Eleven Yukon community projects funded by the Crime Prevention and Victim Services Trust through fall 2024 intake

January 15, 2025

Eleven community-led projects focused on crime prevention and services for victims of crime received $282,839 during the fall 2024 intake through funding from the Crime Prevention and Victim Services Trust.

The projects funded through the Trust for the fall 2024 intake focus on:

• Creating community connections and support through:
  • reducing barriers to participation in traditional dancing group activities;
  • supporting family connections while learning to cook healthy meals together; and
  • offering self-defence classes for women.
• Sharing information, hosting workshops and engaging communities on:
  • preventing crime, gender-based violence, family violence and violence against children;
  • incorporating Yukon youth voices and actions in shaping the implementation of the Territorial Youth Strategy;
  • personal safety for Indigenous women, girls and gender-diverse people; and
  • bystander intervention and safer event planning for event organizers.
• Supporting Yukon youth by:
  • closing the gaps in accessing job opportunities;
  • showcasing youth artists’ artwork on utility boxes to prevent vandalism; and
  • reducing remoteness and distance from peers and offering mentorship through shared activities.
• Increasing the capacity of trained facilitators for restorative practices for complex and sensitive cases.

The next application deadline is 11:59 pm on February 15, 2025. Guidance on applying for funding is available at https://yukon.ca/en/crime-prevention-victim-services-trust.

These initiatives demonstrate incredible ingenuity in providing valuable contributions to crime prevention and services for victims at a grass-roots level. The Crime Prevention and Victim Services Trust continues to be an important avenue for community groups, First Nations and municipalities to undertake innovative projects that improve outcomes for all Yukoners.

Minister of Justice Tracy-Anne McPhee

The Board of Trustees would like to thank all the applicants for their commitment to developing high quality, innovative projects across the Yukon that act on issues of victimization and crime. We are proud to continue supporting local solutions and are inspired by these initiatives in our communities. We encourage all communities to consider local solutions for emerging issues and to apply for new projects this spring.

Crime Prevention and Victim Services Trust Board of Trustees chair Lareina Twardochleb

Backgrounder

Crime Prevention and Victim Services Trust fall 2024 recipients

Boys and Girls Club Yukon was awarded $61,050 for their project called Food for Life. Their Food Literacy Coordinator will connect with Yukon families each week, teaching them how to cook healthy meals together and providing supplies to implement these lessons together at home. Boys and Girls Club will also produce a Food Literacy Manual so they can share this program model.

BYTE – Empowering Youth was awarded $45,802 for their project, Youth Collective – Bridging the Gap, where they will engage youth aged 12 to 30 across 12 Yukon communities to ensure their voices shape the ongoing implementation of the Territorial Youth Strategy, while also offering social and recreational events alongside these discussions, enhancing community engagement and promoting protective factors.

Carcross Recreation Board was awarded $1,388 for their project, Self-Defence Class for Women, which addresses the increase in violence against women. Classes will include physical defense techniques, de-escalation and escape strategies as well as discussions surrounding personal safety, behaviours to watch out for and what resources are available to those who have experienced violence.

Dakwakada Dance Group was awarded $16,500 for their project, Practice and Performance Support Initiative, which aims to reduce barriers to participation by providing travel support as well as contributing towards dance regalia as needed. They also plan to work with a professional music coach for signing training and song recordings.

Liard First Nation was awarded $41,976 for Healing of the Mind, Body and Spirit Phase 2 to continue to promote harm-reduction in their community. Liard First Nation will identify services that help prevent crime, gender-based violence, family violence and violence against children, while supporting victims of these crimes, as well as host Community Engagement Sessions and Lateral Kindness Workshops and culturally-responsive gatherings guided by Elders.

Nakai Theatre Ensemble was awarded $4,500 for their project Bystander Awareness Intervention Training, where they will deliver bystander intervention and safer event planning workshops to the local Whitehorse community, in partnership with Yukonstruct, bringing the work outside of the arts community to a wider group of event producers and other interested parties.

The Heart of Riverdale was awarded $30,360 for GROW (Gaining Real Opportunities to Work), an initiative aimed at closing gaps in accessing job opportunities for youth furthest from employment. They will provide paid, hands-on training to up to 18 marginalized youth, while providing materials, training workshops (and meals) for costuming, prop construction and set design for three major community projects.

Youth of Today Society was awarded $32,600 for their project Wrap It! Utility Box Wraps for 2025–2027. They will work with local youth artists to have their artwork installed on 30 ATCO Electric utility boxes in downtown Whitehorse in an effort  to decrease incidents of vandalism, provide healthy opportunities for young people and spread awareness about sustainable solutions to vandalism.

Yukon Aboriginal Women’s Council (YAWC) was awarded $29,163 for their project Personal Safety Initiative, which aims to alleviate the incidence of crime and violence in Whitehorse, while empowering Indigenous women, girls and gender-diverse people. They will host the YAWC Crime and Violence Prevention Awareness Open House, self-defense classes for youth and adults and Crime and Violence Prevention and Awareness Workshops, which will be supported by Elders, the Counsellor in Residence and facilitators.

Yukon Circle of Social Change Society was awarded $8,900 for their project called Supporting and Sustaining Restorative Practices for Complex and Sensitive Cases Across the Yukon. This project supports restorative processes for complex and sensitive cases including the supervision of eight newly trained facilitators, Healing Circles and financial support for those who cannot access restorative processes due to financial barriers.

Yukon E-Sport Alliance was awarded $10,600 for their project Monthly In-Person E-Sports Tournaments & Pop-up Youth E-Sports Events to reduce remoteness and distance from peers and offer mentorship by hosting monthly tournaments in Whitehorse for all ages and pop-up tournaments for youth in partnership with Boys and Girls Club, BYTE and Whitehorse area schools.

Media contact

Laura Seeley
Cabinet Communications
867-332-7627
laura.seeley@yukon.ca

Francis Lefebvre
Communications, Justice
867-667-8144
jus.comms@yukon.ca

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