More supports coming to Toronto schools where violence has broken out: Tory

Toronto schools in need of enhanced youth programming and mental-health initiatives will be prioritized for support, the city's mayor said Monday, as advocates emphasized the need for better social aids to prevent violence among students.

Toronto Mayor John Tory says the city and Toronto District School Board have committed to increased co-operation to address what he describes as "extremely troubling" incidents of violence in and around schools.

"We all agree that violence in schools is unacceptable and we must do everything we can to stop it," said Tory.

Tory says officials agreed at a meeting Monday to work together to prioritize schools that require enhanced youth programming, mental health supports and food security initiatives. He says they also committed to working together to secure targeted funding from other levels of government.

Monday's meeting follows a rash of violence including a fatal shooting outside a school on October 31st and a stabbing inside a school two weeks ago that left a student with life-threatening injuries.

The city also committed to increased co-operation with the TDSB in responding to violent incidents, as well as increased partnerships with community-based organizations.

It will take a co-ordinated effort between school boards, police, community organizations and residents to end school violence, he said.

"Beyond the direct impact on victims and their families, these incidents create tensions and insecurities among students, teachers, and parents which simply shouldn't be prevalent in our schools or in our communities," Tory said.

TDSB welcomessupport

The TDSB said Monday it will take additional steps to ensure safety at its schools, including creating a student engagement and safety team at every secondary school and an audit team to work with schools to ensure safety policies and procedures are being followed.

"While the TDSB plays an important role in our communities, we cannot do this alone," it wrote in a statement.

"We look forward to increased co-operation between the school board and the City of Toronto as we believe it is critical that other levels of government and community partners work collaboratively with us to address this growing concern."

A 17-year-old student was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries after a stabbing inside Birchmount Park Collegiate in Toronto's east end on Nov. 14 as students were being dismissed for the day. Police said Monday they have arrested three teens in connection withthe incident.

That came two weeks after a shooting outside Woburn Collegiate Institute,another high school in the east end, that left one student dead and another injured.

The stabbing at Birchmount Park Collegiate was the second stabbing at that school this year, after a 14-year-old student was stabbed outside the high school in April.

More needs to be done, advocates say

Advocates say the recent violence in Toronto schools shows a need for stronger social supports.

Stephen Mensah, the executive director of the Toronto Youth Cabinet the city's official youth advisory body said there is a need to address worsening socio-economic conditions and systemic barriers faced by many young people, such as poverty, lack of access to social programs and inadequate housing.

"All these inequities that were previously there have just been exacerbated [by the pandemic]," he said.

Rising poverty and youth unemployment are pushing many young people to criminal activities, he said.

"When we talk about carjackings, when we talk about pharmacy robberies and so on and so forth, all this has happened due to the fact that young people need money," he said.

"It's not oftentimes they need money for themselves, but they need money to support their parents."

Boosting investments in youth programs as well as helping young people find employment would keep many from getting involved in crime, he said.

"We're seeing the worsening of the cycle of violence due to the lack of investment and support for our young people," he said. "There is a need to improve the socio-economic conditions of our youth to have better results."

Aretha McCarthy, the founder of Development Youth Centre, an organization that provide workshops and programs for young people in the Greater Toronto Area, said it's important to include those who are affected by violence and those who are supporting them in discussions on how to address the issue.

"What we're not doing is having the right people at the table to speak on what the underlining issues are," she said.

She said mental health support should be available for young people and their parents.

"We've realized that within a lot of the neighbourhoods that we go into, there's a lot of mental health issues and there's no resources available to provide (help) to the parents who need the support," she said.

"We talk about supporting the youth, but to support the youth, you also have to support the family members. You have to support the fathers. You have to support the mothers."