{"id":906,"date":"2019-11-22T22:10:44","date_gmt":"2019-11-22T22:10:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/yow\/?p=906"},"modified":"2019-12-03T14:43:37","modified_gmt":"2019-12-03T14:43:37","slug":"rooting-to-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/yow\/2019\/11\/22\/rooting-to-rise\/","title":{"rendered":"Rooting to rise"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.0.5″ custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” locked=”off”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.0.6″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.0.6″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/yow\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/YOW-logo.png” url=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/yow\/” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ height=”270px” custom_padding=”||0px|||”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_social_media_follow use_icon_font_size=”on” icon_font_size=”13px” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ text_orientation=”right” min_height=”18px” custom_margin=”-85px||-31px|||” custom_padding=”0px||1px|||”][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”instagram” url=”https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/yowpublication\/” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ background_color=”#e8377c” background_enable_color=”on” follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]instagram[\/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”twitter” url=”https:\/\/twitter.com\/Yowpublication” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ background_color=”#5ce1e6″ background_enable_color=”on” follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]twitter[\/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”youtube” url=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCj4rs1qjq7orfknOqBrnaKw” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ background_color=”#ffb859″ background_enable_color=”on” follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]youtube[\/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][\/et_pb_social_media_follow][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”3.22″ background_color=”#f7f7f7″ custom_padding=”||1px|||” locked=”off”][et_pb_fullwidth_menu fullwidth_menu=”off” dropdown_menu_bg_color=”#f2f2f2″ dropdown_menu_line_color=”#5ce1e6″ dropdown_menu_text_color=”#000000″ logo=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/yow\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Copy-of-About-YOW-3.png” show_search_icon=”on” search_icon_color=”#5ce1e6″ cart_icon_font_size=”20px” search_icon_font_size=”20px” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ menu_font=”News Cycle|600|||||||” menu_text_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.81)” menu_font_size=”18px” menu_letter_spacing=”1px” background_color=”#f2f2f2″ min_height=”48px” custom_margin=”-1px|||||” custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” border_width_top=”1px” border_width_right=”0px” border_width_bottom=”1px” border_width_left=”0px” menu_line_height__hover_enabled=”off|desktop”][\/et_pb_fullwidth_menu][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ locked=”off”][et_pb_fullwidth_post_title categories=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ title_font=”News Cycle|700|||||||” title_text_color=”#ffffff” title_font_size=”41px” meta_text_color=”#ffffff” background_image=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/yow\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/IMG_0878.jpg” height=”736px” custom_margin=”-1px||13px||false|false” custom_padding=”635px||||false|false” title_text_shadow_style=”preset5″ meta_text_shadow_style=”preset5″ text_shadow_style=”preset3″][\/et_pb_fullwidth_post_title][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″ custom_padding=”4px||0px|||”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”0px|||||”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.0.6″ custom_margin=”20px||1px|||” inline_fonts=”News Cycle”]<\/p>\n

How Ottawa\u2019s Street Resilience Project is flipping ideas about crime prevention on their head.<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

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Things are good for Salah these days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The 37 year old recently graduated from Algonquin College, and he also works a full-time, unionized job.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Salah has worked hard to get to this place in his life, though. After serving some time in prison, he is reintegrating into Ottawa life with help from community programs.<\/p>\n

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After graduating high school, Salah took a year off to make some money before going to university. His plan was delayed when he had trouble finding and keeping a job.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Instead, Salah started spending more time with some high school friends. He said some of these friends held a certain \u201cinfluence\u201d over him. \u201cThey were kind of low-level criminals,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Salah said that before he knew it, he was in too deep.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Looking at crime in the city today, Salah pulls from his own experiences to make sense of why young people are drawn to it.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI know a lot of them probably feel like crime is actually all they know and all they\u2019re capable of doing,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause they never had people to make them think outside the box and say, \u2018Hey, you know what, you’re good at this.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Salah said he feels that those trying to make a positive impact for kids from similar backgrounds as himself need to believe in them and care for them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Ottawa\u2019s Street Resilience Project is putting this idea into practice. Launched in August and geared toward young men aged 16-29, it takes an alternative, trauma-informed approach to youth gang involvement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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In Ottawa, police say<\/a> rising street violence is connected to easy access to guns, young people and an evolving gang culture. With traditional approaches to crime prevention not yielding significant results, the Street Resilience Project is rethinking strategies to address youth violence.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThousands are hacking at the branches of the problem. Fewer are working at the root,\u201d said Mandi Pekan, director of the Street Resilience Project.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The project is a three-year community-based research project. Young men of colour are interviewed by a psychotherapist about their lived experiences, and take part in a monthly\u00a0community session facilitated by a team of trained outreach workers.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Together with actors and a production team, Pekan is also producing a video that seeks to empower these men to tell their own stories, and counter mainstream conceptions about what street gangs are.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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When finished, the video will be screened to community stakeholders and the Ottawa Police service, with the hope that it will inspire more bias-free work in communities.<\/p>\n

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According to Pekan, accurate representations of gang life are rare. \u201cIt’s been disappointing that positive and authentic stories of young racialized men are insufficiently told and overshadowed by stories of challenges and failures.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Pekan hopes the video will help humanize misunderstood communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe make sure that we give a lot of voice to the part that is trying to do really well,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey’re constantly having to confront and battle stereotypes that portray them as below average, not achievers, a lost cause, troublemakers, and that message is internalized over and over again.\u201d<\/p>\n

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As a result, Pekan hears from these young men that they feel socially isolated and targeted by law enforcement. These feelings are backed up by data.<\/p>\n

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In the second Traffic Stop Race Data Collection Project report<\/a> released this year, researchers conclude that the traffic stop rates for young black and middle eastern men \u201ccannot be justified and are consistent with findings of racial profiling in cases involving other police services.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI grew up here, have family, and cousins here. I know how many of my cousins go to university, never done a crime in their life. Have they been pulled over? Have they had mistaken identities? Absolutely,\u201d said Salah, speaking about police community relations in Ottawa.<\/p>\n

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According to Pekan, the Street Resilience Project is committed to resolving tensions between racialized communities and law enforcement. \u201cWe hear it, we see it and we’re noticing the consistent fear, anxiety, and most of all the loss of trust in the Ottawa police,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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