Application for Funding - Big Brothers Big Sisters (City of Langford)

Brief Description of our organization

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Victoria Capital Region (BBBSV) is fully aligned with the vision and mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada. Vision: All young people realize their full potential. Mission: Enable life–changing relationships to ignite the power and potential of young people. BBBSV has over 46 years of experience providing mentoring programs to communities on Southern Vancouver Island. Our services extend over 13 municipalities, nine First Nation Reserves, and Salt Spring Island. In 2018, we also began serving the Comox Valley. We have successfully provided mentors for children and youth through six different school-based or community-based mentoring programs that respond to the identified social issues impacting each community.

Through no fault of their own, many children and youth face adversities and challenges which threaten their confidence and limit their opportunities. The children and youth we serve come from diverse backgrounds such as living in poverty, single-parent families, intergenerational families, Indigenous populations, and new Canadians. Many of the children and youth are in families that have faced trauma and loss. They are often dealing with detrimental living conditions, financial stress, learning differences, identity challenges, exposure to violence, and increased risk factors for mental health challenges and addictions. Families who connect with BBBSV look to us for additional support to help their children mitigate these challenges. The pandemic also created residual stress for many of our families who are still dealing with increases in their children’s anxiety levels, social isolation, learning loss, and resistance to attending school, in addition to the financial and health-related consequences of COVID-19.

Our Theory of Change

We believe that children and youth facing adversity, those in need of additional supportive and consistent relationships, who are open to mentoring and can be safely matched, will benefit from being matched with a mentor who provides them with a developmental relationship which ignites their full power and potential and helps them grow up to be healthy, caring and responsible adults. Sadly, one in five young people have no developmental relationships. Developmental relationships are proven to reduce the impact of adversities and enable young people to discover who they are, cultivate abilities to shape their own lives and learn how to engage with and contribute to their community and the world around them.

More and more families, schools and community organizations are looking to BBBSV for support for higher-needs children and youth. Sometimes the families cannot access other services or receive enough support elsewhere – especially for children and youth who are neuro-diverse or struggling with anxiety - and a larger number of children under the age of 12 who need mental health support are being referred to BBBSV by health care or educational professionals.

The team at BBBSV is passionate about making a difference and applying their diverse experiences and skills to support our community’s most vulnerable young people. We strive to share our values of welcoming, learning and sharing with our children and youth, families, co-op/practicum students, and volunteer mentors. BBBSV is committed to sustaining an environment where representation matters, diversity is celebrated and people of every race, religion, culture, gender and sexual orientation are welcomed. At BBBSV, we acknowledge and honour the diversity of people, cultures, traditions and experiences, and we recognize and uphold the right of all individuals to respect, dignity, fairness, caring, equality, self-esteem and inclusion.

Program Descriptions

At BBBSV, we believe in the power of collectively working towards common goals that benefit our community and the lives of young people. Potential lives within every young person. When we match a young person with a trusted mentor, we start something incredible - a life-changing relationship with the needs of the child. BBBSV continues to provide mentoring services throughout the City of Langford and is working towards growing our presence in the community. We provide 5 different mentoring programs, within our organization three of which are currently running in the City of Langford, thank you for the funding in 2023. We are requesting your support for the following programs: Community Mentoring; B You: Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds; and In-School Mentoring. Our community programs operate annually and our school-based/virtual programs operate during the school year (September to June). Our strategy recognizes we can do so, much more to create life-changing developmental relationships for young people in the Langford community.

Community Mentoring Program

The Community Mentoring Program has an over 40-year history of supporting children and youth who have been referred to BBBSV because they need additional support through a caring relationship with a trusted adult. The children live in families who fall along a spectrum of needs from those who have lost a parent through death and/or divorce to those in the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development or those being raised by grandparents or other extended family. The families and children/youth are seeking a mentor who will provide a supportive developmental relationship which:

• Expresses care: showing the young person that they matter
• Challenges growth: encouraging the child to keep getting better
• Provides support: by helping the child complete tasks to achieve goals
• Shares power: by treating the young person with respect and giving them a say
• Expands possibilities: by connecting the child with ideas that broaden their world

The families participating in the program are diverse. On average the children and youth range from 7-19 and the average age of the child needing a mentor is 9 years old. The majority of children/youth struggle to cope with three or more adversities which put them at risk:

• 82% experienced loss through parental separation, divorce or a change in the health of a parent
• 72% have struggled with a mental health disorder
• 46% reported experiencing emotional coping challenges
• 44% reporting experiencing low self-esteem
• 43% have seen or heard violence or abuse
• 42% have experienced bullying or bullied others
• 38% have experienced literacy or learning challenges

Community Mentoring can affect the lives of children, youth and families in every community. Through education, extra support and increased opportunities, they can together address challenges. Children and youth are supported through the mentoring relationship and are involved in their community encouraged in school and at home, and have dedicated time every week with a positive adult role model who promotes a healthy lifestyle, healthy boundaries and pro-social behaviours.

There is no fee for service. There is a waitlist for the program - we currently have 30 children/youth on our waitlist in the Community of Langford and the demand for our services is growing. Typically, girls will wait three months for a mentor while boys will wait 11 months. Each match (child/family and mentor) is assigned to a highly-trained caseworker who supports relationship development, safety, training and family support and referral.

B You: Healthy Bodies Healthy Minds

B You Healthy Bodies Healthy Minds was established in 2010 and through program evaluation and stakeholder feedback we have determined that B You Healthy Bodies Healthy Minds is an asset in middle schools where it serves girls identified as struggling socially and emotionally. In partnership with area middle schools, female-identifying youth aged 9-15 who face adversities are matched in a group with three trained mentors. The mentees benefit from learning new skills and tools to: help them build self-esteem; develop healthy boundaries; improve their communication skills; feel physically, mentally, and emotionally safe; find a voice to advocate for themselves; and feel connected to the community. The group (mentors and youth) participate in activities which support confidence, self-esteem, and resiliency. The sessions introduce creative and critical thinking skills and provide tools, skills, resources, and opportunities for the girls to explore and enhance their potential.

We know that critical support needs to be strengthened for young women experiencing mental health concerns, both to prevent and address violence. Twenty-five percent of Canadian girls in Grades 7-12 report that they have been the victim of bullying https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/science-research-data/health-canada-young-people-mental-health-focus/bullying-fighting.html, including cyberbullying. Canadian studies have found that as girls approach adolescence, they face: high levels of sexual assault and other forms of

In-School Mentoring

(Program listed among those requested for support; detailed description not present in extracted pages.)