By Lexi McFarlane, Times Chronicle
Youth in the Town of Oliver have gotten to have a stronger voice that they felt didn’t exist previously, as Oliver’s Youth Councillor program wraps up its first term with grades in hand.
Nathael Collerette-Reza, the inaugural Senior Youth Councillor, and Dallas Crawford, the first Junior Youth Councillor, presented their recent findings to Council.
As part of the presentation, Collerette-Reza and Crawford detailed their recent in-person meet-up with fellow students from South Okanagan Secondary School (SOSS), in which they surveyed their peers on how well the Town is doing as a whole to make youth feel included in local governance.
A total of 10 peers, ranging from Grades 8 to 11, were surveyed. Crawford says that most of those respondents put themselves at just “a 1 or 2 on a scale of 10” in terms of their knowledge and connection to the municipal government. However, the pilot run of the Youth Councillor program has generated a spark among SOSS students.
“They indicated that they might be interested in an opportunity next year to learn about local government, too,” Crawford said.
Outreach beyond town hall is also something youth, and especially teens, in Oliver are wanting more of. The report from Crawford and Collerette-Reza details a need for local businesses to become involved in offering opportunities for recreation and employment.
Better resources for mental health were also suggested as part of the solution. Crawford and Collerette-Reza offered one idea to implement this resource.
“There’s a branch of the Foundry in Penticton; maybe working with them to collaborate in Oliver more often,” Crawford said, referring to the youth and wellness centre located in Penticton.
Multiple Council members had praise for the job Collerette-Reza and Crawford did as Youth Councillors, especially given the short turnaround and condensed term length. Mayor Martin Johansen remarked that they had done well with the opportunity given to them.
“You’ve jumped on it, and done everything you can to be as engaged as you can,” Johansen said. “Engaging the rest of the students at SOSS is honourable, and a great way to bring the message to the school, and to other people.”
Councillor Aimee Grice saw this first term as “a beginning”, and said that what was able to be accomplished in the shortened inaugural term provided lots of optimism for future full-length terms.
“There’s only room to expand, and improve on what we’ve started here,” Grice said, also expressing hope that Collerette-Reza and Crawford could “still be around” to offer advice in the future.
A complete set of survey results will be provided to Council via e-mail for future review.
