ARCHIVED - Harper Government supports Toronto in fight against gangs and violence
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TORONTO, September 27, 2012 — The Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety, announced today that support has been extended for Prevention and Intervention Toronto, a crime prevention project run by the City of Toronto.
“This project helps at-risk youth and their families steer clear of gangs and escape the violent lifestyle that they promote,” said Minister Toews. “Our Government's support for this successful project clearly demonstrates a commitment to preventing gang crime and making our streets safe.”
Prevention and Intervention Toronto helps youth aged 13-24 who are involved with gangs make the right life choices to leave these groups for good. This project also helps youth and families who are at-risk of becoming involved in gang activity. Specifically, the project has paired youths with trained professionals to address their need for resources such as housing, education, youth employment and positive community involvement. The extension of this project will help future policy development on youth gang issues.
Support for this project demonstrates the government's commitment to preventing crime and making our streets and communities safer places to live, work, and raise our families.
Funding for this project comes from the National Crime Prevention Strategy's Crime Prevention Action Fund, which is administered by Public Safety Canada's National Crime Prevention Centre. The government recently announced that it is providing up to $10 million toward new crime prevention projects and is now accepting applications for funding. The deadline for applications is October 25, 2012.
In 2011 alone, the government funded 138 community-based crime prevention programs through the National Crime Prevention Strategy, in which nearly 16,000 at-risk youth participated. Twenty-seven of those programs were located in Ontario.
The Harper Government is also investing $7.5 million per year in the Youth Gang Prevention Fund, which helps those youth who are most at risk of becoming involved in criminal activity.
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Information:
Media Relations
Public Safety Canada
613-991-0657
Julie Carmichael
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Public Safety
613-991-2865
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