asset development 2010 final report

ASSET DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY REPORT Review of recent data and possible resulting actions

April 2010

Compiled by Marcie McKay, M.A. Community Psychology

For the Community Partners on Drug Abuse and the Asset Development Ad-Hoc

Committee

2 | Asset Development

“I would like to see youth who believe in themselves, their skills and

abilities -- youth who respect themselves and their communities and who want to be an asset to the

community they live in.”

-Survey respondent

*Cover art completed by Mitch MacLellan, Bridgeport, Cape Breton, past member of the

Glace Bay Youth Action Committee who is now a first year Cape Breton University

student.

Thank you Mitch!


Acknowledgements

This research endeavor and subsequent strategy report would not have been possible

without the involvement, inspiration, and support of a number of individuals and

organizations:

The Community Partners on Drug Abuse (CPDA)

The Canada Nova Scotia Skills and Learning Framework for funding support.

The members of the original Education and Prevention Working Group (CPDA)

The Asset Development Project Group (originally the ABCS Committee – Asset

Building in Communities and Schools)

The newly formed adhoc committee

All of the community organizations that recently allowed us to conduct surveys,

focus groups, and presentations to collect the data you will find in this report.

Marketing Research Centre (Cape Breton University) for their assistance with

survey data collection and analysis.


Executive Summary:

When the word assets is heard perhaps visions of stocks, bonds, and financial

investments come to mind. When committee members of the Community Partners on

Drug Abuse use the term assets they are referring to assets of a different kind –

developmental assets. Developmental assets do in fact deal with a very important

investment – they allow us to invest in our youth and help communities thrive.

There are 40 developmental assets that are organized under eight categories: 1) support,

2) empowerment, 3) boundaries and expectations, 4) constructive use of time, 5)

commitment to learning, 6) positive values, 7) social competencies, and 8) positive

identity. Youth who have a greater number of assets engage in fewer risk behaviors such

as drug use and vandalism and demonstrate more thriving behaviors such as maintaining

good health and school success.

Since 2006, committees of the Community Partners on Drug Abuse have been working

together to better understand developmental assets, learn from other communities who

have implemented the asset building approach, and uncover through research community

needs and ideas for improvement. This report is a follow up to the 2008 survey that was

conducted with 1302 students in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality using a

published measure from Search Institute. Survey results indicated that our youth

possessed on average 20.5 out of 40 possible assets which led us to plan actions to

improve outcomes, resources, and opportunities for our youth.

During the months of February, March, and April 2010, with funding from Canada Nova

Scotia Skills and Learning Framework, we took part in a number of activities to:

create awareness of the developmental assets approach

understand community readiness for proactive endeavors

determine residents‟ concerns and ideas for community improvement

uncover barriers that might get in the way of community enhancement initiatives

explore the best ways to share and distribute information to residents

discover if community members‟ hopes for youth are consistent with what the

developmental assets framework seeks to accomplish

“In order to understand what a developmental asset is think of a young person you know,

care about, or work with and ask yourself, “What is it that this young person needs in

order to be a healthy, happy, contributing citizen?”


To meet these objectives we:

1) Delivered awareness presentations on developmental assets to 13 groups, agencies,

and organizations and reached 185 individuals as a result.

2) Surveyed 569 community members on community needs, ideas for community

enhancement, and community assets.

3) Held three focus groups with a total of 50 participants to gather more detailed

information on the same topics that the above survey measured.

4) Invited community organizations and individuals who work from a positive youth

development approach, as well as other key community players, to form an adhoc

committee to guide future actions based on our research findings.

Regardless of the method used to collect information (i.e. presentation discussions, focus

groups, or surveys) the data obtained using multiple methods was complimentary and

consistent.

Results for each question that was asked of survey and focus group participants are

presented in detail in the full report. Additionally, possible actions to take in order to

respond to community members‟ ideas and suggestions, while at the same time building

developmental assets, are presented after each survey or focus group question.

The results obtained from survey completion and focus group discussions are highlighted

below:

84.5% of respondents felt that risky behavior by youth is problematic in their

community.

91.7% felt that the community at large is concerned about risky behavior by

youth.

84.2% expressed they would be interested in learning more about community

improvement initiatives.

Respondents believe the biggest challenges facing our youth are: 1) lack of things

to do or be involved with and 2) drugs. Additionally, they felt the factors most

likely to contribute to problem behavior by youth to be: availability/prevalence of

drugs, boredom, and family problems. Peer groups were also mentioned as a

factor in leading to problem behavior.

Many residents felt that ALL communities would benefit from improvement

initiatives. When choosing a particular community the majority chose Glace Bay

to be the target, followed closely by New Waterford, Sydney Mines, and North

Sydney.


When asked what skills, values, and qualities they would like to see youth possess

by the time they reach 18 the majority of respondents mentioned respect (respect

of the self, others, and property). Other common themes were education, self-

esteem, and skills such as how to make good decisions and healthy choices.

Community members felt that it should be educators, the general public, elected

officials, parents and experts working in the fields of child and community

development who are involved in community building initiatives.

Respondents shared that the best way to get the word out about community

improvement initiatives would be via radio/TV public service announcements,

social networking groups like Facebook, through role models and heroes, and

websites. Focus group participants felt that „word of mouth‟ works well in Cape

Breton to create awareness.

A number of organizations were mentioned by respondents as those who help

youth or do good things in the community: Whitney Pier Youth Club, Island

Community Justice Society, Youth Peer Program (EPIC), Youth Health Centres,

Police Boys and Girls Clubs, Community Cares Youth Outreach, YMCA, Big

Brothers Big Sisters and Eskasoni Parents Against Drugs. This list is by no means

exhaustive and the full listing of organizations mentioned can be found in the

body of the full report and in Appendix C of the full report.

75.7% of respondents reported feeling pride about their community. Respondents

mentioned that Cape Breton has many positive „assets‟ such as beauty and

scenery, outdoor opportunities such as hiking, skiing, cycling, people who are

generous and friendly and who give in times of need, a strong culture rich in

history and music, and a lifestyle that is relaxed with relatively safe, family-

oriented communities.

A number of respondents mentioned barriers as to why citizens are not more

involved in helping the community. Survey respondents stated that they would

like to know where their help is needed and would need more free time to

contribute. Focus group respondents felt that there were many possible barriers

that could prevent people from supporting or being involved in community

enhancement initiatives such as: fear of youth, being more supportive of reactive

rather than proactive approaches, and changing societal dynamics such as being

less community minded and more focused on individual needs.

Respondents felt that healthy, safe places to go are what is most needed to

improve the community for youth. This response was followed by having things

to occupy one‟s time (e.g., sports, recreation and supervised dances), employment

skills programs, and mentoring programs that teach life skills.

A number of respondents gave names of individuals who are likely to inspire and

motivate others to be involved in community building. These names can be found


in Appendix C of the full report. Regardless, a number of traits were mentioned

as being important in a natural, inspirational leader: compassion, drive, and

energy. As well, a number of respondents felt that youth are natural community

leaders.

Community members offered a great deal of insight into community needs and their

thoughts on how best to make positive changes for our youth. This is indicative of the

importance of involving the general public in helping to design asset initiatives that will

be well received by the community and more likely to be sustainable as they will be

community-supported and community-directed. An important focus will be uncovering

the skills, abilities, and talents (i.e. strengths) of community members and bringing

people of all ages together to promote assets and create initiatives that work for specific

neighborhoods and organizations.

Each of the recommended actions that our committee is likely to pursue to create asset

rich communities are organized in a diagram on page 57 of the full report. In this

diagram actions are grouped under the following five pillars of goal-based categories:

1. Create awareness

2. Build momentum

3. Engage community members and sectors (this includes fostering youth

participation)

4. Create asset initiatives

5. Sustain, research, and evaluate

The recommended actions found throughout the full report are designed to be ongoing. In

order for developmental assets to become fully integrated into community culture,

duplication and repetition of messages and initiatives is necessary.

However, in order to maintain the momentum that has been building in recent months

and begin to foster asset rich communities, there are two main areas of focus that we

hope to begin with: 1) develop “asset headquarters” in existing community organizations

and structures, and 2) create awareness and enhance interest using multiple methods.

Please review the table that follows for a full description of our planned initiatives and

desired outcomes.


Recommendation

Actions Steps to complete

(May to September

2010)

Desired Outcomes

1. Respond to

community members

desire to foster

protective qualities

in our youth (e.g.

respect, self-esteem)

and create “things

for youth to be

involved in.”

Develop “asset

headquarters” in

five different

locations (CBRM

communities,

Eskasoni,

Membertou).

These

headquarters will

be located within

existing community

organizations

already doing good

work in the

community. The

Asset Project

Coordinator will

bring together

teams of citizens at

each location who

will work together

to foster two of the

40 developmental

assets each month.

The initiatives

created will be

compatible with

expressed

community needs

as well as the

developmental

assets framework.

Creativity and

collaboration will

be key.

Determine suitable

locations for asset

headquarters.

Put together asset

building teams

comprised of

youth, senior

citizens, parents,

professionals,

community leaders,

and members of

the general public.

Educate the teams

on the basics and

principles of

developmental

assets by

facilitating two or

three awareness

and capacity

building sessions.

Meet with each of

the teams one

evening per week

to help them

develop their own

asset initiative.

Guide and support

the activities

citizens design for

their headquarters.

To have various

locations across

the CBRM,

Eskasoni and

Membertou who

have groups of

citizens working

together to

intentionally build

assets.

It is hoped that

these locations will

design something

for youth and

citizens of all ages

to partake in at

least one evening

per week.

Example: Perhaps

a kitchen in a

church hall could

be used for

intergenerational

cooking classes, or

a gymnasium

could be used for a

drama project that

teaches youth

decision making.

Citizens will feel

ownership, put

their talents and

skills to use, learn

new skills, and

have less idle time.

Relationships,

particularly

between youth and

adults, will be

fostered.


Recommendation

Actions Steps to complete

(May to September

2010)

Desired Outcomes

2. Respond to

community members

desire to learn more

about community

improvement

initiatives and how

to be of help. There

is also a need to

provide awareness of

proactive

approaches and

share ways to

simply, but

effectively, build

developmental

assets.

Utilize social

marketing

approaches in the

form of messages

designed to change

attitudes,

behaviors, and

knowledge.

Develop a logo,

website, and

Facebook group.

Launch the

initiative in a

creative way --

perhaps with radio

contests and the

use of catchy signs

placed around the

community to

spark interest.

Continue

delivering our

developmental

asset awareness

presentation to

groups and

organizations.

Distribute

literature/organize

asset activities at

existing community

fairs and events.

Share catchy

messages and asset

building tips via

radio and other

media sources.

Work with

students in

marketing, IT,

design, community

studies, human

services, and youth

studies to design

ways to reach

community

members.

Network with

media

professionals and

gain their support

in helping us to

share our

information with

the public.

Involve junior and

senior high school

age youth by

holding a logo

contest and

consulting youth

help design website

and Facebook

content.

Develop materials

and activities to

reach citizens

during Action

Week and other

summer festivals

throughout our

communities.

Citizens will know

what is meant

when they hear the

term

developmental

assets.

Community

members will

realize that they

can build assets in

ways that are easy

to integrate into

their lifestyle.

We will have

created a

volunteer base.

Citizens will

clearly know how

they might be able

to help.

We will have

modes of

communication

designed with the

help of youth,

university, and

college students -

but with the

potential to appeal

to citizens of all

ages.

There will be an

excitement and

momentum

fostered due to

regular, positive

messages.


Develop a

volunteer “skill

bank” to track

interested citizens’

skills and abilities

so they can be

contacted as

opportunities for

involvement arise.

Develop a list of

activities in which

residents can sign

up to help for one

hour per week.

Gain the support of

people who are

seen as

inspirational by

community

members and ask

them to be

spokespeople.

Research what

other successful

assets groups, such

as Miramichi, have

done to reach

community

members.

Developmental asset initiatives have benefited youth and communities across North

America. Close to home Miramichi, NB and Dartmouth, NS have had successes.

With the strategies outlined in this report we have the ability to take action on the

thoughts, ideas, and concerns of community residents and implement community-driven

endeavors to create asset rich relationships, organizations, and communities. With the

recent formation of our adhoc committee, developed to guide future asset actions, and the

support and enthusiasm we witnessed when delivering awareness presentations our goal

of beginning to integrate developmental assets into Cape Breton culture is likely viable.

The next step is to release this report to the adhoc committee who will then determine

how best to take action on the findings and recommendations.

I invite you to read the full report that follows and contains our recent findings along with

possible actions that can be taken to address each specific result. I also encourage you to

learn more about the developmental assets framework and explore simple, yet effective

ways to build assets in the lives of young people.

Marcie McKay

M.A. Community Psychology

Developmental Assets Project Coordinator

(902) 565-5594 or [email protected]


Purpose of this report

Detailed data results from our recent surveys and focus group phases are presented in the

following pages of this report. Recommendations have been made after each section of

results but in no way are the recommendations or proposed actions exhaustive.

Community needs change as do opportunities for action and collaboration so it is hoped

that actions might continue to happen based on these results even years later. Although

our adhoc committee will be making a dedicated and comprehensive effort to take action

on the data presented I encourage other individuals and organizations inspired or

interested by the findings to also take action. I consider this document to be a working

document that will be referred to at present but also in the future as groups determine

ways to best meet the needs of youth and community members.

It must be noted that an earlier report was completed in 2007 entitled, “ABCS Summary

Report,” that summarized literature, reports, journal articles, texts, and manuals

pertaining to developmental assets. If interested in a detailed background on

developmental assets and the evidence behind this approach please contact the author

who will provide you with a copy. This report is meant to highlight what residents feel

our community needs in order to improve outcomes for youth and how best to go about

taking action. We want our subsequent actions to be community-driven instead of

making assumptions behind closed doors as to what the community would like to see

happen. It is my hope that with community ideas in mind, community members may be

more apt to take ownership and become involved with any upcoming endeavors.

I encourage you to take the time to read though our results based on responses from 569

surveys, three focus groups and numerous informal discussions that occurred at our 13

awareness presentations. Hopefully, the report will inspire you to share the information

with others, ask questions, and take action on some of the ideas proposed. In order to

promote the developmental assets approach in Cape Breton communities, schools,

organizations, neighborhoods, and families we need each of you!


History and Background

Since 2004, the Community Partners on Drug Abuse (CPDA) have undertaken a number

of actions to reduce drug abuse in Cape Breton communities. Besides helping to

implement such endeavors as the methadone maintenance program and prescription

monitoring programs it also created a model of collaboration that brought together many

partners from agencies, organizations, government departments, and the community at

large. In 2006, the Education and Prevention Working Group of the CPDA received a

presentation from Larry Maxwell and Robert Proctor, who at the time were with Public

Health District 8 and 7 respectively. Larry and Robert introduced the concept of

developmental assets to our working group. The working group became inspired and

developed a smaller Developmental Assets Project Committee (originally referred to as

the ABCS group – Asset Building in Communities and Schools) who since that time has

been working to further understand developmental assets and to find ways to create

awareness of the approach.

It must be noted that on April 30th

, 2010 the Community Partners on Drug Abuse is

officially disbanding. However, it is hoped that developmental assets initiatives will be a

legacy of the Partnership. The Developmental Assets Project Committee is optimistic

that there is substantial momentum, connections, and support existing in the community

to find the methods necessary to put the strategies in this report into action.

What are developmental assets?

Before describing our recent actions and resulting strategies any further, it is important to

briefly describe what the developmental assets philosophy is and why the approach fits

with our goal of creating healthy, supportive, resource rich

communities.

The developmental assets framework was introduced by the Search

Institute in 1990. Asset building grew from an initiative called

HCHY – Healthy Communities, Healthy Youth in Minnesota. This

was an initiative of the Search Institute in the late 1980‟s (Griffin-

Wiesner, 2005). Since that time, asset building has „caught on‟ and

as of 2003 there were approximately 600 developmental assets

initiatives across Canada and the United States (Fisher, 2003).

The asset building approach fits under the framework of positive

youth development which focuses on protective factors and aims to

promote caring relationships, high and clear expectations, and

opportunities for participation and contribution for youth. A primary

question of positive youth development is, “What do we want every

young person to know, to feel, and to be able to do upon emerging

from adolescence?” (Pittman, Irby, & Ferber, 2001). The

developmental assets approach is not a program, but rather a

philosophy that guides our interactions with young people and the

The underlying philosophy of positive youth development is that “problem free is not fully prepared.” Preventing problem behaviors is not enough.


actions we may take on their behalf. “Asset building is about deciding to make changes

in your own life that put young people first” (Roehlkepartain, 1999).

An asset-based approach to healthy development promotes strengths (proactive) rather

than focusing on problems and deficits (reactive). Developmental assets are 40 skills,

attitudes, behaviours, relationships, resources, and opportunities that help youth thrive.

They are often referred to as the building blocks of healthy youth development (Please

refer to Appendix A for the full list of developmental assets).

The formation of the 40 assets was based on prevention, promotion, and resiliency

research and is empirical and evidence-based (Oman et al., 2004).

The 40 assets are grouped under 8 categories:

Support: includes love, mentorship, open communication with

family.

Empowerment: refers to youth having a voice, feeling safe to be

involved, and being included in community decisions and

processes. Youth are empowered to give back to communities.

Boundaries and Expectations: are limits and guidelines set in

different areas of a youth‟s life – such as within home, school,

peer groups and community. Youth fair best when these

messages are consistent.

Constructive Use of Time: involves having places to go,

spending time in creative outlets like art, music, and drama, and

having quality time at home.

Commitment to Learning: involves being motivated and

engaged in learning, seeing adults place a value on the

importance of learning in different ways and engaging in reading

for pleasure.

Positive Values: include honesty, caring, responsibility and

standing up for what you believe in.

Social Competencies: include skills such as problem solving,

conflict resolution, resistance skills, and respecting diversity.

Positive Identity: would be apparent in having healthy self-

esteem, a sense of purpose and a positive view of one‟s future.


According to Peter Benson, positive youth development researcher and the President and

CEO of Search Institute, a community rich in assets would provide:

daily support and care to young people by one or more parents/adults

relationships with non-parent adults in the community

neighborhoods where everyone knows, listens to, protects, and gets involved with

one another

developmentally appropriate clubs, teams, and organizations led by trained and

responsible adults

child friendly public spaces

affirmation and encouragement

intergenerational relationships

opportunities for community involvement and service

boundaries, values, high expectations, consistent reinforcement of norms

role models

healthy peer groups

caring schools, organizations, businesses, and churches

Developmental asset initiatives are for all children and youth. All children are seen as

being able to benefit from asset development, not only those deemed to be „at risk‟, or

part of a certain age group or community of residence. Youth are involved as active

participants, often helping to design initiatives. Their opinions are sought

along the way especially when evaluating what is or is not working well.

Asset initiatives are community-driven with professionals acting as

guides or supports, rather than professionals dictating the process and

prescribing what is needed for communities and youth.

In examining recent data obtained from Cape Breton residents we were

interested to uncover whether what residents believe youth need to be

healthy, happy, and contributing citizens is consistent with the

developmental assets approach or not.

Why we are inspired by a proactive approach

The developmental assets framework is not something that we quickly put together to

support our own goals. It is a framework based on decades of research on positive youth

development, resiliency and protective factors. The evidence that exists indicating that

this approach works for youth and communities is compelling. We want our work to be

grounded in evidence and according to the Search Institute, to date about 3 million young

people have been surveyed in thousands of communities across North America. Although

each community comes with its own needs, concerns, and culture, developmental assets

initiatives result in a reduction in risk behaviours and an increase in thriving behaviours

regardless of these individual or unique community factors.

Assets lead to powerful and positive outcomes in youth and the reduction of risk factors

because they promote thriving behaviors. Thriving indicators include succeeding in

“Being

proactive may

eliminate a lot

of youth issues.”

– Survey

respondent


school, helping others, valuing diversity, maintaining good health, displaying leadership

characteristics, resisting danger, delaying gratification, and overcoming adversity

(Roehlkepartain, 1999). Such factors can reduce the likelihood of engaging in a variety of

unhealthy behaviors, including drug and alcohol use/abuse in adolescence.

Based on numerous studies throughout North America using developmental assets

surveys, it has been consistently found that youth who have 31 or more of the 40 assets

have been found to get involved with only one dangerous behavior, whereas those with

10 or fewer assets are likely to get involved with approximately 10 risk behaviors such as

drug use, alcohol use, vandalism, unprotected sexual activity, shoplifting, and drinking

and driving (Roehlkepartain, 1999).

Similarly, Oman et al. (2004) found that youth who possessed all of the developmental

assets were 4.44 times more likely to report nonuse of alcohol and 5.41 times as likely to

report nonuse of drugs.

Besides the compelling information that assets increase thriving behaviors and reduce

risk behaviours, assets also bring people together in a strengths-based manner. In asset

building, each individual is seen as important and can contribute something. The

developmental assets approach recognizes that everyone has strengths, skills, and abilities

that can be fostered to help youth and communities. Putting the developmental assets

framework into action has the potential to bring together citizens that might not normally

work closely together like seniors and youth.

Due to the ability of developmental assets to promote thriving behaviours and reduce risk

behaviours, along with their community building properties we are inspired by the

approach.

Project phases

Our first phase, beginning in 2006, was to review the existing literature on developmental

assets which resulted in the culmination of a summary report. This summary report

reviewed the research and evidence on developmental assets that existed in the form of

reports, journal articles, manuals, and documents from the United States and Canada. Our

conclusion was that developmental assets was an approach worth pursuing in Cape

Breton communities to reduce risk factors such as drug use and increase the chance that

our young people would be healthy, happy, contributing citizens.

While we were completing our summary report we also arranged visits from two asset

building groups. We were fortunate to learn about asset building initiatives based in

Miramichi, NB and also in Dartmouth, NS. It was useful to hear about the path others

had taken to start implementing assets in their own communities, especially from groups

so close to home. Miramichi had many similar community traits as we did at the time, in

terms of negative outcomes related to prescription drug abuse, and we were pleased to

learn they were having success using the developmental assets approach.


In the fall of 2008 we surveyed 1302 young people in junior highs and high schools

located in the communities of New Waterford, the Northside (North Sydney, Sydney

Mines), and Sydney River, Westmount, Coxheath areas. Due to funding and timeline

constraints, as well as school approval steps, we were only able to focus on surveying

certain schools in 2008. It must be noted that we do realize that the results we received

were based only on school engaged youth and any future studies should also find ways to

survey the population of youth who are not attending school.

The survey tool we used in 2008 was a published measure designed by the Search

Institute in the US. The Search Institute is the organization that has coined the term

developmental assets and continues to research and promote the approach. The survey,

“Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviors,” consists of 156 items and is for use

with students in grades 6 to 12. After these surveys were completed by students they were

sent to the Search Institute for analysis. We received a wealth of data back from Search

in the form of a number of reports. Please refer to Appendix D on page 67 for the

summary report compiled by Search Institute on this survey of 1302 Cape Breton youth.

Past survey findings From past surveys conducted with Cape Breton youth we were inspired to continue to

find ways to promote the assets framework. One of the main findings that motivated us to

continue our work was the fact that out of 40 possible developmental assets youth need to

be healthy, happy, thriving citizens, our youth possessed 20.5. Although 20.5 assets is

better than the national average of 18, this finding demonstrated there is much room for

improvement as our youth were basically missing out on half of the possible assets. Other

results we felt deserved further attention were that 74% of our young people felt that they

were not given useful roles in the community, whereas 65% felt that adults do not value

young people. We saw the usability of the asset framework to help improve these

findings as asset development works to empower youth, provide supports, and create

opportunities for young people to give back. The approach helps bridge the gap between

youth and adults by creating opportunities to work together and learn from one another.

From the fall 2008 survey of youth we also found there were areas worthy of celebrating:

82% of youth are optimistic about their future, 78% stated they have family support, 75%

are motivated to do well in school, and 66% reported they care about their school.

After determining our youth‟s level of assets from this sample of 1302 young people we

began to deliver awareness presentations to organizations and agencies to share with

them results from the survey relevant to their own work with youth.

Current phases

In February 2010 we received funding from the Canada Nova Scotia Skills and Learning

Framework to further our overarching vision of integrating developmental assets into the

culture of Cape Breton.


To help us meet our overall objective we:

1. Delivered awareness presentations to agencies, clubs, government departments,

and community groups.

2. Distributed a survey to 569 residents (*due to ethics approval we surveyed those

over the age of 18 only).

3. Held three focus groups to gather ideas and needs in a more in-depth manner to

compliment the data obtained from our survey tool.

4. Invited organization, club, government department staff, and youth to form an

adhoc committee that will serve to guide future developmental asset actions. To

date, one meeting has been held with 15 individuals in attendance. However, this

step is still in progress as a number of other individuals and organizations have

been invited to sit around the table. This group will likely continue to evolve with

new members joining as specific groups are targeted and activities planned.

Each of these steps is described in detail below.

I. Presentations:

Over the past two months we have delivered a presentation that introduces the concept of

developmental assets and shares some of our 2008 youth survey results. The following 13

groups, agencies, and organizations received presentations during the past two months:

Those receiving presentations about

developmental assets

Number present

Child and Youth Strategy staff, Department

of Community Services, Sydney

6

JCI Cape Breton Board 4

CBRM Council 50 (17 council staff, 3 camera men, 30

general public)

*Note: This session was broadcast on the

community cable channel and has the

potential to reach 1,000s of viewers.

Eskasoni Parents Against Drugs and social

workers

6

*Note: Also going to be broadcast on

Eskasoni‟s community channel

Family Place Resource Centre 19

Youth Peer (EPIC) 13 youth tutors age 18 and older

Whitney Pier Youth Club 4

Glace Bay Department of Community

Services

23

Northside Department of Community

Services

15

Catholic Parish Councils Board 15

ACAP Cape Breton 11


YMCA 9

Island Career Academy, Youth Worker

Diploma Program students and instructor

10

Total: 185

Besides introducing the concept of developmental assets and sharing results from our

survey, we used the presentation as a way to show people how they may already be

naturally building assets and explore ways to intentionally build assets in the lives of

youth.

II. Survey design and distribution

Another strategic action that we undertook in this recent two month period was the

distribution of a survey consisting of 29 questions. Some of the survey questions

designed were based on existing and well used community readiness scales (i.e., National

Institute on Drug Abuse‟s Community Readiness Inventory; Goodman and

Wandersman‟s Community Leader Survey; Tri-Ethnic Centre for Prevention Research

Community Readiness Model) while others were new questions created to illicit data that

our group would need to move forward with the communities' needs and ideas in mind.

Our survey was used to determine our citizen‟s basic beliefs, awareness of community

issues and services, and the community needs they view as important.

On behalf of the Community Partners on Drug Abuse, the Marketing Research Centre,

located within Cape Breton University surveyed 400 respondents over the telephone. To

do so they utilized C.A.T.I. (i.e., Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewer Software).

Telephone numbers were randomly selected from a database of 3675 acquired phone

numbers. Centre staff made calls between the hours of 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays

from February 15, 2010 to March 25, 2010.

In addition to entering data from the 400 phoned respondents, Centre staff also manually

entered data from an additional 169 surveys. These 169 surveys were paper versions of

the survey collected by Developmental Assets Project staff and committee members who

surveyed staff from various organizations, clubs, agencies, and centres in the community.

A total of 569 participants completed the survey; 400 over the telephone and 169 by

completing a paper version in person.

It is premature to roll out asset building until we know some aspects of community readiness and community needs and our

survey was designed with this in mind.


III. Focus Groups

To gather in depth qualitative information regarding the challenges youth face, ideas for

community improvement, who to involve in community improvement projects, and how

best to let the community know about what we are doing, focus groups were held. In total

we held three focus groups and ten questions were posed to focus group participants

(Please refer to Appendix B for the full list of questions posed to focus group

participants). The first focus group was held with 33 students age 18 and older from a

third year psychology course at Cape Breton University. The second focus group was

with 12 youth participants between the ages of 18 and 30 who were completing a youth

development/job skills/life skills training program at Community Cares Youth Outreach

in Sydney Mines. The third and final focus group was with five Nursing Faculty at Cape

Breton University. In total, 50 participants took part in our focus groups.

It must be noted that other groups were approached to take part in focus groups and two

additional groups were pre-arranged. One group was to be held with senior citizens and

another with the general public which was advertised using public service

announcements via radio, online media sites, and community cable channels.

Unfortunately we did not have enough interest in the timelines allotted to go ahead with

these groups.

Results:

Instead of presenting the results from survey questions, focus group discussions, and

presentation dialogue separately they will be presented in an intermixed fashion with

potential actions following the data. Presenting the data from multiple methods together

will allow the reader to see the similarities that exist in responses regardless of the

method used to collect it.

The responses and data for each question posed are presented in the pages that follow.


Demographics

Community of residence:

14

94

48

82

210

121

0

50

100

150

200

250

Community

Eskasoni

Glace Bay

New Waterford

Northside

Sydney

Other

The majority of residents who completed the survey were from Sydney and surrounding

areas (i.e. 210 out of 569 respondents).

Those in the „other‟ category include respondents from communities outlying towns and

cities (i.e., areas such as Louisbourg, Albert Bridge, Balls Creek, Ben Eoin, Port Morien,

Grand Mira).

Sydney residents were slightly less likely to report risky behavior (like drug use,

drinking, vandalism) by youth to be a problem than those from New Waterford,

Northside, Glace Bay or Eskasoni. Although only a small number of respondents were

from Eskasoni (14 respondents) – all of them identified risky behavior by youth to be

problematic in their community. It must be noted that Eskasoni has a relatively new crisis

centre, nightly activities like ping pong and movies for youth, projects that bring elders

and youth together, a media and video program, and a Parents Against Drugs group.

They are aware issues exist and are taking action to build resources and opportunities for

youth in a proactive fashion.

Gender:

179 males and 389 females took part. One respondent‟s gender was missing from the

survey. The majority of those taking part were female. There were no differences found

in responses made based on whether someone was male or female.

Age:

The age of respondents varied from 18 to age 70 and older.


27

79 74

109

125

93

61

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Age

18-20 yrs

21-29 yrs

30-39 yrs

40-49 yrs

50-59 yrs

60-69 yrs

70 and older

A good cross section of age was captured. There were fewer survey respondents from the

18-20 year old age group than from other categories. However, two of our focus groups

(one with CBU students and the other with Community Cares Youth Outreach program

participants) were held with the 18-30 year old age group and so our qualitative responses

come largely from this population.

There was one area in which respondents answered differently depending on their age.

Younger respondents (i.e. 18-20 year olds) were more likely to pick “drugs,” and “lack of

opportunities such as things to do or be involved in” as the biggest challenges facing their

community.

Ethnicity:

Respondents were predominately Caucasian (i.e. 92.1%).

19 5

524

21

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Ethnicity

Aboriginal

African Canadian

Caucasian

Other


Parent of child under age 18:

We were interested in whether or not being a parent of a child under the age of 18 would

influence the survey answers in any way.

162 respondents did have children under the age of 18 (29.1%), while 394 of those

surveyed were not parents of a child under the age of 18 (70.9%).

Of those 162 persons who were parents of children (under the age of 18), 77% had no

more than two children.

There were no differences in responding due to being a parent of children under age 18.

41

117

6 40

20

40

60

80

100

120

Single parent

Two parent

One parent works away

Other

69.6% of households were headed by two parents while 24.4% were single parent homes.

In 3.6% of homes one parent heads the household while the other works away and 2.4 %

of families were in „other‟ categories (i.e., grandparents raising children, foster families,

etc.).

When you think of young people under the age of 18 what comes to mind?

Rationale behind question: To determine how citizens presently view our youth. To see

whether we get mainly positive or negative responses. To explore whether stereotypes are

rampant.

195 people out of 596 responded to this open-ended survey question: 45 responses were

positive in nature, 76 were negative, while 74 were mixed/ambiguous.


Positive comments about youth made note of the skills youth might possess such as being

creative, musical, involved in sports, active, and good with technology. Other positive

comments about young people made reference to appealing characteristics/attitudes such

as having energy, being fun, open-minded, eager, carefree, humorous, fearless, healthy

and active. When thinking about young people under the age of 18, other respondents

referred to youth in terms of potential by referring to youth as our future or making note

of possibility, hopes, dreams, promise, opportunity, and trying to make a place for

themselves in the world.

Negative comments made by respondents about youth represented stereotypes such as

viewing youth as hooligans, troublemakers, being involved in mischief, those who are

unruly, and partiers. Other respondents listed undesirable traits – bad attitude, physically

inactive, think they know everything, impressionable, high maintenance, immature,

rebellious, naïve, moody, unmotivated, spoiled, growing up too fast, bored, think they are

invincible, and low self-esteem. Some respondents focused on possible undesirable

actions/behaviours youth might engage in– bullying, loitering, disrespecting adults,

fighting, crime, drug use, promiscuity, teen pregnancy, bad language, and peer pressure.

Negative comments also referenced aspects lacking in the lives of some youth – no

supervision, no supports, trouble at school, lack of goals, no sense of community. Finally,

some survey respondents shared that they fear youth (e.g. “I am terrified of them”).

Numerous responses to the above question were categorized as mixed/ambiguous:

For the most part, a theme of understanding was evident in the ambiguous/mixed

responses:

“Being a youth is not easy.”

“Struggles must be faced to obtain the same advantages I had at their age – it‟s a

different world today with competition, technology, drugs and crime.”

“They face obstacles and challenges from drugs and alcohol to sexuality.”

“They are difficult years.”

“They are misunderstood.”

“Pressure to please parents, friends, and teachers.”

“Many feel there is nothing in the community for their future.”

“Individuals still trying to discover who they are and how they fit in as a person

in the world.”

“With love and support youth can do great things.”

“Teens have so much energy and all that energy needs to go somewhere and should

be channeled into positive outlets” – Focus group participant


When asked what came to mind when they thought about young people some survey

respondents listed objects that might be associated with youth: video games, cell phones,

computers, clothes, games, cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, and hockey.

Others referred to community needs when they thought about young people: more

programs needed as there is a lack of youth programs, more positive things for youth,

stop labelling, build self-esteem, teach good communication, need others to believe in

them, need positive influences. Finally, some respondents described possible roles of

young people: students, children, friends, our future, those looking for employment, self

discoverers, teens.

Focus group participants shared that all youth tend to get “painted with the same brush”

and that even youth who are not involved in any negative actions can become “guilty by

association” and be perceived as troublemakers if some of their peers are engaging in

certain behaviours.

Implications: Although many of the previous responses made by citizens about young

people were positive or ambiguous, a number of them were negative and stereotypical. It

is important to find ways to reduce the likelihood that residents think of something

negative when they hear the word youth. Communities rich in developmental assets

create climates in which youth feel supported, valued, and that they have a voice or role.

Developmental asset initiatives are community-building by nature and youth and non-

family adults interact and work together on projects – as a result stereotypes may be

reduced. Some groups in the community might be apprehensive to work with and support

youth, especially if they have experienced negative behaviors of youth firsthand. For

example, this might be the case for some business owners due to instances of vandalism.

Such groups should be brought to the table to hear their opinions on how they might like

to remedy such issues in a proactive manner.

Possible actions to reduce negative views of youth:

1. Use social marketing* campaigns to encourage citizens to get to know a young

person by initiating a conversation and/or asking questions about what they like or

things they are involved in.

2. Encourage citizens to learn about and focus on the good things that youth in their

community are doing in order to challenge some of the negative stereotypes that

portray youth as lazy, disrespectful, or troublemakers.

*Note on social marketing: In regular marketing a product is being sold. In social marketing an attitude,

behavior change, or way of life is being „sold‟ to the audience. The P.I.E. concept is often promoted in

social marketing and any of our messages should follow this style as it is developmental asset compatible.

When following P.I.E., messages are positive, inclusive (e.g., have a message for everyone, not just those

at-risk), and empowering (e.g., identify resources, motivate people to take charge of their own problems).

3. Highlight youth who are involved in making their community better places to live

in news articles, brochures and websites.

4. Involve youth in coming up with solutions to address some of the negative

behaviors that some young people might be engaging in such as vandalism.


5. Organize youth-adult discussion circles in which citizens of all ages come

together to share concerns and build solutions around a particular issue.

6. Use the developmental assets framework as an educative tool. Share examples of

other communities who changed their outlook of youth by putting developmental

assets into action.

7. Share the actual statistics of youth who engage in negative behaviors so that

citizens realize that there are many youth who are not engaging in such behaviors.

Share statistics such as the cost of keeping a youth in a juvenile justice facility

(and other reactive approaches) versus being proactive, such as the cost of

providing youth with recreation or creative outlets.

8. Find ways to utilize and promote some of the positive traits of youth that

respondents mentioned – e.g. creativity, energy, technological skills.

9. Locate asset spokespeople that those skeptical of proactive approaches might

listen to and respect.

What do you believe is the biggest challenge facing youth in your community?

Rationale behind question: To determine perceived needs, risks, and conditions to

address in our communities. Because building assets reduces risky behaviors,

determining what citizens believe the risks to be can help us „sell‟ the asset message.

23

173190

20

63

96

0

50

100

150

200

Challenges

Crime

Drugs

Lack of opportunities

Negativity in community

Unemployment

Other

The majority of respondents felt that lack of opportunities such as things to be involved

in or things to do was the biggest challenge facing youth (33.6%). This was followed

closely by „drugs‟ with 30.6% seeing this to be the biggest challenge facing our youth.

Reponses in the „other‟ category included: poverty, lack of respect, family problems, peer

pressure, boredom, underage drinking and pregnancy, and „all of the above.‟

Eskasoni respondents mentioned loss of language and culture and internalized oppression

as challenges facing young people in their community.


Focus group participants at Community Cares Youth Outreach summed up the challenges

youth face as “There is not a lot to do, no where to go and no way to get there (such as to

the movies in Sydney).” They also shared that many families are “on welfare” and there

is not a lot of money for extras and lessons. They indicated that youth who may have

children also struggle with securing daycare/childcare.

Other focus group participants felt that balancing and juggling school, family, work, and

extracurricular activities can be a challenge for youth and that they face a lot of pressure

to resist many things such as drugs, alcohol, and sex. Other challenges that focus group

participants discussed were poverty, lack of hope, and trying to figure out “where do I

belong in the world.”

Other challenges mentioned by focus group participants related to family and there being

a lack of role models, little support, and sparse family involvement. One participant

voiced: “There is an assumption that many youth have family support, either from

parents or extended family. However, family support isn‟t always prevalent. There may

not be a fall back for these kids.”

Implications: The more developmental assets a young person possesses the fewer risk

behaviors they have in their lives. Citizens should be made aware of all of the benefits

developmental assets bring to youth as well as to schools, families, neighborhoods and

organizations. Citizens are clearly concerned about some areas of risk in the lives of

Cape Breton youth. Developmental assets is a framework that has been proven by

decades of research to reduce risk behaviors and increase thriving behaviors.

Possible actions to address challenges youth might be facing:

1. Find ways to support existing clubs/centres that provide youth with things to do –

this could be in the form of fundraising, creating awareness of what they do,

assisting with volunteer searches, or taking part in community events and rallies.

2. Create new opportunities and roles for youth within their communities. Bringing

together a diverse group of young people to act as the driving force behind this

action makes the most sense instead of having adults make assumptions as to

what youth might like to be involved in.

3. Bring together partners who already work with youth in order to increase

opportunities for our youth via networking, awareness building, referral

enhancement, and sharing of resources. It is hoped that our recently formed adhoc

can be a starting place for some of these discussions.

4. Utilize social marketing campaigns to promote the risk behavior reducing

properties of asset development. For instance, the more assets youth possess the

less likely they are to engage in drug use – this type of message could be a major

source of “buy in” and a way to gain support of residents, especially those

skeptical of positive and proactive approaches.


Do you feel that risky behavior (drug use, drinking, vandalism) by youth is a problem in your community?

Rationale behind question: To determine if our community continues to see drug use

(and other risk behaviours) by youth as problematic.

84.5% of residents felt that risky behavior by youth is a problem in their community

whereas 15.5% did not.

Implications: A large percentage of respondents see risky behaviors to be problematic

and a cause for concern. As mentioned above, although asset development‟s focus is on

building strengths, skills, resources, relationships, values, and opportunities, risk factors

are reduced as a result.

What three factors do you believe contribute the most to risky behavior among youth?

Rationale behind question: Providing insight into what respondents view the „causes‟ of

risky behaviour to be will help us develop initiatives and messages that respond to

community concerns.

32%

21.80%

18.60%

7.40%

1.60%

10.70%

4.20%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

availability/prevalence of

drugs

boredom

family problems

lack of role models

mental health issues

not feeling part of

community

poor decision making

peer group

low self esteem

other


Availability/prevalence of drugs, boredom, family problems (i.e., conflict, financial

problems, divorce, parent having to work away), and peer group were the areas that

respondents felt contributed the most to risky behavior among youth.

Implications: The developmental assets framework encompasses family support, quality

family time, positive family communication, youth engaged in productive activities such

as creative activities and youth programs, using time constructively, positive peer

influence, and peers modeling responsible behavior. Respondents in Cape Breton felt

that there were deficits in the areas of family, things to do and peer groups, so they

should support an approach that is designed to build upon these areas in healthy,

collaborative ways.

The area that residents felt to be the factor contributing the most to risky behavior among

youth was the prevalence and availability of drugs. This too can be impacted by utilizing

a developmental assets framework. Youth who possess many assets have better

resistance skills which can help in situations and places where drugs are readily available.

Also, asset building communities develop community norms and values and voice what

is and is not acceptable – asset building communities would create a culture that is not

conducive to drugs being visible.

Possible actions to address problem areas residents are concerned about:

1. Inform residents how the developmental assets framework can impact the

problem areas they are concerned about. Use multiple modes to reach a variety of

audiences.

2. Encourage people to learn more about the developmental assets approach and

hold community discussion groups in which residents can learn simple ways to

start building assets and hear about what other communities have done and the

positive results of asset rich communities.

Do you think other citizens are concerned about risky behavior by youth?

Rationale behind question: To determine whether risky behavior is viewed as being

something other residents are concerned about. Is risky behavior a community concern?

91.7% of respondents felt that risky behavior by youth is a concern by others in their

community, whereas 8.3% did not.

Implications: If respondents view others as being concerned about risky behavior than

they might be willing to share information pertaining to building solutions such as the

developmental assets approach. The developmental assets framework is a tool and

philosophy that can bring community members of all ages together to work toward

common goals.


Possible actions to create awareness that others are concerned about youth:

1. Share the survey results so residents know that others are concerned too.

2. Provide opportunities for residents to help interpret survey results and outline

possible actions (i.e., PAR – participatory action research).

3. Create opportunities for community members to come together and share

community improvement ideas – think neighborhood festivities or discussion

circles.

Are you aware of programs in your community which help youth who are engaging in risky behavior?

Rationale behind question: To determine awareness of existing resources and to

uncover which services and programs stand out to residents. We can learn from existing

programs.

33.6% of respondents are aware of a service that helps youth who are engaging in risky

behaviors, whereas 66.4% are unaware.

“There are many resources in place. However, people do not always know about them

or take advantage of them.” – Focus group participant

Implications: Cape Breton does have services, organizations, and programs for youth

engaging in risky behaviors but the fact that only 33.6% are aware of programs

demonstrates that there is a need to create awareness that such resources exist. If

residents know what resources exist they may be more apt to support programs, become

involved as volunteers, and recommend the program to others requiring assistance.

Possible action to assist with creating awareness of existing programs:

1. Keep a database of programs that support youth and also track any asset building

actions they are partaking in.

What programs are you aware of that help youth?

Rationale behind question: It is important to recognize and celebrate the work of

agencies already doing effective work with youth. It would be beneficial to have

representatives from these community recognized agencies sit on any project committees

that work towards building developmental assets. If residents see certain „known‟


agencies endorsing and supporting the developmental assets approach it is more likely

that we can reduce the skepticism of some individuals.

The following groups, agencies, clubs, and departments were mentioned by survey

respondents in rank order beginning with those mentioned most frequently:

Whitney Pier Youth Club, Island Community Justice Society (Restorative Justice; Youth

Inclusion Program), Community Policing, Youth Peer Program, Addiction Services,

Youth Health Centres, Youth Clubs/Centres, Police Boys and Girls Club, sports and

teams, Community Cares Youth Outreach – Sydney Mines, boxing and martial arts,

church groups, the youth justice system, Children‟s Aid Society, schools, community

centres (Community Focus Centre – New Waterford, Clifford Street – North Sydney;

Southend Community Centre – Ashby), Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counseling

Association (NADACA), Needle Exchange/AIDS Coalition, mentoring/tutoring, YMCA,

CHOICES, counseling, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Eskasoni Crisis Centre, Eskasoni Social

Work, Harvest House, Salvation Army, Adolescent Mental Health, dancing, cadets, North

and Southside Learning Centres, Tim Horton‟s Camp, drug education, anger

management, parent education, Planned Parenthood, Kids Help Phone, Eskasoni Parents

Against Drugs.

Implications: The above organizations and groups are who the general public feels

works with youth experiencing risk factors. It is important that staff, volunteers,

participants, or board members from these centres, agencies, and organizations are

involved or at the very least invited to be involved in asset building endeavors.

Possible actions to create program awareness and support networking:

1. Bring together professionals and volunteers from the groups, clubs, organizations,

services, and departments mentioned to further interagency/cross sectoral

discussions around developmental assets – this could be accomplished with the

recently formed adhoc committee and by occasional workshops, professional

development days, conferences, and other gatherings.

2. Connect with clubs, organizations, and agencies by continuing to deliver

developmental assets awareness presentations and research findings. Asset

project staff/volunteers could be available as resource consultants to help

interested agencies, departments, and organizations find ways to build assets into

the work they do. Support these agencies to become intentional asset builders by

facilitating workshops, staff training sessions, brainstorming sessions, "lunch and

learn" sessions and discussion groups.

3. Learn from those who have solid relationships with youth – find out how they go

about empowering and supporting youth. Uncover their successes and lessons

learned along the way.


Which Cape Breton community do you feel could benefit the most from a community improvement project?

Rationale behind question: To discover where survey respondents feel a positive focus

is required.

Survey respondent‟s top answer for the community that could benefit from a community

improvement initiative was Glace Bay followed by New Waterford, Sydney Mines and

then North Sydney.

Some respondents wrote comments in the space provided for this question. A number of

respondents felt that all communities should be involved. For example, “All communities

(need to be targeted) ---- how does one put a priority on youth?” and “All communities ---

because youth facing problems are everywhere.”

Possible actions to respond to community needs: It is our hope to develop “asset

headquarters” located within existing agencies, clubs, and organizations in order to reach

youth and community members from the numerous towns, cities, and communities

mentioned above. An asset building team comprised of youth, senior citizens,

professionals, parents, educators, the general public, the business community, artists,

musicians, and so on, would meet at the “headquarters” once per week for two hours and

determine ways to creatively and collaboratively build one to two of the 40

developmental assets each month. An Asset Project Coordinator would serve as the

„constant‟ and would be involved at each of the “asset headquarters.” The Project

Coordinator would help formulate ideas, keep records, send out reminders, deal with

media, locate supplies and resources, and evaluate outcomes and progress.

The “asset headquarters” initiative is a great way to promote community involvement and

ownership and allow each site the creativity to put into place what works best for their

own community and organization(s).

6

5055

47

33

11

28

9

18

10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60Eskasoni

New Waterford

Glace Bay

Sydney Mines

North Sydney

Whitney Pier

ALL

Rural

Sydney

All First Nations


What skills, values and qualities do we want to see in our youth by the time they turn 18?

Rationale behind question: To see how in line citizens‟ hopes for youth are with the

developmental assets philosophy.

This was an open-ended question and participants wrote down their thoughts in the space

provided. In rank order, here are the traits, skills, and values citizens hope youth possess:

Respect for self, others and property

Education

Self esteem, self worth, confidence

Healthy choices, decision making, problem solving

Responsibility

Honesty

Work ethic

Connected to community and contribute to community

Motivated, goal focused, driven

Positive outlook/hope

Independence

Job/employment skills

Compassion/empathy

Pride

Stand up for beliefs/integrity

Values

Communication skills

Maturity/professionalism

Other survey comments made that occurred in lesser frequency are: love, structure,

safety, security, healthy family, boundaries, encouragement, support, ability to read,

health and fitness, healthy peers, self awareness, role models, mentors, ability to cope

with change, happiness, empowerment, budgeting and financial skills, diversity and

culture, leadership, listening skills, drug awareness, safe sex awareness, environmentally

conscious, technological skills, and a better youth justice system.

Focus group discussions resulted in a list of similar characteristics as the survey

respondents mentioned above. Focus group participants want youth to be able to read

and write, have hope and dreams, learn about finances and budgeting, have fun in ways

that don‟t cost much money, and be able to cope with their emotions.

Implications: Many of these responses are compatible with and very similar to the 40

developmental assets. Respondents‟ top skill or value that they hope youth will possess

by the time they are age 18 was respect. This is compatible with the developmental assets

category of „positive values.‟ Similarly, respondents mentioned education and self-


esteem as being important skills/values and these responses are compatible with the asset

categories of „commitment to learning‟ and „positive identity.‟

Proponents of positive youth development describe the developmental assets framework

as being easy to relate to and having a common sense appeal. Respondents seem to have

a natural understanding as to the qualities and resources youth need to be healthy, happy,

contributing citizens.

Possible actions to show the similarities between developmental assets and the skills

and traits citizens want to see in our youth:

1. Utilize awareness and/or social marketing campaigns to foster the common sense

appeal of developmental assets. Promote the fact that anyone can build assets and

that all residents from the very young to elders can partake in building assets.

Point out that many people are already building assets without even knowing it.

Describe the many different actions one can take to build assets in the lives of

youth. This could be done on the radio or on a website as an “asset bulletin or

message of the week.”

2. Highlight the fact that the developmental assets framework is compatible with

those aspects (like respect, education, self esteem) that respondents mentioned

that they hope youth possess by the time they are 18 years old.

3. Find ways to empower citizens to start using the developmental assets language

when describing what youth need to be healthy, caring, and responsible –

consistent language will help promote community norms, expectations,

ownership, and intentional asset building.

What is needed in your community to improve outcomes for youth?

Rationale behind question: To see which type of programs/initiatives citizens support

the most. To create asset initiatives that resemble some of these choices that residents

support and see as needed.


8.30%

19.10%

5.10%

14.20%

10.50%

8.30%

3.70%

16.30%

4.40%

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

Drug enforcement/law/policy

Safe places to go

Intergenerational

Employment skills/placements

Mentoring/skill building

Creative outlets

Treatment/crisis centres

Things to occupy - rec, sports,

dances

Other

The majority of those surveyed felt that healthy, safe places for youth to go (e.g. clubs

and drop in centres) is what is needed in their community to improve outcomes for youth.

The next most frequent response was things to occupy youth‟s time such as sport and

recreation opportunities and supervised dances. Employment/job skills programs and

mentoring programs that teach youth skills and how to make healthy choices were other

common choices.

Focus group responses were complimentary to the survey data and highlighted a need for

youth to use their time constructively and have places to go:

“There are too many children with idle time after school.”

“Teens should have a place to go to socialize and interact where supervision is there to

keep things in check.”

“There are lots of buildings and spaces around not being used for anything.”

“Family times are important like having a (board) games night.”

Focus group participants pointed to the cost of extracurricular activities as being a major

barrier. They spoke of community events like free skating over the holidays and that lots

of people show up to events when cost is covered.

Other focus group participants felt a change in mindset is what is necessary.

For example: “Neighborhoods can create accountability. The discipline came not just

from parents, but from neighbors as well, in my generation. The neighborhood watched

over everyone‟s children and the youth learned to respect their neighbors and their

neighborhood and felt ownership.”


Implications: Having safe and healthy places to go is fitting with the developmental

assets approach. Constructive use of time (which could take form as recreation; creative

outlets – drama, music, art; religious activities; volunteering) is a major building block of

healthy youth development. Social competencies (e.g., decision making, conflict

resolution, planning, resistance skills) is another major component of the developmental

assets framework and fits with survey respondents notion that skill building programs (in

the form of employment programs and mentoring initiatives) are needed to improve

outcomes for youth. Consequently, the developmental assets approach is consistent with

respondents proposed solutions to improve youth outcomes.

Possible actions to develop positive spaces and opportunities for youth:

1. Find ways to secure and make use of underutilized spaces (physical assets) that

may be safe and youth friendly. For example, perhaps there is a church basement

that is not being used that could be secured for occasional indoor sports or drama

performances. Or, maybe there is a kitchen in a community hall that could be used

for intergenerational (e.g., senior citizens and youth) cooking classes.

2. Map the physical structures, resources, organizations, people, and spaces that

exist in neighborhoods and communities that would allow for the developmental

assets framework to be integrated and supported in community life. The idea

behind implementing developmental assets is for community members to be

creative and organize initiatives that work to meet their needs, talents, and

abilities. Asset mapping activities are useful to locate spaces, supplies, resources,

and volunteers, that may exist for minimal or no cost. Creativity and

inventiveness are key.

3. Seek the opinion of youth and ask them to help design and voice what they would

like in their community to help reduce boredom and use their time constructively.

How can we best get the message out about ways to reduce risky behaviors and improve the community?

Rationale behind question: To help us determine useful modes to get the message about

developmental assets out to the public.


4.40%

7.20%

4.40%

9.70%

5.50%

3.80%

14.80%

12.50%

14.50%

4.60%

11.80%

6.90%

0.00%

2.00%

4.00%

6.00%

8.00%

10.00%

12.00%

14.00%

16.00%Billboards

Forums

Fairs/conferences

Speakers

Newspaper

Pamphlets

Radio/TV PSAs

Role models/heroes

Facebook

Volunteer/staff training

Websites

Other

The preferred modes of communication, to learn more about ways to improve the

community (such as developmental assets), are: 1) radio and television public service

announcements, 2) social networking groups like Facebook, 3) role models and heroes,

followed closely by the use of websites.

Responses in the „other‟ category included: workshops, youth volunteers, school

presentations beginning in elementary school, involve people who can relate to youth and

who youth can relate with, people who have survived difficult life situations as

spokespeople, school classes that discuss related topics (e.g. Health/PDR), parent

sessions, and films.

A focus group participant shared, “You need to reach youth where they are – on the

internet, at malls, school.” Participants felt that youth should be consulted in a group to

learn how they best like to be informed.

Other focus group respondents voiced that you need to show “real examples of what

works” to improve communities. They also felt that Facebook was a good way to inform

people as well as CBC and TV advertisements. Focus group respondents mentioned that

“word of mouth works really well in Cape Breton to make people aware of things.”

Libraries were pointed to as a place to advertise and distribute developmental assets

information and also reach parents and families who take their children to reading

programs. Church bulletins, coffee shop bulletin boards, mall bulletin boards, and

community forums were other methods of information disbursement recommended by

focus group participants. Physicians‟ offices were mentioned as well due to the number

of people frequenting these spaces and the fact that many are often looking for help and


programs. Some respondents suggested putting asset messages/stickers on brands youth

buy such as X-Box or creating video games to teach youth about developmental assets.

Implications: Public service announcements are sometimes free which works well when

trying to promote information in an effective way without having to incur the financial

burden associated with some methods. Social networking groups are also free and can be

an effective way to develop a „virtual group‟ or „community‟ of like-minded individuals.

Because youth have been identified as being technologically-skilled they may be able to

help with such actions as developing a Facebook group and designing a website. In

keeping with the developmental asset philosophy we want to utilize people‟s skills and

talents in any actions we take on so we could also turn to students in information

technology (IT) and/or design programs at NSCC or other local colleges to help us design

websites and other promotional tools.

Respondents would also prefer to hear information from role models and heroes. This

keeps within the tenets of the developmental assets framework which promotes healthy,

caring adults in young people‟s lives. It would be fitting to have role models deliver asset

building messages.

Possible actions to get our messages out to the community:

1. Send out PSAs on a regular basis to radio stations and community cable channels

to encourage people of all ages to build assets. For example, these PSAs could be

a weekly asset building tip.

2. Design a website for the initiative, as this is one of the methods citizens report

they like to use to receive information.

3. Create a Facebook group that could contain developmental assets web links,

examples of what other communities have done, video links, updates on our own

work, and a list of existing organizations/clubs in Cape Breton that work from a

positive youth development framework.

4. Connect with youth or IT/design students to help create promotional materials,

websites, logos, and the content of the Facebook group. Promotional items and

websites should be youth-friendly and catch young people‟s attention by using

appealing designs and colors.

5. Find spokespeople who are perceived as being role models/heroes to deliver asset

building messages.

6. Create an asset building momentum by having radio and website contests in

which people have to locate certain assets or community builders.

7. Launch the asset development initiative in a creative way that sparks citizens‟

interest such as placing interesting signs around the community. We have been

exploring using a detective/investigator theme to promote asset building. For

instance, we want to encourage citizens to be “asset agents” (i.e. those who look

for asset building opportunities and positive happenings in the community) and

create “asset headquarters” (i.e., places where asset initiatives will take place and

where people of all ages can come together). Therefore, in keeping with this

theme, we could use „Wanted‟ posters to show how our community could look


with certain assets promoted. For example, a poster could read „Wanted: Healthy

Role Models‟ for our children and youth.

What would help you become more involved in your community? Rationale behind question: To determine barriers to community involvement so we can

then find ways to address such obstacles and increase community engagement.

What would help you become more

involved in the community?

Percent choosing response

Knowing where my help is needed 21.2%

Having more free time 19.4%

Knowing more about groups that take

volunteers

16.6%

Other 12.7%

Having a workplace that supports time to

volunteer

10.8%

Knowing more people 5.4%

Having more skills to offer 4.9%

Feeling safer to go outside 3.8%

Someone to watch my children while I

volunteer

3.0%

Access to a reliable vehicle/transportation

assistance

2.2%

Implications: It would be useful to have asset development volunteer activities and

opportunities clearly outlined, as respondents were clear that they need to know where

their help is needed and also need to know more about groups who are accepting

volunteers. These results demonstrate a necessity to be clear about roles, responsibilities,

and opportunities.

Another item that received a number of responses was “having more free time.” This fits

well with asset development because asset activities are designed to fit easily into one‟s

existing lifestyle, routine, relationships, and circles of interaction/involvement. Asset

building doesn‟t take a lot of time when people learn ways to incorporate or integrate

them into their lives. Developmental assets is a philosophy, made up of many actions

from simple to more complex, designed to help youth thrive by creating a culture of

caring and support. For instance, asking a youth what they like to do for fun is a

conversation starter and it shows interest in a youth‟s life. It can be the beginning of a

relationship with a young person. This is a simple action that does not use up much free

time as compared with some volunteer roles. One simple act can actually foster a number

of the 40 assets.


Other respondents mentioned that having a work place that supports time to volunteer

could be helpful in allowing them to volunteer their time to community efforts. Some

other communities that have made a commitment to asset development have had

workplaces sign up to allow their employees one paid hour per week to help out in youth

development initiatives. Educating Cape Breton employers as to the importance of asset

development will be an activity worth undertaking to help increase the chance of those in

the workforce to be more likely to become involved in initiatives.

Possible actions to reduce barriers to community involvement:

1. In any social marketing campaigns be clear that asset building is an investment in

youth and has many benefits to youth, families, organizations, schools,

community adults, and neighborhoods -- yet is made up of natural actions that

don‟t take a whole lot of time.

2. When it comes time to seek volunteers for our future asset building initiatives

remain clear as to what their role will be as well as expectations and

responsibilities.

3. Create a list of projects and opportunities for involvement that take only one hour

per week of people‟s time. Post this list on a website, bulletin, or other source

where people can sign up for an asset building task that doesn‟t take too much of

their time.

4. Help create awareness of our partner‟s programs and their need for volunteers.

Create a culture of helping and asset sharing among organizations.

5. Appeal to youth to volunteer, mentor, tutor, and take part in service learning.

Appeal to youth‟s education and employment goals by explaining how

volunteering can help increase future opportunities. Appeal also to their unique

skills and strengths which could be their athletic ability, artistic talents, musical

strengths, technological skills, and so on.

6. Seek volunteers from university and college programs requiring community

learning placements or involvement in improvement projects – e.g., Island Career

Academy Youth Worker Program, NSCC Human Services, and CBU Bachelor of

Arts in Community Studies.

7. Reach out to retirees to help with asset building initiatives who may have free

time to volunteer and have a wealth of life and/or professional experience to offer.

8. Let people know that anyone can build assets and anyone can help create a

healthy community for youth. In asset building initiatives, residents‟ unique and

diverse skills and abilities are put to good use. For example, if someone is a

painter perhaps they could be part of a mural activity with youth. Someone else

might have cooking skills or budgeting skills to offer.

9. Visit employers to share with them the importance of supporting their employees

to be involved in volunteering with youth as mentors, tutors, coaches, leaders, and

guest speakers. Also highlight the importance of supporting their employees to sit

on boards and committees.


Who should be involved in community building projects?

Rationale behind question: To understand who residents see as stakeholders in

community improvement.

9.50%

13.00%

12.00%

9.70%

12.70%

2.70%

9.80%

6.30%

2.30%1.80%

8.00%

5.20%

7.20%

0.00%

2.00%

4.00%

6.00%

8.00%

10.00%

12.00%

14.00%

Businesses

Educators

Elected officials

Experts in youth health/community

developmentGeneral public

Health care workers

Parents

Police

Religious groups/churches

Seniors

Youth

Other

All of the above

In our survey sample, many respondents felt that educators, the general public, and

elected officials should be involved, followed by parents, experts working in child/youth

and community development, and business leaders. Those categories receiving lower

responses were seniors, religious groups, and health care workers. Responses in the

„other‟ category were: community advocates, grandparents, elders, Whitney Pier Youth

Club, and teachers who are involved in extracurricular activities.

Focus group participants seemed to feel that everyone should be involved:

“With more people involved there will be a broader range of outlets for participants.”

“I think everyone should be part of their community. Take part to make it better.”

Others felt youth should definitely be involved. For example: “Young people need to be

involved because it‟s based on their future.” Some focus group participants felt it would

be valuable to involve persons who are in recovery from drug abuse as well as parents of

youth who were once experiencing risk factors that were able to “turn their lives

around.”

Implications: When it comes to building developmental assets everyone in a community

can and should be involved. Developmental assets involve building and fostering

relationships and learning from one another, especially intergenerationally and across


sectors. Often, people who don‟t always work together are teamed up such as youth and

senior citizens or parents and elected officials. People who may be employed in very

different lines of work come together with a shared and vested interest in creating

opportunities for our young people.

Possible actions to garner involvement of different groups of citizens:

1. Educate the public as to what each group (e.g. youth, parents, businesses) might

be able to contribute to an asset building initiative and what the benefits of

involvement for each group might be.

2. Research, learn from, and share information and details about asset building

initiatives and success stories from other communities.

3. Involve the business community in asset building initiatives – to date they have

not been represented in any of our project phases. Some businesses have

experienced vandalism and shoplifting by youth so it would be positive to have

youth and business leaders interacting in a positive light. Business leaders also

bring expertise and resources in areas such as marketing, advertising, networking,

funding, etc.

4. Spark the interest of elected officials by highlighting how promoting

developmental assets can lead to responsible, civically engaged citizens and

healthy communities. Draw similarities between political platforms/ideologies

and the developmental assets framework.

5. Work closely with the academic/university/college community who may be able

to provide support for asset initiatives in the form of meeting space, recreation

facilities, conference organizing/hosting, library services, research support,

student volunteers, and experts who may work in the fields of community

development, human services, youth studies, child development, etc.

6. Find ways to involve teachers, principals, guidance counselors, teacher assistants,

and other school staff in building developmental assets. This could be done by

providing workshops or sessions at professional development days or by working

closely with existing school programs that are a good-fit for developmental assets

such as PEBS – Positive Effective Behaviour Support. Opportunities may also

exist within Health/PDR related classes, school councils, and interact (volunteer)

clubs.

7. Create opportunities for parental involvement in asset building. Asset-building

needs to be encouraged to take place in the home, not just in schools and

communities. Family support is a cornerstone of asset development and if parents

are involved there is the potential for positive impacts to ripple though whole

families. Asset workshops and discussion groups for parents have been

techniques used and recommended by other asset-builders. Young parents and

single parent households could benefit from the empowerment, social support,

and connections that often go hand in hand with asset building. It would be great

for new parents to become aware of the developmental assets framework so they

begin to create asset promoting households from day one. Working closely with

groups such as Parent PEACE, Family Place Resource Centre, and Public Health

nurses who provide prenatal programs and postnatal home visits could help


accomplish this. Other potential actions would be to have asset literature on the

labour/delivery/recovery wards at the hospital as part of the package of health-

related literature that new parents receive.

Are you interested in learning more about ways to make your community a better place for youth and all community members? Rationale behind question: To determine if community members are receptive towards

receiving future information aimed at community betterment.

84.2% are interested in learning more about community improvement, whereas 15.8% are

not.

Implications: More than 4/5 of respondents expressed an interest in learning more about

community improvement methods. This finding is promising as a large percentage of

residents would likely be open to hearing about and learning about developmental assets

as a tool for community improvement. The community climate appears to be receptive to

receiving more information.

Possible actions to keep residents informed:

1. Design a recognizable logo and keep community members up-to-date on asset

building initiatives and efforts – use methods mentioned in previous sections

of this report such as websites, radio/TV public service announcements, and

social networking (e.g. Facebook).

2. Offer asset building workshops a few times per year to interested community

members, groups, and agencies. To complete this action effectively the

Project Coordinator or at least one adhoc committee member should receive

formal training from Search Institute (US Founder) or Thrive (Canadian

counterpart) to formalize training in developmental assets awareness.

3. Develop catchy messages to capture simple, but effective, ways to build

developmental assets in the lives of young people.

What are some groups, organizations, agencies that you feel do good things in your community? Rationale behind question: To uncover potential partners, adhoc committee members,

and audiences for presentations.

Whitney Pier Youth Club was the organization that was mentioned most frequently,

followed by Police Boys and Girls Clubs and the YMCA. Big Brothers Big Sisters, Island

Community Justice Society, Youth Peer (EPIC), and Youth Health Centres were also

mentioned frequently by respondents as organizations who do good things in the

community.


All of the organizations that respondents felt do good things in the community could not

be listed in the space allotted. Instead, those mentioned most frequently were highlighted

above. Please see Appendix C at the back of this report for the full list of organizations

that respondents mentioned as well as the list of natural/inspirational leaders people

identified.

Implications: We need to make sure that future endeavors seek input from these key

players in youth development in our local communities.

We must also celebrate the work that agencies, clubs, and organizations are already

doing. Many are building assets on an hourly basis by building protective factors in the

lives of the youth they care about and work closely with. Although many are naturally

taking actions that are asset building by nature it is desired to move toward building

assets intentionally and using the asset building language in daily interactions.

According to the Search Institute and positive youth development researchers, youth

benefit from consistency in the environments they find themselves in. Therefore, if

teachers, parents, government officials, youth workers, coaches, and so on are all

practicing the same philosophy and „speaking the same language‟ youth can only benefit

from the resulting consistent values, boundaries, expectations, and opportunities.

Possible actions to involve those who community members feel do good things in the

community:

1. Meet with staff of the organizations identified above and in Appendix C of this

report to learn in detail what they do and find ways to partner to intentionally

build assets.

2. Speak to youth participants at the same mentioned organizations to learn what

they like about being involved and try to promote similar experiences for youth in

the asset building initiatives we design.

3. Make sure that the above mentioned organizations are invited to partake in the

newly formed adhoc committee that will be guiding future actions pertaining to

asset development in our communities.

15.20%

11.00%

7.90%

13.10%

4.20%3.10%

4.70%

0.00%

2.00%

4.00%

6.00%

8.00%

10.00%

12.00%

14.00%

16.00% Whitney Pier Youth Club

YMCA

Big Brothers Big Sisters

Police Boys and Girls

Clubs

Youth Peer (EPIC)

Youth Health Centres

Island Community Justice

Society


Who are the natural leaders in your community that we should be aware of?

Rationale behind question: To uncover who inspires and motivates others and the

qualities and characteristics of such people. These individuals could be partners, adhoc

members, and people to learn from. They are potential asset spokespeople.

Individual names mentioned by respondents can be found in Appendix C due to space

constraints.

The following quotations illustrate respondent‟s thoughts regarding natural community

leaders who inspire and motivate others:

Natural leaders are…

“Anyone who takes the time to pay attention to youth or even just be friendly to them.”

“Anyone with compassion and understanding for youth.”

“People with a lot of drive and energy.”

“Youth themselves.”

“It depends on who an individual can relate to. One leader will not transcend an entire

group.”

“Volunteers, educators, coaches, business leaders, retired teachers.”

“College students can motivate and inspire high school youth.”

“Volunteer Fire Department, church leaders, athletes and rehabilitated people.”

As is the case with the organizations that respondents mentioned, we have the potential to

learn from these individuals. Respondents feel motivated and inspired by these natural

leaders. In order to promote developmental assets we need to motivate, energize, and

encourage people to invest in our young people. We can learn from the style, methods,

and approach of these natural leaders. We may wish to invite some of these natural

leaders to join our recently formed adhoc committee and brainstorm with them ways to

deliver our asset building messages. We can also seek the support of these natural leaders

to endorse and be vocal about the importance of developmental assets. If these natural

leaders are aboard and supportive other residents may be inspired to do the same.


Sense of community

Rationale behind question: To understand how community members feel about their

community on a number of factors.

Statement % in agreement

I feel proud when I tell people where I am

from

75.7%

I feel connected to my community 58.4%

I spend time working with others

preventing drug and alcohol use in my

community

18.4%

If there is a problem in this community

members can get it solved

38.2%

Members of this community care about

each other

68.1%

This community has the potential to

influence other communities

58.1%

Implications: Community members who have a high sense of community are more apt

to support community enhancement initiatives. 75.7% of respondents felt pride towards

their community. This is a positive finding because residents who already have a vested

interest in their community may be likely to come aboard and support asset development

initiatives.

Developmental assets initiatives have the potential to build the capacity of communities

to solve problems and locate resources, while enhancing relationships, thus creating

positive feelings about one‟s community.

Possible actions:

1) Share with citizens, through ads, websites, and community meetings, the research

that demonstrates that communities that are rich in developmental assets have

residents who feel:

connected to one another

that they have a voice and are given useful roles

equipped to help one another

safer and more secure

These factors may appeal to those who care about their communities and may also inspire

those who are discouraged with their communities by pointing to an approach that can

create positive change.


What is one positive thing that instantly springs to mind when the name of your community is uttered? Rationale behind question: To uncover existing

collective strengths and assets to build upon.

A number of theme areas were evident in survey

respondents‟ and focus group participants‟ answers to

what they like about Cape Breton:

Natural beauty, scenery, the outdoors, places to

camp, beaches

Caring, generous, giving, welcoming people

Music, culture, and history

Tourism

Safe

Perseverance, strength, pride

Relaxed, peaceful, quiet lifestyle

Good place to raise a family

Close-knit and willing to help one another in time of need

Sports teams and events

Implications: Respondents had no trouble identifying some aspects that they like about

Cape Breton or see as Cape Breton‟s strengths. There may be opportunities to promote

developmental assets for youth by turning to and building upon Cape Breton‟s strengths.

There may also be an opportunity to show youth that Cape Breton has many good things

to offer via exposure in asset initiatives. For example, through an asset initiative that

takes youth on wilderness trips or engages youth in adventure learning (as Girl Guides

often do) youth may come to realize that Cape Breton has beautiful scenery and many

opportunities for outdoor activities like camping, hiking, swimming, etc.

Possible actions to utilize Cape Breton’s strengths to build developmental assets in

our young people:

1) Point out Cape Breton‟s identified strengths in messaging campaigns to help build

developmental assets. Sample: “Cape Bretoners have been identified as caring, generous

and giving people with great perseverance and strength – let‟s pass these traits on to our

youth through mentoring.”

2) Cape Breton‟s rich culture and history could be a way to bring youth and seniors

together. For instance, seniors could share stories about Cape Breton‟s history to groups

of children and youth. This could be a positive way to interact.

3) Music was identified as another positive aspect found in Cape Breton. There could be

an opportunity here to build developmental assets by exposing youth to creative outlets

like music, art, and drama.

“Sometimes you

have to go away to

realize how good

Cape Breton is.”

-Survey respondent


What is one thing you are good at? Rationale behind question: To discover the individual strengths/assets our community

members possess.

Survey respondents mentioned a number of specific skills or personal traits they possess

and felt they are good at:

art, tutoring, public speaking, organizing events, boxing, music, budgeting, typing,

making crafts, sewing, gardening, writing, computer skills, baking, parenting, teaching,

reading, debating, repairing home and car, listening, encouraging, humor, problem

solving, communicating, making people feel welcome, good with kids, good at voicing

concerns, and bringing people together.

Implications – Asset building seeks to utilize citizens‟ skills in initiating positive youth

development actions and projects. When it comes to building developmental assets

community members are at the forefront of delivering endeavors, with professionals

guiding the process. It is important to point out the many ways that a person‟s skills and

abilities can be used to improve outcomes and opportunities for our youth. If people offer

to use their skills in helping youth, the costs associated with program delivery are

drastically reduced and youth may learn a new skill while the community member

teaching/sharing the skill benefits as well. For example, a community member who

enjoys gardening might initiate a community garden project with youth.

Possible actions to recognize and utilize citizen’s skills and abilities:

1) When seeking volunteers for asset initiatives advertise for a wide variety of skills and

abilities instead of limiting the search to those with very specific traits and talents. Find

creative ways to make use of a person‟s unique skills. Other communities who have

mapped their assets have “Skills Banks” where residents can list all of their skills and if

an opportunity arises in which a particular citizen‟s skills are required they are contacted.

Something similar could be adopted here in Cape Breton.

What is one thing you are passionate about? Rationale behind question: Learning about what community members value and care

about will help with asset messaging to gain citizen‟s support. For example, because a

number of citizens reported that they care about family we can then highlight, through

awareness campaigns, the ways that the developmental assets framework promotes

healthy families.


Respondents reported they are passionate about:

Outdoors

The environment

Animals

Cooking

Community wellness, community development

Caregiving

Health, exercise, sports

Family, parenting

Music

Travel

Teaching

Gardening

Children

“I‟m passionate about… vibrant social relationships with people in the community.”

-Survey respondent

Possible actions:

1. Educate citizens about the many ways that building developmental assets can utilize

people‟s passions, foster and sustain passions, and create new passions for youth and

others by exposing them to new relationships and opportunities.

What might hold citizens back from supporting community building initiatives? Rationale behind question: To determine barriers that exist in the community that might

create resistance to implementing asset-based initiatives.

Being aware of such factors can help to determine ways to reduce them in advance so we

are better prepared and can be more effective and efficient in gaining support.

Respondents mentioned the following as aspects that might create obstacles to supporting

community building initiatives: time constraints, fearing youth, “being too preoccupied

with one‟s own life and problems,” not feeling skilled to work with certain age groups or

cultures, financial barriers, buying into negative media (“Negative media creates negative

feelings about the community”), stereotypes about youth (“The minority of trouble

causing youth have led to generalizations about all youth”), problems with

transportation to be able to volunteer (“No buses on Sundays and in some places no buses


at all or after 5 pm”), not trusting others (“Today there is a culture of fear – people fear

everything from traffic, to child abductions, to terrorism”), changes in community culture

(“People are not as rooted or connected as they once were to their communities, people

move more now, they don‟t take time to know their neighbors or watch out for neighbors,

and they work more”), some people are proponents of reactive approaches and don‟t

understand proactive initiatives (“I didn‟t have certain things in life and I turned out

ok”). Other responses indicated that many feel that youth are “not their problem,” but

rather the responsibility of parents and police. Similarly, some report they wouldn‟t want

to come across as “meddling with how others choose to raise their kids” and would be

“worried that families might feel an invasion of privacy if improvement activities are

suggested.” Other respondents expressed that overall awareness of what is happening is

important so they know about ways to support community initiatives.

Possible actions:

1. Present clear statements pointing out the benefits of asset building for all community

members.

2. Highlight examples of communities that were skeptical at first but then took on asset

building initiatives and have benefitted. Share what the positive results have been.

3. Hold a community forum to allow residents an open format to voice their concerns and

then share how developmental assets can address some of those concerns.

4. Work closely with skeptical populations, groups, and individuals. Show understanding

of their concerns and fears. Find ways to gently encourage their involvement and use

their fear and anger in a constructive manner.

“Communities sometimes pretend that youth are not struggling or worse

they pretend not to see them at all.”

– Focus group respondent


How might someone like you be able to help build a healthy community for youth? How can you make a difference? Rationale: To determine what role respondents feel they have, if any, in asset building.

Community Cares Youth Outreach participants (between the ages of 18 and 30) felt they

might be able to help through volunteer and work placements, art/design, skateboarding,

and sports like soccer, badminton, and football.

The focus group with professionals elicited this response: “Knowing that there is no

template that applies to all youth – and knowing that flexibility is so important.”

The university (psychology) student participants felt that their age might allow younger

youth to be more open and comfortable with them than they might be around older adults.

They felt they had a role in advocating for more government support for social

services/youth programs. Additionally, they believed that those who have gone away for

school/work and then returned to Cape Breton by choice would make good role models

for younger youth.

Possible actions:

1. Keep asking the question, “How can you make a difference?” to groups and

individuals to uncover the ideas people have regarding how they can partake in asset

building.

If you had the time, money, and expertise to implement something for Cape Breton youth what would it be? Rationale behind question: To uncover what respondents would like to see in the lives

of youth if there were no restrictions or barriers. To determine possibilities, hopes, and

desires for youth and the community at large.

Respondents‟ ideas as to what they would implement for youth if it were up to them:

Create spaces:

“A huge complex with different sections for different ages. It would have video

games, a swimming pool, basketball courts, playgrounds, a library to study, and

computers.”

“It would be a place where youth could learn to respect themselves and the

community they live in.”

“Schools that contains other social services and programs within them so

everything is under one roof for youth.”


Involve people:

“What Cape Breton really needs is an investment by a couple of determined,

influential people who can take it (needs) to the streets. These people would be

active, vocal, and would advise people that they are not standing back and will not

be going away.”

“Role models are important for children – role models shouldn‟t be NHL stars but

those who have stability in a youth‟s life. Real role models can obtain achievable

results.”

“I would like to see something involving seniors and our youth.”

Foster recreation/activity:

“Spontaneous outdoor activity is needed. When I was small and would head

outdoors there would be 14 or so others waiting to play a game of something.

This doesn‟t happen like it used to. Youth are more likely to be in front of some

type of screen.”

“Get youth involved in making outdoor rinks and organizing outdoor soccer and

basketball games.”

“Community recreation facilities.”

Build skills:

“Introduce youth to volunteer opportunities at a young age.”

“We need to appeal to youths‟ multiple interests – not just have sports programs.”

Instill hope:

“They need to realize potential and possibility.”

“They need more positivity and chances to follow their dreams. Need community

and family to believe in them.”

Reduce barriers:

“Accessible and low cost public transport for youth.”

“Programs to teach youth about finances. Also, tuition reduction and education

funds so finances aren‟t a barrier for youth to pursue university, college, or

trades.”

“Low prices on health foods and more meal and breakfast programs.”

Support families:

“Initiatives to promote parent education and parent involvement.”

“Affordable and available child care and after school programs”


Reduce stereotypes:

“I think people judge youth before getting to know them. I think we need more

positive things that interest our youth. We need to stop labeling.”

“We need to pay more attention to the good behavior of youth.”

“General youth involvement -- When youth take ownership of something they

take care of it.”

Local asset inspirations: From delivering our awareness presentations, holding focus groups, and networking we

came across some examples of organizations building developmental assets without

necessarily calling what they do asset building. In no way is this list exhaustive and it

must be noted that there are numerous agencies, organizations, clubs, and groups in Cape

Breton who work diligently to promote the health of youth and communities.

At the Whitney Pier Youth Club we learned that respect was the principle operating at the

core of the organization - respect for the self, one another, club property, club staff and

the community at large. Posters, signs, and photo collages reflect the skills and

competencies youth gain as well as the adventures they partake in. The slogan “Youth

don‟t care what you know until they know you care” is on the Club wall. They offer a

lunch program, hip hop dance, and an arts and crafts class. They have a computer room

to allow youth to complete their homework and a weight room/exercise room along with

lots of outdoor space and sports equipment. The Club helps transport youth to activities

whenever they can to reduce this barrier and the youth are engaged in many projects in

which they give back to the community. There is a youth committee to guide Club

activities and the youth came up with the Club rules and help enforce them. The Club

has an open door policy and youth from the ages of 5-18 are involved in age-appropriate

activities and programs. Older youth mentor the younger youth and help build skills such

as teaching guitar. There are clear boundaries, expectations, and consequences. Youth

members often go on to become social workers and other helping professionals.

At Island Community Justice Society they recently began a new initiative located on

Clifford Street in North Sydney known as the Youth Inclusion Program or YIP.

Community members have rallied together to help with things such as completing a

mural on the wall of the YIP space. This is a great example of community members

making an investment towards healthy youth and communities and utilizing their skills

and talents to help others. YIP will have a parent education component and will teach

youth many social competencies such as decision making and conflict resolution. They

will also get exposed to recreation, sport, and outings that they might not otherwise get to

partake in. Island Community Justice Society also support and encourage youth who wish

to carry out random acts of kindness as part of their restorative justice agreements.

At the Youth Peer Program (EPIC) in Ashby, older youth tutor younger youth in school

subjects such as math. Youth also learn about diversity, culture, anti-bullying, and


respect. They make crafts, collages and paper mache and have the opportunity to learn to

play guitar. Youth from the ages of 8 -18 are involved. When we visited the atmosphere

was very conducive to asset building with youth-made posters and motivational sayings

on the walls.

Family Place Resource Centre on Townsend Street in Sydney offers free play groups,

parent support groups, breastfeeding support, and home visits. Parent-child bonding is

promoted.

The Cape Breton Victoria Regional School Board has a PEBS program (Positive

Effective Behaviour Support) in which positive behaviors and actions are recognized,

rewarded, and encouraged. Expectations and role modeling are relied upon to teach

positive behaviors.

At Community Cares Youth Outreach in Sydney Mines older youth (18-30 year olds)

receive life and job skills programming to prepare them for job placements as well as

service learning placements. Some of the youth participants are young parents and so it

is hoped that the positive individual changes participants experience will funnel down to

their children as well. Community Cares has partnered with HeartWood, a youth

leadership and development organization located in Halifax, on numerous initiatives and

has engaged in an asset and photo mapping project in which they took note of the assets

in their community.

It is important to keep networking with these and other agencies, clubs, centres, and

departments that are natural asset builders. There is an opportunity to learn from the good

work they do with young people, parents, and the broader community, while at the same

time we can share with them ways to intentionally build developmental assets.


Concluding remarks: Timelines:

In the previous pages you would have read through survey and focus group findings and

possible actions that can be taken on each of those results. No definite timelines have

been suggested for action completion because each of the suggested activities are not

„one time‟ actions, but rather are ongoing in nature. This is fitting with the work of

Search Institute (the founder of the developmental assets framework) which recommends

repetition and duplication of activities and messages in order to increase the chances of

developmental assets becoming fully incorporated into community life. It must be noted

that this report is a working document and the suggested actions are meant to provide a

focal point or guide with community respondents ideas in mind. In no way is the list

exhaustive as there are many possibilities and methods available to take action on the

data in a creative and asset compatible manner.

Five focus areas:

Although each community tends to add its own personal touch and creativity to

enhancing and implementing developmental assets, the Search Institute recommends a 5-

pronged approach to asset building, which will help provide structure to our own actions.

The 5-pronged approach is as follows:

Engage adults

Activate sectors

Mobilize young people

Invigorate programs

Influence civic decisions

The actions proposed after each section of our data are designed with these key

recommendation areas in mind.

Stages of change and citizen readiness for developmental assets:

It must be recognized that there will be some resistance to attempting to build

developmental assets within Cape Breton communities. Some citizens will be more

accepting, enthusiastic, willing to learn, and help than others. Some will be indifferent

and disinterested, while others will be outright opposed. Researchers, such as Wittman

(1999), state that the “stages of change” theory can be applied to understand community

readiness for asset building. This theory explains that we all decide to make changes and

take action based on what stage we are at in our understanding of whether a problem

exists and our belief in the benefits and detriments of taking action. When applied

specifically to asset-building, the possible stages of change would be as follows:

1. Precontemplation – here people are unaware of the important role they can play in young

people‟s lives. They are also in denial that a problem exists and that a change needs to

happen in their community.

2. Contemplation - at this stage people consider whether asset building has a place in their

lives. They weigh the costs and benefits.


3. Action - if people decide that asset building is „worth it‟ they will do something to build

assets. They will attend meetings, talk with others, join committees, spread the word, etc.

4. Maintenance – at this stage citizens reinforce, repeat, and strengthen actions until they

become habit. Asset building becomes a way of life.

Keeping this information in mind will help to develop initiatives and methods of

communication to reach people at the various stages of change and encourage them

towards action and maintenance.

Which assets to promote?

Another finding to consider as actions to pursue are decided upon is that combinations of

the 40 developmental assets are more important than any single developmental asset in

preventing alcohol and drug use (Oman et al., 2004). Consequently, interventions

designed to promote multiple assets will be more effective than those focusing on single

or few assets. Therefore, when it comes to designing any initiatives the goal should be to

foster a number of assets at the same time.

Youth involvement:

Scales (2001) reports that out of a list of 19 possible actions that adults can take on behalf

of youth, two of the least frequent responses are to “seek young people‟s opinions when

making decisions that effect them” and “to give young people opportunities to make their

communities better places.” It seems illogical that youth are excluded from community

matters but are still expected to behave in respectful and responsible ways within their

community. Furthermore, Langlois (2004) revealed that in Your Voice Matters (Health

Canada, 2001), 51% of youth said that they were rarely or never listened to. As a result,

there is a need to support and assist integrating youth into what are traditionally adult

decision-making processes. When involving youth in sitting on committees and/or

designing asset building initiatives tokenism should be avoided. Tokenism occurs when

young people appear to be given a voice, but in fact have little or no choice about what

they do or how they participate (Hart, 1992). Instead, youth should be given roles as

equal and active participants who share decision-making with adults. Over the past

decade, a number of local researchers found that youth did not feel valued, were not

given useful roles, and did not feel like they had a voice, or were being heard especially

when it came to sharing ideas for community improvement (i.e., Bailey, 2006; Covell,

2004; Kokocki, 2006; MacIntyre, 2004; McKay, 2006; Youth Destination 2010

Conference, 2005). In order to hear from youth regarding some of their ideas and

concerns and also to hear firsthand on how they would like to be involved, the

Community Partners held a Youth Summit with 50 participants in June 2007.

“Youth have many good ideas but keep them inside because they don’t know who to talk to or how to put their ideas into action.”

-Youth Summit participant, 2007


The youth delegates at the Summit provided a resounding “yes” when asked if youth

should be involved in the Community Partners on Drug Abuse. The youth explained that

although youth could meet separately from adults in their own youth committee, that it

would be equally important to have youth sit on the adult working groups of the

Partnership, or at the very least attend adult meetings periodically to provide updates and

to network or „partner‟ with adults. Comments made by youth at the Summit

demonstrated that youth enjoy having their opinions sought and feeling heard when it

comes to discussing community problems and looking for solutions.

Based on youth feedback collected in past studies and events bringing together youth, it

is essential to provide youth with meaningful roles in helping to implement asset

development initiatives. It is important not to make assumptions as to how youth might

like to be involved in building developmental assets. Instead, youth will be invited to sit

as members on the newly formed adhoc committee where they will be able to voice their

ideas and participate to the extent they feel comfortable.

It must be noted that when our 2008 results from Search Institute (1302 youth surveyed)

are compared with the data obtained from recent surveys, focus groups, and presentation

discussions (804 adults) it is evident that youth and adults in our communities share many

of the same concerns and ideas for community improvement (e.g., the importance of role

models and safe spaces, needing more things to do, increasing creative outlets and

teaching skills like making healthy choices). Therefore, further dialogue between youth

and adults around the topic of asset building may help bridge differences, lessen

stereotypes, and cultivate a climate of working together.

Our own model of actions:

The purpose of this report was to share our survey and focus group findings and the

resulting actions that could be taken to foster communities rich in developmental assets.

In order to provide an organizational framework to the numerous recommended actions,

the following goal-based categories have been created:

1. CREATE AWARENESS

2. BUILD MOMENTUM

3. ENGAGE COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND SECTORS

4. CREATE ASSET INITIATIVES

5. SUSTAIN, RESEARCH, AND EVALUATE

All activities that have been suggested throughout this report have been themed under

each of the above goal headings. Please view the diagram on the following page for the

pillars of actions recommended in order to conduct activities that: 1) are consistent with

the developmental assets framework and 2) recognize the ideas of community members

by putting them into practice.


The activities on the previous page of this document provide a proposed framework of

action in order to begin to integrate the developmental assets philosophy into the lives of

individuals, families, schools, organizations, neighborhoods, and communities. It is

expected that this proposed action-oriented framework will change as more people

become involved in wanting to learn about developmental assets and find ways to

implement them into the sectors they are part of.

The wealth of data collected from 569 survey respondents, 50 focus group participants

and 185 individuals at presentation discussions form the backbone of the proposed

strategic actions. It is hoped that citizens might feel ownership over a strategy that they

had a hand in creating.

The data collected and highlighted throughout this report demonstrates that in many ways

residents are ready for proactive initiatives like asset building in their community and

would support such initiatives by learning more or by volunteering their time. It is our

goal, as clearly outlined in the table found in the executive summary, to respond to

citizens‟ concerns and ideas by developing “asset headquarters” in various community

organizations and structures. Teams formed at these headquarters would then work

together to creatively design and implement asset projects that meet the needs of youth

and citizens in their particular community. It is hoped that initiatives that are community

designed and community driven would be more supported and sustainable than initiatives

created solely by professionals or outside sources.

The Community Partners on Drug Abuse was originally formed to respond to community

members‟ concerns regarding drug abuse, in particular the abuse of prescription drugs

such as opiates. Over the years it became a model for collaboration and cooperation

among agencies, organizations and community members. A wide array of very important

activities and projects has been undertaken since its formation in 2004.

The developmental assets initiative keeps with the values and principles of community

involvement and sectoral collaboration set in motion by the Partnership yet it calls for an

investment – an investment in our children, youth, and all of our citizens and

communities to help them thrive. In order to do so it is necessary to be proactive and

positive, to involve all citizens from children to elders, to foster relationships and the

creation of safe and supportive neighborhoods, recognize the strengths, talents, and

abilities of all community members, and find ways to creatively foster as many of the 40

assets as we can in our young people. This report is only the beginning – the rest is up to

each one of us.


References Bailey, J. (2006). Depression, daily hassles, and stressful life events as factors in drug

use. Psychology undergrad thesis. Cape Breton University.

Covell, K. (2004). Adolescents and drug use in Cape Breton: A focus on risk

factors and prevention. Report to the Cape Breton Victoria Regional School

Board.

Fisher, D. (2003). Assets in action: A handbook for making communities better places to

grow up. Minneapolis, MN: Search Institute.

GPI Glace Bay. (2004). Glace Bay GPI Progress Report. GPI Glace Bay Newsletter, 1,

1-4.

Griffin-Wiesner, J. (2005). The journey of community change: A how-to guide for healthy

communities healthy youth initiatives. Minneapolis, MN: Search Institute.

Hart, R. (1992). Children's participation: From tokenism to citizenship, Innocenti Essays

No. 4. Florence: UNICEF.

Hart, R. (1997). Children‟s participation: The theory and practice of involving young

citizens in community development and environmental care. New York:

UNICEF.

Langlois, M. (2004). In service to youth and community: Natural lessons for renewal of

youth-serving organizations. Halifax: HeartWood Centre for Community Youth

Development.

McKay, M. (2006, June). Longing to be heard: Examining sense of community and

participation through the voices of youth. MA thesis, Wilfrid Laurier University.

McKay, M., & Kokocki, K. (2006, July). Developing a social marketing campaign for

drug prevention in Cape Breton. Phase I: Market segmentation. Report written

for the Cape Breton Community Partnership on Drug Abuse.

McKay, M. (2007, June). Youth voices report: Project rationale, objectives, and summit

proceedings. Report written for the Community Partners on Drug Abuse.

Oman, R., Vesely, S., Aspy, C., McLeroy, K., Rodine, S., & Marshall, L. (2004).

The Potential Protective Effect of Youth Assets on Adolescent Alcohol and Drug

Use. American Journal of Public Health, 94 (8), 1425-1430.


Pittman, K., Irby, M. & Ferber, T. (2001). Unfinished business: Further reflections on a

decade of promoting youth development. In Benson & Pittman, (Eds.). Trends in

youth development: Visions, realities, and challenges. Boston: Kluwer Academic

Publishers.

Roehlkepartain, J.L. (1999). Taking asset building personally: An action and reflection

workbook. Minneapolis, MN: Search Institute.

Scales, P. (2001). The public image of adolescents. Society, 64-70.

Wittman, B. (1999). Taking asset building personally: A guide for planning and

facilitating study groups. Minneapolis, MN: Search Institute

Youth Destination 2010. (April 7-8, 2005). A strategic development plan for Cape Breton

youth. Cape Breton: Partners of Youth Destination 2010.


Appendix A: 40 Developmental Assets from Search Institute

20 External Assets

Support: 1. Family support—Family life provides high levels of love and support.

2. Positive family communication—Young person and her or his parent(s) communicate

positively, and young person is willing to seek advice and counsel from parents.

3. Other adult relationships—Young person receives support from three or more nonparent

adults.

4. Caring neighborhood—Young person experiences caring neighbors.

5. Caring school climate—School provides a caring, encouraging environment.

6. Parent involvement in schooling—Parent(s) are actively involved in helping young person

succeed in school.

Empowerment: 7. Community values youth—Young person perceives that adults in the community value youth.

8. Youth as resources—Young people are given useful roles in the community.

9. Service to others—Young person serves in the community one hour or more per week.

10. Safety—Young person feels safe at home, school, and in the neighborhood.

Boundaries and Expectations: 11. Family boundaries—Family has clear rules and consequences and monitors the young person‟s

whereabouts.

12. School Boundaries—School provides clear rules and consequences.

13. Neighborhood boundaries—Neighbors take responsibility for monitoring young people‟s

behavior.

14. Adult role models—Parent(s) and other adults model positive, responsible behavior.

15. Positive peer influence—Young person‟s best friends model responsible behavior.

16. High expectations—Both parent(s) and teachers encourage the young person to do well.

Constructive Use of Time: 17. Creative activities—Young person spends three or more hours per week in lessons or practice

in music, theater, or other arts.

18. Youth programs—Young person spends three or more hours per week in sports, clubs, or

organizations at school and/or in the community.

19. Religious community—Young person spends one or more hours per week in activities in a

religious institution.

20. Time at home—Young person is out with friends “with nothing special to do” two or fewer

nights per week.


20 Internal Developmental Assets

Commitment to Learning: 21. Achievement Motivation—Young person is motivated to do well in school.

22. School Engagement—Young person is actively engaged in learning.

23. Homework—Young person reports doing at least one hour of homework every school day.

24. Bonding to school—Young person cares about her or his school.

25. Reading for Pleasure—Young person reads for pleasure three or more hours per week.

Positive Values: 26. Caring—Young person places high value on helping other people.

27. Equality and social justice—Young person places high value on promoting equality and

reducing hunger and poverty.

28. Integrity—Young person acts on convictions and stands up for her or his beliefs.

29. Honesty—Young person “tells the truth even when it is not easy.”

30. Responsibility—Young person accepts and takes personal responsibility.

31. Restraint—Young person believes it is important not to be sexually active or to use alcohol or

other drugs.

Social Competencies: 32. Planning and decision making—Young person knows how to plan ahead and make choices.

33. Interpersonal Competence—Young person has empathy, sensitivity, and friendship skills.

34. Cultural Competence—Young person has knowledge of and comfort with people of different

cultural/racial/ethnic backgrounds.

35. Resistance skills—Young person can resist negative peer pressure and dangerous situations.

36. Peaceful conflict resolution—Young person seeks to resolve conflict nonviolently.

Positive Identity: 37. Personal power—Young person feels he or she has control over “things that happen to me.”

38. Self-esteem—Young person reports having a high self-esteem.

39. Sense of purpose—Young person reports that “my life has a purpose.”

40. Positive view of personal future—Young person is optimistic about her or his personal

future.


Appendix B: Focus group questions posed to participants

1. What are some of the biggest challenges facing youth in Cape Breton

communities?

2. What do you think youth need in order to be healthy, happy, contributing

citizens?

3. Who does good things in your community?

4. Who should be involved in community improvement initiatives?

5. What are the best ways to inform the wider community about community

improvement projects?

6. Why might Cape Breton benefit from initiatives that build skills, opportunities,

and resources for youth?

7. What are some things you like about your community?

8. How might someone like you be able to help build a healthy community for

youth? How can you make a difference?

9. What might hold citizens back from supporting community building initiatives?

10. If you had the time, money, and expertise to implement something for Cape

Breton youth what would it be?


Appendix C: Organizations that respondents feel do good things in their community (these organizations are in addition to those mentioned on

pages 42-44)

4H

ACAP

Addiction Services

Association for Safer Cape Breton Communities

Boxing

Cadets

Canadian Tire Jump Start

CBRM Recreation

CBU Student‟s Union

Centre scolaire Étoile de l'Acadie

Children‟s Aid Society Mentoring

Churches

Coaches

Coal Bowl

Community Cares Youth Outreach

Community fairs

Community Focus Centre, New Waterford

Community Health Boards

Community partners on Drug Abuse

Coxheath Wilderness Foundation

Crossroads, Mental Health Services

CWL

Department of Community Services

Drama

ECRY - Eskasoni

Elizabeth Fry Society

Every Woman‟s Centre

Family Place Resource Centre

Fire departments

Food Bank

Glace Bay Youth Action Committee

Guides

Harvest House

Helpline

Hockey

Interact Club

JCI

Johnny Miles Festival

Junior Achievement

KidSport

Kinsmen


KOC

Ladies Auxiliary

Legions

Lions Club

Little league

Loaves and Fishes

MADD

Meals on Wheels

Mi‟Kmaq Legal Support Network

Musicians

NADACA

North Sydney Bartown Festival

Parent Teacher Association

Pensioner Clubs

Police

Public libraries

RCMP

Red Cross

Rotary

Salvation Army

School breakfast programs

School police officers

Scouts

Screaming Eagles Hockey Team

Shriners

Skateboard parks

St. Vincent DePaul

Town House

Transition House

United Way

Volunteers


Natural leaders identified by respondents

Alex Gilchrist (Northside Rotary)

Arnold Sylliboy

Ben Marshall

Bradley Sheppard

Chester Borden – Whitney Pier Youth Club

Darlene Francis

Diane Mary Mosh

Doug Bean (Pastor, Sydney Mines)

Dr. Andrew Lynk (pediatrician)

Dr. Chris Milburn

Dr. Julie Curwin

Duma Bernard

Elizabeth Cremo

Gordie Gosse – MLA

Jack Yazer

Jacques Cote (Velo Cape Breton)

Jill MacPherson (JCI)

Joanne LaTulippe (Family Place)

John MacPhail (Investor‟s Group)

John Ratchford

Leroy Denny

Leroy Peach

Levi Denny

Louise Vassallo

Lowell Cormier (New Waterford Skatepark involvement)

Marilyn Sutherland (Youth group Sydney Mines)

Mark Sparrow (JCI)

Mayor John Morgan

Myles Burke (Chief of Police)

Neeta Kumar (Teacher, Sydney Academy)

Nelson Young

Norm Connors (CBDHA Board)

Pat Bates

Sheldon Nathanson (Lawyer)

Shirley Leadbeater (Mother of recovering addict)

Squaranto Oakley

Tom Ripley (Association for Safer Communities)

Walter Denny


Appendix D: The 2008 report compiled by Search Institute based on 1302 Cape Breton youth surveyed on the assets they possess.

This summary report begins on the next page.

asset development 2010 final report

Documents