KidStart is a program of PLEA Community Services Society. We have delivered KidStart services in Metro Vancouver for over twenty years. In 2006 we opened services in Victoria, through a partnership with the John Howard Society of Victoria, and Campbell River, in partnership with the John Howard Society of the North Island. All of us are non-profit agencies with long histories and strong reputations of service in our respective communities.
Our partnership is made possible in part due to PLEA winning the 2005 $1 Million Vancity Award. We are grateful to the members and staff of Vancity Credit Union for their vote of confidence in selecting KidStart for this prestigious award.
PLEA is delighted to have the opportunity to work with our partners to provide the benefits of KidStart to children and young people on Vancouver Island.
About PLEA
PLEA is an accredited, non-profit, charitable community services agency, established in 1979. We primarily deliver services in the communities of the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Regions of BC.
We have a strong reputation for delivering high quality, innovative programs. We champion one-to-one service models in working with people who face significant challenges, and in a way that is personal, effective and respectful.
We open doors for children and families. Through unique services tailored to individual strengths and needs, PLEA helps children, youth, adults and families with significant challenges to lead fulfilling lives within their communities.
Our programs have their roots in a 1973 program that pioneered one-to-one work with youth in the justice system. The model was later adapted for a family care model youth justice residential program, and for volunteer-provided services that laid the foundation for KidStart. These programs were among the first community-based alternatives to youth custody in Canada.
PLEA is now a multi-disciplinary agency that is engaged in youth justice, child welfare, addictions, education, and youth and adult residential care. Our services are especially suitable for children, youth and adults whose circumstances or behaviours make it difficult for them to succeed elsewhere.
We have about 100 voting members and a board of 11; and more than 90 employees, 85 family care homes and 180 volunteer kid coaches. For further information about PLEA follow this link to the website www.plea.ca .
The John Howard Society of North Island is an accredited organization that has been serving the community justice and social services needs of Vancouver Island for more than 30 years. Our mission is to promote and foster safer and healthier communities by providing appropriate programs of rehabilitation, education, prevention and healing for those who need an opportunity to achieve, maintain or regain a balance within their communities.
We recognize that safer, healthier communities are created through the combined and diverse efforts of citizens, organizations and governments. We work cooperatively with a broad spectrum of community agencies and committees, while also maintaining involvement in provincial and national organizations that seek to address the social needs of Canadians.
We provide services to youth, children, adults, and families with diverse needs. Our locations include offices and full-time attendance programs, but our work also takes us into schools, homes, and other parts of communities. For a complete list of our programs and services please see our annual report on www.jhsni.bc.ca
“It is a great human experience working with people who care about people.”
-Karen Turner (Board Member)
The John Howard Society of Victoria is a non-profit, community based organization that has operated in Victoria since 1935. Our mission is:
- To provide service to people in conflict with the law.
- To understand and respond to the problems of crime.
- To work toward the prevention of crime.
- To review, evaluate and respond to needs and concerns related to the justice system.
- To make our community a safer place to live.
Inheriting both his name and active spirit, the John Howard Society of Victoria is concerned with the prevention of crime and its effect on our communities.
In order to make our communities safer places to live, it is the mission of the staff and volunteers of the John Howard Society of Victoria to provide services to people in conflict with the law; to work toward the prevention of crime; to understand and respond to problems of crime and concerns related to the justice system. We work with youth, adults and families and provide a wide range of services in our community.
Follow this link to the website for more information www.johnhoward.victoria.bc.ca
