Photo: Contributed - File photo

A safe place to belong – something the Okanagan Boys and Girls Clubs believe all children, youth and families deserve. 

There are 37 club locations across the valley which provide an inclusive, supportive, respectful and fun place for all young people. 

On May 6, the Okanagan Boys and Girls Clubs’ will launch a Safe Place to Belong Campaign with the goal to ensure every child and youth in the Okanagan has a safe place to belong.

Richelle Leckey ,Community Engagement Coordinator for the club, says children and youth from all walks of life find their way to the Boys and Girls Clubs.   

"In some cases they come because parents are working and need childcare for their children, but in other cases they come because there is nowhere else to turn and they need support and guidance.”

Chelsea is a Boys and Girls Clubs Member who says she doesn’t know where she would be if it wasn’t for the support of the club. 

"At a very young age, I was introduced into a lifestyle no young person should have to be a part of.  I was taken from my mom’s drug infested home and put into a safe house.”

The authorities decided she would have a better chance at a normal life if she lived with her father. 

"It probably wasn’t the best decision because shortly after I was physically assaulted, I was taken from the home and brought to the Okanagan Boys and Girls Clubs Downtown Youth Centre,” she says. 

"My first night in youth shelter was scary. I was embarrassed about being brought there, but the staff quickly changed my feelings of embarrassment into comfort, explaining that I was in good hands and that everything would be fine."

"For the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel scared of my surroundings and over the next while the Okanagan Boys and Girls Club staff helped me work through the challenges and obstacles I faced.”

Chelsea admits she didn’t make the jobs of the staff easy, she fought everything they said for a long time. 

"All of the youth services staff that worked with me were extremely persistent, they weren’t going away, they cared.” 

The Safe Place to Belong Campaign will begin on McHappy Day, May 6th. Donations can be made at all Central Okanagan McDonalds location on McHappy Day. After May 6 donations can be made at www.boysandgirlsclubs.ca.