Richmond RCMP and MCFD join forces to connect with at-risk youth

Richmond

2023-07-06 11:08 PDT

Chief Supt. Chauhan & Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie meet with members of the Y-30 team. Chief Supt. Chauhan, MLA Henry Yao and Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie pose with members of the Y-30 team.

Richmond RCMP and the B.C. Ministry of Children and Family Development are pleased to announce the rollout of the Youth Partnership Car, known as Yankee-30.

The Yankee-30 Youth Partnership Car program began as a pilot project in January of 2023, and the program is now being implemented indefinitely due to its continuing positive impact for families in the community. Yankee-30 is a partnership in which police officers from Richmond RCMP’s Youth Section work alongside youth probation officers from MCFD’s Youth Justice Services and social workers from MCFD’s Child Protection Services.

Yankee-30 operates in similar fashion to the already established Mental Health Car, Fox-80, which pairs police officers from Richmond RCMP’s Vulnerable Persons Unit with psychiatric nurses from Vancouver Coastal Health. Where Fox-80 focuses on mental health issues, Yankee-30’s focus is to identify and support Richmond youth, aged 12 to 18, who are at risk of harm due to their behaviour, vulnerabilities and/or exploitation. By coordinating the efforts of both Richmond RCMP and MCFD, it is believed this partnership will offer a better, more collaborative response to the challenges facing vulnerable youth in our community.

Officer in charge of Richmond RCMP, Chief Superintendent Dave Chauhan said, We are very excited to enter into this partnership with MCFD. This collaborative approach to identifying and supporting the most vulnerable young people in our community offers an opportunity to connect with them, their families and support structure, and hopefully, will lead many of them away from criminal and sexual exploitation, and conflicts with the law later in life.

To a young person who is struggling, it can be tremendously meaningful to know that someone cares and is checking on their safety and providing information, resources and supports such as mental health and substance use treatment options, said Mitzi Dean, Minister of Children and Family Development. Connecting with youth in this way can help support them in making positive choices and we are so pleased to work with Richmond RCMP in this program that’s already making a difference for vulnerable youth in Richmond.

Keeping our community safe and healthy is a high priority, said Mayor Malcolm Brodie, City of Richmond. The Yankee 30 program provides an important resource for youth in Richmond. It shows how partners can successfully work together to create an integrated, collaborative response that supports the unique needs of our younger residents. Its continuation not only reflects the success of the pilot, but is consistent with the Strategic Priorities in the City’s upcoming Youth Strategy.

Richmond RCMP has set the strategic goal of making Richmond the safest city in Canada, said Chief Supt. Chauhan. The proactive initiative we are announcing today, the Youth Partnership Car, Yankee 30, is the latest example of how we are striving to achieve this goal.

This collaborative outreach program has been working well in Richmond since its inception in January, and it means at-risk youth and their families in Richmond will get connected to the right supports as quickly as possible. This work can bolster safety for the entire community, said Henry Yao, MLA, Richmond South-Centre.

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