News From Dryden
News from Dryden
Dryden continues to be a very busy community. Partnerships evolve and commitment for a better hope and future for our youth and families inhabits the hearts of the people. Client services continue to flow and partnerships continue to flourish. The Dryden Attendance Centre offers a place of learning and a place of growing and changing but most of all a place of safety.
Youth who cannot or who are unable to work in traditional classroom settings work towards educational goals. The local high school continues to support on site students with a teacher half days twice a week. Our alternative education instructor provides cooking and budgeting classes on site. Our local employment program and I collaborate to provide employment skills, resume building and job placements that provide online skills and paid to learn programs. I continue to work with the community to enhance family and child engagement by volunteering at our most recent initiative a movie night.
Our community has no theatre available and some families cannot afford the cost of entertainment such as this so we are working towards keeping costs to a minimum. The generous sponsors in the community have committed to making this possible. I work closely with the Youth Justice Diversion program for prevention and intervention for youth who otherwise could have been involved on the court system for lengthy periods of time. HUB programming offers valuable information and interactive interventions that address distorted thinking patterns that can contribute to substance abuse and poor conflict resolution skills.
My role in the community consists of being a member of the DAIRS (Dryden Area Impaired Reduction Strategy) which is helping to address high substance use and drinking and driving in our area, FASD Dare to Dream Committee which addresses the barriers and promotes educational workshops in our region, most recently the Truth and Reconciliation Working Group which is exploring how WJS can enhance meaningful and effective outcomes throughout this process. Come March I will be in Vancouver for a visit with my son and look forward to some warmer weather, a change of scenery and a bit of rest and relaxation.
Lorraine Lang