Strategies to support Richmond’s youth should have the input of Richmond’s youth, according to one city councillor.
“I think for far too long, we have seen youth as the receivers of service...but I think we should also consider that they are co-planners, and that they can be providers of service,” said Coun. Chak Au, at Monday’s city council meeting.
That same argument was made by Coun. Carol Day in regards to seniors, who have valuable viewpoints but may be disconnected from the internet and social media.
Au and Day were referring to two separate committee reports regarding youth outreach and senior living assistance, both of which were adopted unanimously at the meeting.
Both reports aim to take the service plans that have been in place for the last couple of years and mould them into strategies that will continue to address the needs of both demographics.
According to both the Youth and Senior Strategy Guiding Principles reports, the idea is to take the previous Service Plans of 2015-2020 and convert them into strategies that will span the next 10 years while also using data collected from research, community context and engagement findings.
