Fraser Valley Criminal Justice Conference
On April 28th & 29th myself and Christine were at the Fraser Valley Criminal Justice Conference. The topic this year was “Youth and Communities and the Criminal Justice System.” SALI was there because the conference had a large prevention and intervention component to it which is near and dear to our mission.
We met Dr. Matt Logan, a retired behavioural psychologist with the RCMP. Matt has been promoting early detection and childhood intervention for many years. He is a firm believer in animal-assisted therapy for the healing and intervention of at-risk children and has endorsed SALI’s Farm. We also met Andree Cazabon and she gave us valuable insight into the world of foster care children. She is a highly acclaimed film producer and youth-at-risk advocate & mentor. Her most recent film is Wards of the Crown which follows four youth exiting the foster care system. Andree gave SALI’s Farm a rave review and said “if we build it they will come.”
Andree and I with Richard Lucy, Deputy Chief Constable of Abbotsford Police.
We also met Carla Web of Unbridled Potential, an equine centre in Langley. Carla has a new program for young girls called “When Magic Happens.” She has invited us out to see her centre and we hope to get there soon.
It was an honour to be surrounded by so many people who are working hard to improve the lives of at-risk children.