Portage Youth Attends RCMP Leadership Workshop

A Portage la Prairie teen was selected to attend the RCMP’s national Youth Leadership and Project Development Workshop in mid-March at the RCMP Training Academy (Depot).

Eighteen-year-old Portage Collegiate Institute (PCI) student Nathan Utioh attended the workshop along with his RCMP mentor, Cst. Shannon Neff of the Portage la Prairie Detachment.

RCMP National Youth Services in Ottawa arranged for 19 youth between the ages of 13 and 18, along with RCMP officers from across Canada, to meet in Regina to tackle issues related to youth crime and victimization, which are part of the RCMP’s strategic priority on youth.

During the weeklong workshop, the youth participants developed action plans to help their local communities address local issues. Youth participants identified alcohol and drug abuse as the top common concern affecting youth in their communities.

Utioh, PCI student council president, says he thinks boredom is often a root cause of youth crime in his hometown.

At the end of the workshop, Utioh brought home an action plan to address how youth spend their free time in Portage la Prairie. As Nathan is leaving for Queen’s University after graduating in June 2011, a local youth will assume the leadership role in rolling out the plan that provides activities and mentoring with the support of their RCMP advisor.

DEAL.org, the RCMP’s by youth, for youth website, will be following the youth participants as they put their plans into action.