The Honourable Harjit Sajjan, MP for Vancouver South and Minister of National Defence, visited MOSAIC at its Boundary Road headquarters on Wednesday, January 17th, 2018.
The Defence Minister met with Executive Director Eyob Naizghi, Family and Settlement Services Director Sherman Chan, and the organization’s youth services team who presented information about MOSAIC’s Wraparound Program, as well as the RYTE and NuYu programs. The minister has been a long-time advocate of youth education and mentorship programs.
Yumi Onozawa, Manager of Youth Programs, said that Minister Sajjan shared some of his own history about growing up and attending high school in South Vancouver, where MOSAIC’s youth offices are located. He spoke about a schoolmate at the time who ended up joining a gang and said that if youth services had been available such as those that MOSAIC now offers, that teenage friend may have had a different path.
The minister praised the work of the team and said “prevention is the way to go” regarding working with teens and risky behaviours.
MOSAIC’s Wraparound Program offers at-risk youth (ages 13-18) holistic support to enhance youths’ strengths and resiliency to manage the challenges and stresses that they face. To learn more, please visit mosaicbc.org/wraparound.
