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Welcome!

MOBILIZE BARRIE: A Path toward Finding and Mobilizing Community Partners is  a conference that will  bring community organizations, agencies, youth, individuals and government institutions to participate in a conference format in the City of Barrie to explore issues of youth, gangs, guns and drugs.

This conference is to inform our organization about what working and what is not working in terms of programming when reintegrating youth in conflict with the law into the society. We also will explore how the arts can be used as a tool of resiliency for outreach, appeal and referrals. The conference will also address the role of both informal and formal education along with other social services provided by institutions, community organizations and groups. Finally, one of the days will focus on females youth in conflict with the law so that our organization will be better equip to develop a gender specific programme for the future.

Specific Goal of the Mobilize Barrie Conference

The specific goal of the conference is to bring partners/stakeholders together to evaluate problems and identify solutions based on what is currently working in Canada well as what has been recommended but not yet attempted, in order to plan, develop and implement new future programmes targeting youth that are in conflict with the criminal justice system.

Conference Location:  Dorian Parker Centre
227 Sunnidale Road and Cundles Road, Barrie, Ontario L4M 4S8

[Click here to see a map of the conference location.]

The Conference is organized by a grassroots group of community members from the Barrie area in cooperation with Afri-Can Food Basket, a food security organization whose groundbreaking work with youth across Ontario has addressed leadership of youth on many issues related to gangs, guns and drugs around civic engagement.

The conference will open with a welcome message from the City of Barrie by R. Quammie Williams, Director of Culture and will feature a keynote address by Lew Golding, Manager SAPACCY, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health focusing on Public Health as a Best Practice in communities working with youth engage with guns, gangs and drugs. Other conference presentations include: Rai Reece – York University PhD Candidate (ABD) School of Women’s Studies, and Women’s Prison Worker; Ato Seitu, Executive Director, SIX AH WI Artist’s Collective, and representatives of Barrie’s Native community who will present the Native Youths’ perspective. Youth, Police, Probation Officers, Public Health Department, City of Barrie, Native Community organizations, Educational institutions – particularly middle school, secondary and post secondary, local community organizations-including churches that operate youth programmes, BIA or Chamber of Commerce and local political leaders will be invited to attend this conference and to participate in the discussions.

Click the Schools Students Youth Tab for information on special offers for youth participants!