Please get in touch with us at any time! AMSSA would be happy to answer your questions or provide you with more details about the program's impact in communities and how you can become involved.

AMSSA (Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC)
Tel: 604.718.2776 or Toll free: 1.888.355.5560
E-mail: amssash@amssa.org

Vision

The Safe Harbour Youth Ambassador Diversity program promotes an inclusive British Columbia where youth, schools, and entire communities demonstrate their respect for all cultures, ethnicities, religions, classes, ages, abilities, genders, and sexual orientations. The program recognizes that cultural, racial, and other forms of diversity are common targets for racism and hate. It focuses on ways that youth can build welcoming environments in their own classrooms, community centres, and neighbourhoods.

Under the guidance of a Community Organizer, Youth Ambassadors are trained to facilitate Children Safe Harbour Workshops in three distinct sessions. These fun, interactive sessions allow children to explore each other's similarities and differences in a safe environment, to recognize the importance and value of including each other, and to learn how to respond to witnessing or experiencing discrimination of any kind by finding a Safe Adult to talk to in order to receive help.

History

The youth component of the Safe Harbour program emerged from a model developed by Skeena Diversity Society in Terrace, BC, after staff delivered Safe Harbour training to an interested group of youth at a senior secondary school. To expand the youth program's scope provincially, AMSSA partnered with the Cowichan Valley Intercultural Society (www.cisduncan.ca) and Linda Hill, Youth Projects Coordinator, as well as the Campbell River Multicultural and Immigrant Services Association to pilot the program in Campbell River. The pilot was generously supported by the Vancouver Foundation. With financial support from Canadian Heritage, the Safe Harbour Youth Ambassador Diversity program has now expanded into 13 rural and urban communities across BC.