Some students want city hall to create an online public events calendar so they can find activities to do, while they also want more promotion of mental health support in Moose Jaw.
Avery Surtees, chairwoman of the youth advisory committee, and Austin Kretsch, another committee member, presented their ideas during the June 10 regular city council meeting.
Programs for youths
“As youth, it is often hard for us to figure out what to do for fun in our free time. We often fall on the same thing for a solution: ‘Hey Google, what can you do in Moose Jaw today?’” Surtees said. “Unless you want to spend hours searching, the first link to come up is TripAdvisor.”
That website is great for occasional tourist activities but is poor for everyday activities since they can be expensive, she continued. This leaves youths bored and lost and decreases their community involvement.
The committee wants city hall to address the problem of awareness of available activities by creating a public events calendar for youths aged 12 to 18, while it also wants the municipality to host an event promoting activities and businesses for youths, said Surtees.
Committee members are talking with the parks and recreation department about creating monthly themed calendars with activities. Members believe this would solve the problem of finding things to do and give youths ideas of what’s available in Moose Jaw.
“… it will (also) increase city involvement by bringing support to both current and future programs,” said Surtees.
She noted that she usually learns what’s happening by visiting Tourism Moose Jaw’s Instagram page, but it only lists dates of events and has “lots of writing,” which she doesn’t have time to read. Instead, she thought the city could create a youth-focused web page listing events and activities.
Meanwhile, she thought Instagram was the best platform to promote and advertise recreational activities and mental health support.
Youth day
The committee is also discussing hosting a youth day for kids and teens from 12 to 18, and if the event — to be held at the Phyllis Dewar Outdoor Pool — occurs in June, it would be a summer kickoff party that also highlights city events, she continued.
Besides swimming, it would allow businesses to set up tables and advertise their youth-focused products and services.
The committee is also considering hosting a similar event next April at the Yara Centre with turf and track activities and a job fair, said Surtees. This would help teens acquire summer jobs and enable businesses and groups to find enthusiastic youths looking for work.
“Our overall goal is to build awareness and promote the different, fun, low-cost activities available to the young people of Moose Jaw,” she added.
Recreation and mental health
Recreation is important for mental health because the research shows there is a link between addiction, crime and recreation, Kretsch said.
Quoting the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), Kretsch said the scientific literature shows that youth participation in athletics results in fewer risk behaviours, while people who took part in at least one extracurricular activity were less likely to quit school or abuse substances.
Furthermore, the research shows that young people with higher participation rates in recreational activities typically display fewer criminal behaviours, while children and youths who participate in structured sports have reduced rates of criminal arrest and antisocial behaviour.
“‘If we really want to reduce crime and gang activity among our youth, we need to invest in recreation. It is in the best interest of everyone to do so,’” said Kretsch while quoting the CCPA report.
Kretsch didn’t find this information shocking since he regularly sees addiction and mental health struggles among his peers. Meanwhile, he’s also witnessed how a sense of belonging and recreational activities keep teens and adults out of trouble with crime and drugs.
Advertise activities
The committee wants city hall to better advertise all available recreational activities and mental health supports and organizations, he said.
“Instead of creating more institutions, we believe the best first step is to strategically advertise the pre-existing ones,” Kretsch stated.
He then presented statistics showing that teens who engage weekly in in-school and out-of-school activities had higher mental well-小蓝视频, lower odds of mental illness and less substance use of drugs, smoking or drinking.
Furthermore, among parents, 73 per cent believe sports help mental health, 88 per cent say sports benefit physical health, 55 per cent say sports help academically and 80 per cent believe sports teach discipline and dedication.
Also, half of adults believe physical activity helps relieve stress and is better for their mental health, while research shows partaking in sports leads to increased confidence, higher cognitive performance, better bone health and weight management and greater leadership qualities.
“If we can improve recreational activities, we can improve youths’ lives and provide bright futures,” Kretsch added.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, June 24.
