By Michelle Garcia
The Ottawa Somali community and the Ottawa Police Service are part of a task force for Somali Youth to help rebuild their relationship after accusations of racism in the police force caused tension between them last February.
“I know that we have some challenges in front of us in terms of our police service and the trust we have with the Somali community and that comes from getting to know each other,” says Sue O’Sullivan deputy chief of police and a member of the task force, who spoke at the Somali Youth Conference at Ridgemont High School.
O’Sullivan discussed a plan that the task force is putting together to help Somali Youth that will be released on April 8. It is the only group in Ottawa to help an ethnic minority more smoothly adjust to Ottawa life.
Somalis constitute the largest African community in Ottawa and the task force was put together as concerns grew about Somali integration into the city.
The task force is run by the City of Ottawa and Ottawa police but mostly grew from concerns of Somalis.
It is focusing on four main areas: access to education, employment, social and recreational services and crime prevention.
Eight groups were put together to discuss and assess the important issues facing Somali youth; of the 73 Somalis in these groups 50 were youth.
One of these youths, Abdikarim Ali, stressed the importance of focusing on education and employment, suggesting programs such as seminars to help Somali youth with finding jobs and writing resumes.
Ali, a 17-year-old Ridgemont high school student is not only involved in the task force but was master of ceremonies at the Somali Youth Conference.
He says he is looking forward to post-secondary education and knows what his parents went through to make sure he gets it.
“They travelled all across the ocean because they want a better life for us,” he told the group at the conference “Don’t throw it all away.”
But not all Somali youth share Ali’s attitude.
Some end up in youth court facing judges like Diane Nicholas, who was also at the youth conference and thinks the task force is an excellent idea.
“It’s a positive step to see the city at the table.”
She adds that by the time the youth get to her it may be too late.
Nicholas emphasized a need to concentrate on measures to prevent youth crime to help Somali succeed. One suggestion to keep young Somalis out of the youth criminal justice system is a mentoring program to introduce positive role models.
“There’s a need for strong male role models,” Nicholas says, adding that in her court there is already “a strong presence by the mothers.”