The City of Orillia is developing a youth strategy and is looking for input from youth, local service providers, residents and businesses.
“Having clear insight into the current needs of Orillia youth, current programs and services available, and planning for future needs is essential when developing a plan for growth within the community,” said Mayor Don McIsaac. “This strategy looks at the entire community’s ability to support youth to determine how we can make Orillia as youth friendly as possible.”
Surveys:
The strategy will be informed by feedback received from the entire community. Interested parties are encouraged to provide their input through one of three surveys, which are specifically geared towards different groups:
- Local youth survey (people between the ages of 10-29)
- Orillia community survey (residents and businesses of Orillia and Simcoe County)
- Local service providers survey (organizations who work with youth in the community)
All three surveys can be found at orillia.ca/YouthStrategy. The deadline for completing the surveys is March 29, 2024.
Youth Research Team:
The City is looking for five enthusiastic young people, aged 16-to-24, who live in Orillia and can help engage other youth in their experiences and ideas for youth services in Orillia and Simcoe County.
The role of the team will be to connect with other youth to understand what issues matter most to them when planning and delivering services like recreation, health, and community centres. Successful candidates will complete approximately 40 hours of work between March and June 2024 and be provided an honorarium of $500 per team member for their assistance. This is an exciting opportunity to build research and engagement skills and help influence how Orillia meets the needs of young people in a positive and sustainable way.
Interested youth can fill out the online application form at orillia.ca/YouthStrategy. Applications are due by March 4, 2024.
The Orillia Youth Strategy has four main goals:
- Develop a community youth strategy with a focus on the community growth, community needs and expansion and the Orillia Youth Centre’s current operations.
- Develop a detailed implementation plan, conducting a needs assessment, and engaging with the community.
- Develop a Youth Service Map outlining coverage, gaps and barriers.
- Recommendations for sustainable growth of youth services in Orillia.
The strategy was approved through the Public Safety Canada Grant with the aim of reducing guns and gang violence within our community and looks to build on the City’s commitment to Orillia’s youth.
For more information on the Orillia Youth Strategy project, please visit orillia.ca/YouthStrategy.
