Maple Ridge Youth Strategy & Youth Development Wheel

Background

As one of the fastest growing municipalities in the region, the City has a high proportion of youth who face a challenging and ever-changing world. To help support the positive physical, social and psychological development of our youth (12-18 years) and emerging adults (19-24), the City, with support from community partners, has developed a Youth Strategy & Youth Development Wheel.

View the Maple Ridge Youth Strategy (PDF)
View the Maple Ridge Youth Development Wheel (PDF)

This highly collaborative process involved over 1,000 local youth, emerging adults, parents/caregivers, and service providers through a series of surveys, interviews, workshops, focus groups, and Youth and Adult working groups. This input, along with best practice research and principles for youth development, was used to develop a number of recommendations to enhance support for youth and emerging adults, improve working partnerships between youth, caregivers and service providers, and create pathways to ensure that youth are seen as partners in their own future.

These recommendations have been organized into four major theme areas:

Inclusive Community Spaces & Activities
Community Engagement
Wellness & Mental Health
Transitioning to Adulthood

Read the Maple Ridge Youth Strategy (PDF) for more details.

It Takes A Village…

Making Maple Ridge a place where youth can thrive is a shared responsibility of our whole community. Developing the Youth Strategy is the first step of many on this journey – this community-owned plan will require continued communication, collaboration and action by many partners. The City’s role in implementing the recommendations will include a range of leading initiatives, partnering with other organizations, and advocating to influence decisions and policy at more senior levels of government. City staff will work closely with partners and other agencies to develop a framework to implement the Strategy over several years. Together, we can create an even stronger network to support, engage, and empower the younger members of our society.