Surrey’s Children and Youth At-Risk Table reaches 500 interventions
The City of Surrey’s Children and Youth At-Risk Table (CHART) recently reached a major milestone, supporting its 500th client.
Surrey, B.C. – The City of Surrey’s Children and Youth At-Risk Table (CHART) recently reached a major milestone, supporting its 500th client. A first-of-its-kind in British Columbia, CHART involves a multi-disciplinary team of 16 partner agencies that meets weekly to identify children and youth vulnerable for exploitation, including those at-risk for gang affiliation.
“Reaching this major milestone is an incredible achievement of Surrey’s multi-disciplinary approach to supporting children and youth in our community,” said Mayor Brenda Locke. “The Children and Youth At-Risk Table takes a proactive approach to addressing the underlying problems that lead to gang involvement. This model of collaboration and partnership has proven to be impactful in addressing challenges facing our most at-risk children and their families. I would like to thank our dedicated staff and partners for their support and incredible work on this important program.”
CHART was implemented by the City in 2019 and is comprised of government agencies, educators, law enforcement, and non-profit social service professionals. CHART professionals leave each meeting with a plan to implement tailored multi-agency interventions that address each young person’s unique needs including family support as needed. Clients are presented as experiencing 20 of CHART’s 100 tracked risk factors on average. Most commonly, these risk factors include academic struggles, disengagement from school, parent-child conflict, associating with negative peers and vulnerability for gang recruitment.
Children and youth aged 12-15 make up the highest number of CHART interventions, with 58% of clients identifying as male, 41% female and 1% non-binary. More than 70% of CHART’s first 460 concluded clients experienced a significant reduction in risk for gang involvement due to the collaborative intervention approach.
CHART is one element of the broader Surrey Anti-Gang Family Empowerment Program. For more information, including a list of CHART partners, visit surrey.ca/communitysafety.