also get the information included in their agenda books. Queen of Angels Academy students also get copies, Davidson added.

No French schools give the handbook out to students — which features information on sexual-assault support, eating-disorder support groups, drug and alcohol counselling and employment information, among others.

“It’s the most cost-efficient way to get the handbook out to kids, and there’s no reason students at those schools shouldn’t get this information. We’re not a biased operation. The books are in both French and English and the kids really need access to this information. We just want the kids to be enabled to help themselves and keep their pride and self-esteem intact while they’re doing it,� she said.

For more information, call the West Island Community Resource Centre at 514-694-6404.