Major Expansion of Community Youth Network in Province

The Community Youth Network (CYN) in the province got a major boost today with the Budget 2007 announcement of $650,000 to expand the number of chapters and improve programs and services. Of this, the Provincial Government is providing $300,000 to enable the establishment of six additional CYN chapters in underserved areas. The remaining $350,000 is allocated to extend outreach services at existing CYN chapters.

CYN is a youth service agency that helps young people, generally between the ages of 12 to 18 years old, successfully engage is the life of their community while participating in programs and services which support their social, educational and recreational development.

�This is a great day for the young people of our province,� said the Honourable Shawn Skinner, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment. �The Provincial Government recognizes the valuable contribution that a CYN chapter brings to an area, and that is why we are investing $300,000 to expand the network�s presence to six additional sites on the Avalon, Burin, Bonavista and Northern Peninsulas and into central and western Newfoundland.�

As a result of this initiative, 4,000 young people in the communities and areas of Cape Broyle, Bonavista, St. Lawrence, Grand Falls-Windsor, Corner Brook, and St. Anthony will join 10,000 others who enjoy access to a local CYN chapter.

CYN offers a variety of programs and services, in a supportive and safe setting, to help youth move forward in life and make a more informed decision regarding their future. These include opportunities to support a young person�s needs in the areas of learning, career planning, employment, recreation, community capacity building, and leadership development. This requires solid community-level partnerships.

There are 200 community partnerships in place in the province that ensure the successful operation of a CYN. Partners include municipalities, financial institutions, community service clubs, local health and education boards, and police services. A dedicated sponsor is also critical to this effort.

The CYN sponsor is the foundation of a thriving CYN chapter. The sponsoring agency helps to manage and coordinate youth activities. The sponsor enables the hiring of staff and the development of a volunteer base.

The sponsoring agencies for the new chapters are the CYN Steering Committee Partnership in Cape Broyle, the Random North Development Association in Bonavista, the St. Lawrence Youth Association, the Youth 2000 Centre Corporation in Grand Falls-Windsor, the Corner Brook-Bay of Islands CYN Steering Committee, and the St. Anthony Boys and Girls Club.

�While the number of partners province-wide are too numerous to mention, I acknowledge the important role that our municipalities play, and the hard work and commitment shown by the six sponsoring agencies, who presented proposals and made the case for a CYN chapter in their respective areas,� said Minister Skinner. �They are to be commended for their support in helping young people move ahead; in fact, by bringing to the table other interested community groups, businesses and agencies, they demonstrate how we can move forward from vision to action in meeting the needs of youth.�

The Williams Government is firmly committed to expanding services for young people, and to building capacity at the community level, in support of the long-term goals and objectives of the provincial Poverty Reduction Strategy.

�It is important to note that departmental student and youth programs, such as the Linkages Program and the Student Work and Service Program, continue to be successful because the various CYN chapters in the province help as local partners in the delivery and promotion of these programs to youth,� said Minister Skinner.

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Media contact:
Ed Moriarity
Director of Communications
Department of Human Resources, Labour and Employment
709-729-4062, 728-9623
edmoriarity@gov.nl.ca

2007 06 22                                               12:05 p.m.