ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: November 9, 1998
Author/Local: W.Au/6639/C.Cuthbert/6044
RTS No. 256
CC File No. 2151

TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	Director of Community Services, Social Planning Department
SUBJECT:	1998 Community Services Grant Emergency Reserve - MOSAIC Vietnamese Community Services Coordinator

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Council approve a $20,000 grant from the 1998 Community Services Grants emergency reserve to MOSAIC for a short term, part-time Vietnamese Community Services Coordinator.

GENERAL MANAGER’S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services submits the foregoing for Council’s CONSIDERATION.

COUNCIL POLICY

On March 24, 1998, Council approved an Emergency Reserve Fund from the Community Services Grants Budget, to be used in response to unforseen circumstances in the community. Currently there is $33,078 available in this fund.

Approval of grant recommendations requires eight affirmative votes.

PURPOSE

This report recommends the allocation of $20,000 from the Community Services Grants Emergency Reserve Fund to MOSAIC for a short term, part-time Vietnamese Community Services Coordinator, to develop a community response strategy for youth service needs. The coordinator will also link up service providers in the Collingwood neighbourhood with existing, appropriate, Vietnamese community workers, in response to emerging needs in the family and youth-at-risk service areas.

BACKGROUND

On March 24, 1998, Council approved an Emergency Reserve Fund of $23,078 in the Community Grants Budget to be used in response to emergencies or unforseen circumstances in the community. There is also an unused amount of $10,000 resulting from a grant project that was terminated earlier than originally expected. At present, the Emergency Reserve Fund has a total of $33,078.

At-risk youth have been identified as a service priority in the Vietnamese community. The inadequacy of services for Vietnamese youth-at-risk was highlighted in a 1997 report, the Vietnamese Services Review Project, which was undertaken by MOSAIC and the Britannia Community Services Centre, and sponsored by the City of Vancouver and the Province. The Vietnamese community in the Greater Vancouver area was surveyed about the existing services available to their community and asked to identify any service challenges. The report concluded that family issues are one of the top three service priorities for the Vietnamese community, in particular, youth at risk. Substance abuse, gang involvement and recruitment into illegal activities continue to impact Vietnamese families. Service gaps and/or poor co-ordination of services among those working with youth are cited as some of the obstacles preventing better success with Vietnamese youth-at-risk.

In recent months, service providers in the Collingwood neighbourhood have become concerned with an increase in Vietnamese families who are in crisis. They are also aware of criminal activities and association in the drug trade involving Vietnamese children and youth in their neighbourhood. Existing services for Vietnamese youth are not able to meet these new demands. There are currently 1.7 Vietnamese-speaking youth workers in the City, based in the Kensington-Cedar Cottage neighbourhood. They provide city-wide preventative and crisis intervention services to high-risk, Vietnamese youth.

DISCUSSION

With very limited resources to cope with increasing numbers of youth-at-risk and families in crisis, there is now an urgency to develop a community response strategy to address the immediate needs in Collingwood neighbourhood and a plan to address city-wide issues. There is a need to prioritize general service needs for Vietnamese youth; how best to deploy the limited, existing resources; and agree on priorities for new services. This will include consultation with youth, parents, service providers and the broader Vietnamese community. Particularly, youth will be recruited to plan and organize the process so as to ensure their participation and ownership of the outcomes.

The Social Planning Department has been approached by MOSAIC for a $20,000 emergency grant to hire a short term, part-time Vietnamese Community Service Coordinator for 14 hours a week, over the next 12 months, to focus on the following tasks :

· The Community Services Coordinator will work with service providers in the Collingwood neighbourhood to address emerging issues concerning Vietnamese youth involvement in substance abuse, gang involvement and recruitment into illegal activities. The objectives of this work will be to identify service needs, facilitate linking up of appropriate services, and improve coordination of service delivery to Vietnamese youth-at-risk who live in this area.

· A second part of the work will involve development of a community response strategy to meet the needs of Vancouver’s Vietnamese youth. The worker will engage Vietnamese youth in the planning, organizing and consultation process with youth, families, service providers and community members in consideration of services priorities and development strategy.

CONCLUSION

Social Planning has been involved in many discussions with service providers in the Collingwood neighbourhoods and the Vietnamese community over the past six months. The ability to address issues of family breakdown and youth involvement in drugs and criminal activities requires participation from both government and community stakeholders. There is an urgent need to work together on a community response strategy. This will provide the City and the community with a better understanding of service priorities for Vietnamese youth-at-risk and engage all stakeholders in formulating long-term solutions together.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver