Young offenders get wild

Page 3

In an effort to curb the negative influence one acquires by living in urban centres, the Native Counselling Services of Alberta (NCSA) has begun a Young Offender Wilderness Camp.

It has long been acknowledged that urban centres breed criminal activities and in order to deter offenders from repeating past mistakes, the new project of NCSA will place young offenders into a wilderness setting.

The NCSA hopes it will prove to be a more conducive atmosphere than that of city life.

The camp, situated at Alford Lake, just west of Caroline, Alberta is an isolated area which will help to remove the outside attraction and interferences that abound in the cities, such as alcohol and drugs, which the NCSA says "serve as a catalyst of the crimes committed by many of our Native youth."

Most of the participants at the camp will be young offenders from the Edmonton Youth Development Centre, Muskwa Group Home, those on probation, and child welfare individuals.

Small groups of about a dozen at a time will spend 10 days consecutively at the camp. There will be a total of four different groups attending between July and August. The fist three will be for males and the last one, it is hoped, for female participants.

The youths range in age from 12 to 18 and will receive individual and group counselling says Don Chalifoux. Chalifoux has previous experience with camp programs and is a former student of wholistic strategies, a program that pertains to Native culture.

"Mind development, spirituality, guidance, and self-determination are some of the teachings I will apply," said Chalifoux.

Raised at Kinuso, Chalifoux's training was received through the Four Worlds Development Project based out of Lethbridge University. In addition, he has many years of military experience behind him and instructed Cree language at Medicine Hat College. His role will be to foster "Native pride, self-esteem and the meaning of being Indian."

Darren Proulx of Edmonton will administer drug and alcohol counselling. Proulx has hands-on experience with AADAC and Alcoholics Anonymous, as well as survival camp skills, which he will offer to the groups.

A third camp councillor, 16 year old Robin Whisk, will help to set the tone for the youth so they can feel more at ease with their peers.

No camp counselling program, that deals with Native, can be complete without the input of an Elder.

Norman Abraham from the Stoney Big Horn Reserve at Nordegg will function as the resident Elder. Abraham, his many years of knowledge and experience regarding the spiritual well-being of youth.

The camp will not be all labor-intensive, in terms of counselling and education, but will also incorporate recreational activities such as hiking, sports, survival techniques and hunter training.

The concept of the Young Offender Wilderness Camp originated with Randy Sloan, the program director for special projects of NCSA.

The program was planned in co-operation with Alberta Fish and Wildlife, through Tom Bateman.

The location for the project was chosen because Alford Lake site is a wilderness training base for Alberta Fish and Wildlife staff and seemed an appropriate environment in which to operate a project that would be secluded and detached from urbanism and its influences.

The first camp is scheduled to commence operations on June 28.