Monday, June 21, 2010

The New Guy.

Hey Kids;

I'm J Camp, and I’m the newest member of the Youth 4 Change team. I have been working at CCASA or Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse for a little over a month now and have really enjoyed the work the team has been doing. I'm very much looking forward to what the rest of the summer has in store for me and the rest of my team.

I feel the Youth 4 Change team is very unique in that we have a wide variety of different back grounds none of which is related to social work, as almost all the rest of our colleagues here at CCASA have. On our team we have Alex; she’s going to school to become a doctor. Also there's Kara, or KB, who recently graduated from the film and video production program at SAIT. Then there is Joe who graduated from the same film and video production program and has a philosophy degree from the U of L. Then there is me, I am currently in my 2nd year of my Business and Sports administration degree at MRU.

The other three Youth 4 Change members are returning from last summer. They really had a leg up on me with regards to the knowledge of CCASAs' beliefs, key messages, and all of the programs and services that CCASA offers to their clients. That was quite intimidating to say the least, as time goes on however I'm starting to get a grasp of things, and hopefully I’ll be able to pass some of that wisdom onto you!!

It got me very excited on the first day to learn how passionate and excited the team was about continuing and expanding from what they had accomplished last year! To fill you all in here is (to the best of my understanding) last summer in 5 sentences or less. The team developed quite an elaborate multi-media campaign that included designing several posters, a 30 second public service announcement, as well developing a website with all the information any "youth" would need to know about sexual violence. They also were able attend several presentations that the CCASA staff runs for all different kinds of people from 5 years old, to working professionals. They created the Youth 4 Change tag line, "Because I don’t want Sexual Violence to be a part of my world". That tag line I think is the reason that all of us on the team want to spread our messages as well as create change in our society.

I have learned so much in the short time I have been here. That being said, before I began working here I had very little knowledge on the issue of sexual violence and how big of a problem it is in "my world". However, I do think that a lot of people share that lack of knowledge, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. This is an issue that is ignored too often by society. It’s sad to say, but the average person is more educated on the Slap Chop then they would be on sexual violence.

The most surprising to me is how huge this problem is and how little it is talked about. Did you know 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men experience sexual abuse? According to statistics Canada in 2009 the Canadian population was 33 739 900. There is 16 732 500 men and 17 007 400 women. That means in Canada alone there are 8 457 883 people who have been impacted.

The largest non-racing stadium in the world is Rungrado May Day Stadium in Pyongyang North Korea, it seats 150 000 people. The 8 457 883 people in Canada that are affected by sexual violence could fill the stadium 56 and half times. Beaver Stadium in University Park is the home of the Penn State Nittnany Lions and is the largest non-racing stadium in North America. It seats upwards of 107 202 people. The people in Canada that are affected by sexual violence could fill the stadium 79 times!

If that’s not enough in 2007 the population of New York City was 8 274 527. That means there are 183 356 more people in Canada are affected by sexual abuse then the population of the largest city in North America. For the record that extra 183 356 people could fill Calgary’s McMahon stadium 5 times. WOW!

The Youth 4 Change team has a very busy summer planned. We are adding the final touches on our new website. We are also looking for places to launch, and support our poster campaign. The team is also looking for different locations and creative new ways to engage and educate youth in the city of Calgary on the issue of sexual violence and the support CCASA offers. We are going to begin the Youth 4 Change lunch time Blitz! We will be going out and about the city of Calgary during the lunch time hours. We will be well equipped with information pamphlets, our t-shirts, some cool prizes, and of course candy! Everybody loves candy!

If you see us out there in our black and white shirts, please come talk to us. Ask us questions, challenge our beliefs, and find out what we’re doing!

Hopefully I’ll be back here blogging telling you all about our exciting adventures very soon. Until then, stay up to date with what's going on with us here on our site. We are also on Face Book as Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse.

Later Days!

4 comments:

  1. Hey there,
    Just read your blog, it looks like Youth4Change is a great organization. Those stats really make you see the big picture of how wide spread and encompassing sexual abuse/violence is in our society. Do you just "get the word out" on the street as well as use your website for resources, or do you have a way for youth to contact you as they need?
    Knowledge is power and awareness is pre-emptive. I look forward to read more about your summer impact!
    Melia H.

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  2. I just became familiar with Youth4Change, I enjoyed reading your post. I think that your group sounds like a great one, especially if they are all as passionate as you are.
    The statistics are an amazing way to show just how prevalent sexual abuse/violence is in our society. As a mother of 3 girls, this is a topic that I most certainly cannot be naive about.
    Is your main focus to get information out on the street and in the community, or do you have an actual way for kids/people to contact you if needed?

    My belief is that: Knowledge is power and Awareness is pre-emptive...

    Melia H

    btw: what's the Slap Chop?

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  3. Hey Melia!
    Thank you so much for the response. You asked about our teams’ main focus. We are focusing on getting information into the community in a number of different ways. The major project we are working on right now is building and designing a "youth friendly" website. On the site we will look for different ways to engage and educate youth. We will also promote the 24 hour support and information line. Where anyone can call at anytime to receive information with regards to sexual violence. I really liked what you said "My belief is that: Knowledge is power and Awareness is pre-emptive...” I could not agree more.

    Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on my blog :)

    J. Camp

    Btw. The Slap Chop is the feature item in an overplayed infomercial on television. There are a bunch of videos on YouTube. Although most I found were made a joke!

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  4. Thanks J.
    That sounds really cool, I will love to see the website when it is up and running.

    ...sorry for being Slap Chop ignorant, I guess I don't watch enough TV. :-)

    Melia

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