CRIME PREVENTION PROJECTS IN KINGSTON AND THE ISLANDS AWARDED FUNDING UNDER THE NATIONAL STRATEGY ON COMMUNITY SAFETY AND CRIME PREVENTION

Kingston, ONTARIO (November 5, 1999) – Today, Peter Milliken, M.P. announced that the Government of Canada will award $36,000 to Project Reconciliation and $49,900 to Parents Awareness About Drugs under the National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention.

"Community-based crime prevention initiatives like this one are the key to ensuring safety in Canadian homes and streets," said Mr. Milliken. "This initiative shows how members of the community in Kingston and the Islands can work together and make a difference in the fight against crime."

"The best way to fight crime is to prevent it in the first place," noted Mr. Milliken. "I am pleased that the Government of Canada is supporting the efforts of both Project Reconciliation and Parents Awareness About Drugs to reduce crime in the Greater Kingston Area. Their efforts will in turn benefit all Canadians."

Project Reconciliation will use the funding for Project Youth, an initiative which will offer youth-at-risk an opportunity to develop social skills in leadership and personal development. It will also give them an opportunity to acquire educational credits by fulfilling certain program requirements. The project will develop a Store-Front Drop-In Centre designed to be more accessible to youth on the street.

Parents Awareness About Drugs will use the funding for their project entitled Prevention Awareness for Life: Girls Power to Choose. This project will provide interactive learning programs to girls to create an awareness of the risks with the misuse and/or abuse of alcohol and other drugs. University and College student placements will assist with the evaluation system, educational training, and research opportunities.

"The real experts on crime prevention in any community are the people who are part of that community. The project introduced today is all about community members developing crime prevention solutions that meet their unique needs," concluded Mr. Milliken.

The funding for these projects is being provided under the Community Mobilization Program of the National Strategy on Safety and Crime Prevention. Phase II of the strategy, announced on June 2, 1998, includes $32 million a year in federal funding to help Canadians undertake crime prevention initiatives in their communities.

For further information, please contact: Jeff Garrah (613) 992-2013

National Crime Prevention Centre, 1-877-302-NCPC

E-mail: ncpc@web.net

Web site: www.crime-prevention.org