Saskatoon Downtown Youth Center Inc. EGADZ is launching a new app to help youth activists. The Missing Youth Saskatchewan app will digitize risk assessments for missing or runaway youth.
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EGADZ received $50,000 from the Government of Saskatchewan to develop the app, the first of its kind.
“I am pleased to announce the development of the Missing Youth Saskatchewan app to engage and support these youths,” Saskatoon Willowgrove MLA Ken Cheveldyoff said in a press release on behalf of Social Services Minister Jean Makowski.
Both the Saskatoon Police Service and the Government of Saskatchewan contributed to the development of the app.
Youth workers currently use a risk assessment tool to determine if missing young people are at risk and whether the police need to be notified. Not every incident of a young person missing for a short period of time requires police intervention.
Rob Mickel, EGADZ’s executive director, says unnecessary police intervention breaks down trust between children and care organizations and puts a strain on police resources.
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“With the app, we will only report children who are legitimately missing and at high risk. This allows the police to put resources where they are needed, instead of chasing their tails all the time, Mikel said.
The app will digitize youth workers’ workflows, allowing them to exchange information more efficiently, and aims to reduce the number of unnecessary calls to the police even further.
It also guarantees that confidentiality is protected and only necessary information is shared through the correct channels – something that is extremely essential when dealing with minors.
Mickle said the app will allow young workers to focus less on paperwork and more on what’s important.
“When you start telling these kids, ‘Hey, tell me where you are, tell me you’re safe. Then we don’t have to call the police on you,’ it starts opening up the dialogue and building trust.” Lets the bond of grow.
Youth workers in Saskatoon began training with the app this week and Mikel hopes to roll out the app to all organizations in Saskatoon and Saskatchewan that have youth under their care.
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