Committee Resolutions / New Budget Items for Council Discussion (On Table)

2024 Funding Requests (Pages 49-50)

The total value of the funding requests for 2024 is $115,350. Given that the budget allocated in the proposed 2024-2028 Financial Plan for this program is $80,000, the Committee will need to work within that budget or recommend that Council increase the 2024 budget prior to budget approval (or fund additional requests from Council Contingency). It is also important to note, at the Committee’s discretion, the Committee can recommend Council give a full, partial, or denial of any funding request.

As per the policy, preference will be provided to applications from organizations based in Langford or those that provide a service to Langford residents. Additionally, funding can not be used by the receiving organization to issue grants to another entity/individual.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The allocated budget in the proposed 2024-2028 Financial Plan for this program for 2024 is $80,000.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS: There are no legal implications associated with this report.

OPTIONS: Option 1 THAT the Community Advisory Committee recommend to Council that:

The following funding applications be approved or denied due to budgetary constraints, for the 2024 year:

a. (Organization title): $_____ b. (Organization title): $_____ c. (Organization title): $_____ d. Etc.

OR Option 2 THAT the Community Advisory Committee recommend that Council not approve the 2024 Funding Requests.

SUBMITTED BY: Michael Dillabaugh, CPA, CA, Director of Finance

Concurrence:

• Donna Petrie, Senior Manager of Communications & Economic Development
• Yari Nielsen, Director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities
• Matthew Baldwin, MCIP, RPP, Director of Planning and Subdivision
• Katelyn Balzer, P.Eng., Director of Engineering and Public Works
• Marie Watmough, Deputy Director of Corporate Services
• Braden Hutchins, Director of Corporate Services
• Darren Kiedyk, Chief Administrative Officer

Attachments:

• 2024 Grant Requests Listing
• 2024 Grant Requests
• POL-0147-FIN – Funding Request Policy 20150216
• GIA Package

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2024 Funding Request Policy Application Summary (Pages 51-52)

22 applications
Total requested: $115,350
2023 funding given (total shown): $55,725

Extracted application summary (as presented in source):

• 5,000
  Emma Kirkland, Director of Development
  3,000
  250-475-1117 ext. 102
  emma.kirkland@bigbrothersbigsisters.ca

• 1,000
  Alison LeDuc, President
  0
  250-886-1479
  arleduc@shaw.ca

• 1,500
  Rick Kroeker
  1,500

• 4,550
  James Coates
  4,425
  250-920-5775
  james.coates@capitalbike.ca

• 2,500
  Rob Miller, Pipe Major
  1,200

• 5,400
  Derek Brougham / Deca Thlon
  0

• 5,000
  Linda Webb
  0

• 10,000
  Jessica Lejeune
  2,500
  secretary@jdflacrosse.com

• 3,000
  Judith Cullington
  3,100
  president@building4thearts.com

• 2,000
  Kal Zubair
  0
  kal@mhsvictoria.org

• 5,500
  Sherri Pankiewich
  5,000

• To set up the free library project and evaluate the outcomes.

• Free fresh food market - weekly.

• Uniform replacements/additions, music equipment and supplies.

• Drag climbing event that will be held at Boulderhouse and building inventory of climbing equipment to be used by local community members.

• Goldstream Farmers Market

• Musicians at the Langford farmers markets and paid help in setting up/taking down the market every week.

• Additional jerseys, goal tender gear (5 sets), player awards, and referee/coaches training.

• Support for outreach, communications, grant writing.

• City of Langford Pipe Band

• GOATS Queer Climbing

• Juan de Fuca Lacrosse Association

• Juan de Fuca Performing Arts Centre

• Mental Health Society of Greater Victoria

• Open Gate Church

• Fund three in-school Everyone Rides Grade 4 and 5 programs.

• Bilston Watershed Habitat Protection Association (BWHPA)

• Bear Mountain Community Association

• Capital Bike

• Big Brothers Big Sisters

• To sustain and grow the mentoring programs.

• Equipment to extend scope of water sampling and monitoring activities in the waterways of the Bilston Watershed.

• Funds would be used towards 2024 operations, primarily to cover cost of liability insurance.

Additional extracted lines (from page 52):

• 25,000
  Kyle Armstrong, Executive Director
  12,500
  peninsulastreams@gmail.com

• 2,900
  Cindy Moyer, President
  0
  connect@reimagineus.ca

• 15,000
  Michael Shupinder Manhas
  6,000

• 6,000
  Norm Scott
  8,500
  250-478-1828
  president@rc191.ca

• 2,000
  Kristin St. Cyr
  2,000

• 2,500
  Zoe Lauckner, Manager of Philanthropy
  0
  604-362-5398
  zlauckner@takeahikefoundation.org

• 5,000
  Mary P Brooke, Director, UFRIS
  0

• 5,000
  Sienna Scott
  5,000
  250-383-5545 ext. 162
  siennas@vsac.ca

• 2,000
  Zoey Wells
  1,000
  zwells@wear2start.com

• 2,500
  Mollie Cameron
  0
  wildwise123@gmail.com

• Jacqueline Zweng, Director
  0
  jacqueline@woundedwarriors.ca

Notes from summaries:

• Funds raised will be used to provide mental health support to trauma exposed professionals (e.g., veterans, first responders) and their families.
• Will leverage funding from other organizations, such as Pacific Salmon Foundation, World Wildlife Fund, Uvic, Victoria Foundation, Royal Roads University, Freshwater Fisheries BC, and the provincial and federal government.
• Offset the cost of ongoing program of community conversations, workshops, public events, and the development of original content related to supporting the social and behavioural changes needed for Climate Emergency and rising COL
• Rewired Recovery Foundation: Grow the "Soberfest" event - main headline act, professional sound and lighting, family fun zone.
• Peninsula Streams & Shorelines
• Reimagine West Shore Community
• Royal Canadian Legion
• Sport Assist: Financial support for their annual golf tournament where the bulk of their operating funds are raised for the year. Funds are then used to keep sports affordable and accessible to community youth.
• Take a Hike Foundation
• Wounded Warrior Run BC
• Urban Food Resilience Society: First year startup costs, including startup of community garden in Langford, community awareness launch, setting up website, building network and partnerships in community.
• Victoria Sexual Assault Centre: Operational grant for frontline support and outreach services.
• Wear2Start Society: Funds would be used for to renew the part time volunteer program coordinator.
• Wild Wise: Provide opportunities for fulsome, continuous clinical counselling at school and in the classroom of the outdoors though Land-based Learning (2 multi-day wilderness trips + weekly out days).

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2023 Funding Requests Not Renewed for 2024 (Page 53)

Totals and counts (as presented):

• Total applications 2024: 22
• Total applications 2023: 30
• Renewed from prior year: 13
• New: 9
• Not renewed: 16
• 2024 budgeted total: 70,000 (context: appears to reference a prior year's budget)

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City of Langford Funding Request Policy (POL-0147-FIN) (Page 54)

Policy Name: City of Langford Funding Request Policy
DEPARTMENT: Finance
Governance/Corporate Policy and Planning
POLICY NO: POL-0147-FIN — Funding Request Policy
Adopted by Council Meeting Date: February 16th, 2015

The purpose of this policy is to communicate guidelines for funding contribution consideration, including in-kind contributions.

Each year, council has the authority to grant funding based on individual requests.

Closing date for requests is January 15th in the current calendar year.

Fee for Service provided for annual programs will be released at time of approval by Council.

Eligibility Criteria To be considered for request, the following criteria must be met:

1. Request submitted to the City of Langford with all required documentation must be received by January 15th (current year request).
2. There will be no retroactive fees paid.
3. Preference will be provided to applications from organizations based in Langford or those that provide a service to Langford residents.
4. No fee request will be forwarded for consideration unless all applicable information has been provided and staff has confirmed completion of the application.
5. Any direct or indirect benefit from a permissive tax exemption must be declared in the application
6. No fee request will be considered if a previous fee was provided and the conditions of the funding specified in this policy or by resolution of Council were not complied with.
7. City fees cannot be used by the receiving organization to issue grants to another entity/individual.

Application Guidelines The application must include:

1. Name of organization and contact information;
2. Amount being requested and any previous requests;
3. Organizations mandate, project description and purposes, benefit to Langford and budget details

Assessment Process

1. All requests will be forwarded to the Finance and Administration Committee for consideration
2. The Committee will make recommendations on funding to Council
3. Applicants will be notified of acceptance/rejection

CERTIFIED CORRECT

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Big Brothers Big Sisters of Victoria Capital Region — Application (Pages 55-59)

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Victoria Capital Region recognizes and respects the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Esquimalt and Songhees), Pacheedaht, Scia’new, T’Sou-ke and W̱SÁNEĆ (Malahat, Pauquachin, Tsartlip, Tsawout, Tseycum) people, whose traditional territories we live, work and play upon each day.

230 Bay Street, Victoria, BC, V9A 3K5 Phone: (250) 475-1117 Email: main.victoria@bigbrothersbigsisters.ca
https://victoria.bigbrothersbigsisters.ca/ @bbbsvictoria charity registration #106793540RR0001

City of Langford
2nd Floor – 822 Goldstream Avenue
Langford, BC
V9B 2X8

Application for Funding - City of Langford
Charitable Number: 106793540RR0001

Contact Person: Emma Kirkland
Director of Development
emma.kirkland@bigbrothersbigsisters.ca
(250) 475-1117 ext. 102

Amount Requested 2024: $5,000
Amount Applied for in 2023: $3,000

Brief Description of our organization Big Brothers Big Sisters of Victoria Capital Region (BBBSV) is fully aligned with the vision and mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada. Vision: All young people realize their full potential. Mission: Enable life–changing relationships to ignite the power and potential of young people. BBBSV has over 46 years of experience providing mentoring programs to communities on Southern Vancouver Island. Our services extend over 13 municipalities, nine First Nation Reserves, and Salt Spring Island. In 2018, we also began serving the Comox Valley. We have successfully provided mentors for children and youth through six different school-based or community-based mentoring programs that respond to the identified social issues impacting each community.

Through no fault of their own, many children and youth face adversities and challenges which threaten their confidence and limit their opportunities. The children and youth we serve come from diverse backgrounds such as living in poverty, single-parent families, intergenerational families, Indigenous populations, and new Canadians. Many of the children and youth are in families that have faced trauma and loss. They are often dealing with detrimental living conditions, financial stress, learning differences, identity challenges, exposure to violence, and increased risk factors for mental health challenges and addictions. Families who connect with BBBSV look to us for additional support to help their children mitigate these challenges. The pandemic also created residual stress for many of our families who are still dealing with increases in their children’s anxiety levels, social isolation, learning loss, and resistance to attending school, in addition to the financial and health-related consequences of COVID-19.

Our Theory of Change: We believe that children and youth facing adversity, those in need of additional supportive and consistent relationships, who are open to mentoring and can be safely matched, will benefit from being matched with a mentor who provides them with a developmental relationship which ignites their full power and potential and helps them grow up to be healthy, caring and responsible adults. Sadly, one in five young people have no developmental relationships. Developmental relationships are proven to reduce the impact of adversities and enable young people to discover who they are, cultivate abilities to shape their own lives and learn how to engage with and contribute to their community and the world around them.

More and more families, schools and community organizations are looking to BBBSV for support for higher-needs children and youth. Sometimes the families cannot access other services or receive enough support elsewhere – especially for children and youth who are neuro-diverse or struggling with anxiety - and a larger number of children under the age of 12 who need mental health support are being referred to BBBSV by health care or educational professionals.

The team at BBBSV is passionate about making a difference and applying their diverse experiences and skills to support our community’s most vulnerable young people. We strive to share our values of welcoming, learning and sharing with our children and youth, families, co-op/practicum students, and volunteer mentors. BBBSV is committed to sustaining an environment where representation matters, diversity is celebrated and people of every race, religion, culture, gender and sexual orientation are welcomed. At BBBSV, we acknowledge and honour the diversity of people, cultures, traditions and experiences, and we recognize and uphold the right of all individuals to respect, dignity, fairness, caring, equality, self-esteem and inclusion.

Program Descriptions At BBBSV, we believe in the power of collectively working towards common goals that benefit our community and the lives of young people. Potential lives within every young person. When we match a young person with a trusted mentor, we start something incredible - a life-changing relationship with the needs of the child. BBBSV continues to provide mentoring services throughout the City of Langford and is working towards growing our presence in the community. We provide 5 different mentoring programs, within our organization three of which are currently running in the City of Langford, thank you for the funding in 2023. We are requesting your support for the following programs: Community Mentoring; B You: Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds; and In-School Mentoring. Our community programs operate annually and our school-based/virtual programs operate during the school year (September to June). Our strategy recognizes we can do so, much more to create life-changing developmental relationships for young people in the Langford community.

Community Mentoring Program The Community Mentoring Program has an over 40-year history of supporting children and youth who have been referred to BBBSV because they need additional support through a caring relationship with a trusted adult. The children live in families who fall along a spectrum of needs from those who have lost a parent through death and/or divorce to those in the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development or those being raised by grandparents or other extended family. The families and children/youth are seeking a mentor who will provide a supportive development relationship which:

• Expresses care: showing the young person that they matter
• Challenges growth: encouraging the child to keep getting better
• Provides support: by helping the child complete tasks to achieve goals
• Shares power: by treating the young person with respect and giving them a say
• Expands possibilities: by connecting the child with ideas that broaden their world

The families participating in the program are diverse. On average the children and youth range from 7-19 and the average age of the child needing a mentor is 9 years old. The majority of children/youth struggle to cope with three or more adversities which put them at risk:

• 82% experienced loss through parental separation, divorce or a change in the health of a parent
• 72% have struggled with a mental health disorder
• 46% reported experiencing emotional coping challenges
• 44% reporting experiencing low self-esteem
• 43% have seen or heard violence or abuse
• 42% have experienced bullying or bullied others
• 38% have experienced literacy or learning challenges

Community Mentoring can affect the lives of children, youth and families in every community. Through education, extra support and increased opportunities, they can together address challenges. Children and youth are supported through the mentoring relationship and are involved in their community encouraged in school and at home, and have dedicated time every week with a positive adult role model who promotes a healthy lifestyle, healthy boundaries and pro-social behaviours.

There is no fee for service. There is a waitlist for the program - we currently have 30 children/youth on our waitlist in the Community of Langford and the demand for our services is growing. Typically, girls will wait three months for a mentor while boys will wait 11 months. Each match (child/family and mentor) is assigned to a highly-trained caseworker who supports relationship development, safety, training and family support and referral. We have learned that we are uniquely positioned to ensure mentors continue to connect with youth who need it the most, when they need it most, even in a pandemic.

One in five children and youth have no developmental relationships in their lives. Mentoring offers additional support and developmental assets to mitigate future challenges in school, at home and in the community. These are the young people who are most at risk of continuing in a cycle of poverty, turmoil, mental health and substance use challenges that impede their healthy development. These costs are borne by the young person and by society. Children and youth who live with continuous adversity can be impacted by toxic stress, which can negatively affect brain development. Neuroscience tells us, according to the Centre for the Developing Child Harvard University, Key concepts toxic-stress https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/toxic-stress/ that mentoring and the developmental relationships created through the mentoring experience are critical for buffering the impact of toxic stress. The common denominator for successful adults who mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences is the presence of a mentor.

Children are supported through everyday struggles and complex ongoing challenges, learning that they can set goals and succeed. Mentors felt their impact:

• 100% took their mentees’ opinions seriously
• 90% ensured that their mentee felt known and valued
• 77% said they had inspired their mentee to see future possibilities for themselves

BBBSV is committed to sustaining and strengthening the Community Community-based Mentoring Program in the Langford Community. The program has proven to be a value-added service in a continuum of care meeting the needs of children, youth and families.

B You: Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds B You Healthy Bodies Healthy Minds was established in 2010 and through program evaluation and stakeholder feedback we have determined that B You Healthy Bodies Healthy Minds is an asset in middle schools where it serves girls identified as struggling socially and emotionally. In partnership with area middle schools, female-identifying youth aged 9-15 who face adversities are matched in a group with three trained mentors. The mentees benefit from learning new skills and tools to: help them build self-esteem; develop healthy boundaries; improve their communication skills; feel physically, mentally, and emotionally safe; find a voice to advocate for themselves; and feel connected to the community. The group (mentors and youth) participate in activities which support confidence, self-esteem, and resiliency. The sessions introduce creative and critical thinking skills and provide tools, skills, resources, and opportunities for the girls to explore and enhance their potential.

We know that critical support needs to be strengthened for young women experiencing mental health concerns, both to prevent and address violence. Twenty-five percent of Canadian girls in Grades 7-12 report that they have been the victim of bullying https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/science-research-data/health-canada-young-people-mental-health-focus/bullying-fighting.html, including cyberbullying. Canadian studies have found that as girls approach adolescence, they face: high levels of sexual assault and other forms of violence; a sharp decline in mental health and confidence; and negative stereotyping and sexualization. The widespread sexualization of girls in our society plays a major role in the deterioration of girls’ mental health, making them vulnerable to violence. And those with mental or behavioural difficulties are four times more likely to experience it.

Female-identifying youth are referred to the program by a school counsellor, teacher, guardian or other professional. The following reasons were given for referrals:

• 71% were struggling with mental health challenges
• 56% experience learning challenges
• 50% experience low self-esteem
• 39% reported experiencing peer difficulties
• 45% were feeling extremely socially isolated
• 27% bullying and cyber-bullying

Discussion topics within the group included: Self-Care - 61%, Friendship - 68%, Journaling - 43%, Relationships – 43%, Mental Health - 41%, and Bullying – 29%. Other topics include: school, anxiety, balanced eating, emotions & gender/stereotypes.

Overall, as a result of B You Healthy Bodies Healthy Minds, the youth were supported in their social and academic development as they were better able to make healthy decisions. Risk and harm reduction are evident and the cost/benefit to the community is significant. B You Healthy Bodies Healthy Minds has been effective in improving three pillars of development, which are: physical health, self-efficacy and social development. The program is held in: Spencer Middle School and Savory Elementary School.

In-School Mentoring Program (ISM) The In-School Mentoring Program (ISM) was established by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada to meet the needs of children identified by their school as being most at-risk but who were in families with a parent/guardian who might not have the capacity or ability to manage the safety requirements for their child to be enrolled in our community-based mentoring programs. These are children who don’t have a strong family support system. They are often students who struggle socially and academically and, without a positive role model to guide them, will move through each grade feeling more and more isolated and left behind.

ISM is offered at partner schools in School District 62, it has successfully added to the preventative services available to families who need low-barrier access, sometimes in rural or remote communities, providing early intervention and supporting the healthy development of children. The program ensures every participating child has training in personal safety and has a mentor who builds a developmental relationship with them. Children and youth who experience more developmental assets engage in fewer risk-taking behaviours and are more likely to thrive.

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