New Crime Stoppers program links kids with Indigenous leaders
- EFN Staff | November 15, 2016
Regina’s Crime Stoppers introduced the “Leaders Creating Future Leaders program,” which is a new initiative that focuses on providing at risk Regina youth with an opportunity to meet with leaders who have a profound impact within the community. Jada Yee and Thomas Benjoe were picked to speak to the youth aged 11 and under. The program organizers approached Yee about sharing his success story.
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“They know my background I’ve done speeches for the youth in the past. I’ve also done youth care work with at risk youth,” says Yee, who also mentioned in his presentation that he turned his life around when he became a young parent. “I wanted to talk to them about me growing up. When I was a little kid their age, I was getting into a lot of trouble. I was kicked out of elementary school and had to go to a different school dropping out of high school.”
He felt a similar connection with Benjoe describing him as a huge success story because he came from North Central and grew up in poverty.
“He and I both were raised by single parents…and he knew earlier on that he didn’t want to live in poverty,” he adds.
Benjoe, the President/CEO of File Hills Qu’Appelle (FHQ) Developments Ltd., received CBC Future 40 recognition back in 2013. He was asked by Yee to share their stories with the youth in the program.
“I wanted to let the kids know to never stop learning and to surround themselves with good people that will support them,” says Benjoe. “We are all given challenges both good and bad that we must face and we have to be able to overcome those challenges to build success.”
Yee is currently the Food and Beverage Manager at Casino Regina. He was recently recognized as Top 40 Under 40 program, where he was the lone Canadian representative at an international gaming expo. Yee said that a lot of the kids who attended the event could possibly relate to their stories because that’s the current situation some of them are in now.
“We wanted to show them that you can rise above and can break the cycle and that there are choices. You don’t have to fall into a life that gangs are the answer, or that crimes are the answer,” he adds. “When I was doing stuff their age, I didn’t think of the impacts I was doing like how it impacted the community—I didn’t think of the repercussions.”
A lot of the kids that are in this program are youth at risk and the Regina Crime Stoppers initiative is to get them while their young. Regina Crime Stoppers partnered with Conexus Credit Union and The Regina Intersectoral Partnership (TRIP), which is the organization that works with at risk youth.
“This is a very important program and I commend the Regina Crime Stoppers Program for initiating this program. Not only First Nations, but all youth in Regina, are made aware of,” Yee adds.