Street youth problem epidemic, panel told
By: Shane Minkin
Updated: October 15 at 11:39 PM CDT
On any given night in Winnipeg, there are up to 3,000 youths living on the streets.
That was just one of the shocking statistics cited at a panel discussion at the Gas Station Theatre to kick off the three-day Gutter Aid program, which aims to raise awareness of young people living on the streets of Winnipeg.
The topic for Wednesday's discussion was Gangs, Violence, Crime and the System and featured Winnipeg Police Chief Keith McCaskill, defence lawyer Saul Simmonds, crime victim Floyd Wiebe and youth mentor Jason Romanyshyn, who lived on the streets as a teen.
Wiebe told a harrowing tale of searching the streets for weeks for his son TJ, who was later found murdered in January 2003.
Romanyshyn spoke eloquently of his distrust for the police during his years on the streets.
Expressing surprise, McCaskill admitted there were probably a few bad apples among his 1,328 officers.
And Simmonds called for a moratorium on arresting and prosecuting youth for petty drug crimes such as marijuana possession, which he said does nothing but ruin young lives and clog the courts. "We need to go after the head of the snake," Simmonds said, referring to the big-time cocaine and meth dealers.
Gutter Aid continues at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday at the Gas Station Theatre, with a musical component later in the evening down the street at the Cavern.
Thursday's panel topic is Mental Health, Addictions and the System, and features comedian Big Daddy Tazz, Chris Sommerville of the Manitoba Schizophrenia Society and John Borody of the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba.
Friday's panel examines Abuse, Neglect, Poverty and the System and features sociologist Dr. Elizabeth Comack, David Northcott of Winnipeg Harvest, Sonia Prevost-Derbecker of Child and Family Services and Dave Angus from the Winnpeg Chamber of Commerce.
The panels are free and open to the public.
For more info go to www.RaYinc.ca OR www.TJsGift.com
