WAYVE – Working Against Youth Violence Everywhere
School/community name: Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario.
Title of the project/initiative: WAYVE (Working Against Youth Violence Everywhere).
Brief description/ summary of project: This program was created following the racially-motivated murder of a 21 year-old, at the hands of more than 50 youth belonging to a local gang. Community members decided to pull together to eliminate violence and bullying amongst youth. The outcome of their work was the WAYVE program. This program can be run as a regional team, representing students from several schools or in-school teams where only students in that school participate.
What age range did this project/ initiative target? This project is run in high schools, and is led by students and supported by a teacher supervisor. The main target is grade 9 students.
What cost, if any, was involved? The teacher supervisor is responsible for securing funding, which is used for materials and supplies needed for activities, promotions and events. The program generally involves a time commitment of one meeting per week.
What approval had to be obtained for the project/initiative to be carried out? For any in-school projects, the school board (principal) has to give approval. Also, a minimum of one teacher is required to supervise the students running the project. As for the regional team, the project has to be approved by the city council.
What problems were this project/initiative designed to address? The WAYVE program addresses violence amongst youth. The program targets all forms of violence, including unhealthy relationships, bullying, and peer-to-peer violence.
Who organized or ran this project/initiative? As mentioned earlier, members of the community played a key role in the creation of the program. Within the program, there are two types of teams leading this project: the regional team and the in-school team. The current regional team is made up of 30-40 students. The in-school team varies according to school, but WAYVE recommends that 10-15 students participate in the in-school team.
What were the main responsibilities/tasks of the leaders/organizers? The regional team of students attends weekly meetings and discusses five main issues related to violence and bullying that they will target during the year. The team then breaks into smaller groups, does some research on the specific issues and then does a presentation (usually at an assembly) about their issue.
The in-school team teacher’s responsibilities consist of assisting the team (keeping them on track), dealing with funding and legalities, obtaining material and supplies and most importantly, supporting the team members. The students are responsible for choosing the issues they want to address during the school year, preparing/running activities and events, and running the weekly meetings.
What were the goals? The program aims to increase student knowledge about violence and its impact on others. WAYVE also encourages students to stand up against bullying and violence. The program has a goal of creating a sense of belonging among students and helping students realize that they can make a difference when it comes to violence amongst youth.
Were these goals achieved? People involved with the program have been impressed by its success in raising awareness about youth violence. WAYVE groups follow the WAYVE manual, which gives a step-by-step description of how to achieve these goals and develop an effective program.
An evaluation of the project is currently being conducted by a Wilfred Laurier University’s master student and should be available shortly.
Any additional information about this project/initiative? For more information, visit the WAYVE website.