What We Do
Respectful Relationships (R+R)
The R+R program is an award-winning violence prevention program for youth aged 12 to 18 years old, and is delivered by community-based adult facilitators in school classrooms in School District #64 (Southern Gulf Islands) and in other school districts in British Columbia. High school students are trained and mentored to co-facilitate the R+R workshops and to become leaders in youth violence prevention among their peers and younger students. Each year for the past twelve years, approximately 500 students have participated in R+R workshops in SD#64.
See how R+R meets the Ministry of Education’s Learning Objectives.
R+R Online Facilitator Training
SWOVA provides facilitation training to deliver the Respectful Relationships (R+R) program and the skills learned can also be used in many areas of life and work. Participants can cover the material at his or her own pace (within a 6-week period of time), have individual coaching support and group calls, and practice facilitation skills within their own community. All from the comfort of one’s home computer.
Pass It On: Health and Safety for Girls and Young Women
In the Pass It On project, high school young women provide structured group and individual mentorship for grade 8 girls throughout the school year. The mentorship builds relationships that will support the girls at this critical age as they prepare to enter high school. They form relationships that assist them in their immediate lives and also make their transition to high school easier. The issues being addressed are health and safety for girls and young women, providing support for grade 8 girls, and encouraging youth leadership.
In 2020, we received funding from Justice Canada to revise our R+R curricula for Aboriginal Students, which resulted in creating the Aboriginal R+R program. We used our data to identify the specific needs and experiences of Aboriginal Youth and to revise our R+R curricula to best support that community. Working in partnership with the Musqueam Indian Band, we trained facilitators from their community who then delivered the R+R workshops to Aboriginal youth. Developing an on-line training course was also part of this project (See R+R Facilitator Training/ On-Line Training Page)
SWOVA is founded on a commitment to research and evaluation as essential tools in the development and continuing improvement of our violence prevention programs and initiatives. See evaluation reports on all our projects and programs by clicking on the title of this section.
Respect, Safety and Sexual Health for Youth
This project focuses on respect and safety in sexual health for young women and men in high school. We deliver workshops to all grade 11 students and hold a Sexual Health Fair which is open to all students at Gulf Islands Secondary School. This exciting new project started in 2020 and we hope it will continue.
Salish Sea Girls’ Leadership Project
SWOVA has created an exciting new project, funded by Status of Women Canada, that will help girls and young women build leadership capacity. The leadership program brings together a group of young women who share a desire to make a difference in their world and want to act individually and with others to bring about positive change. We help those girls build on the skills they already possess as well as develop new ones and harness the power of young women and girls.
Peace Kids is SWOVA’s exciting new pilot project to take Respectful Relationships education into the elementary school. The Peace Kids curricula, will provide engaging skill building sessions that increase dialogue about peace and conflict at the personal and community level. Peace Kids addresses bullying and systemic violence occurring with younger students, and offers social emotional learning (SEL) skills to increase personal and collective community health, safety and well-being.
