By By Canadian Ranger Lindsay Chung, Quesnel Canadian Ranger Patrol
An updated version of the Promoting Healthy And Safe Experiences (PHASE) program for Junior Canadian Rangers (JCR) is beginning to roll out to help youth address new challenges such as cyberbullying. 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group (4 CRPG) is the first CRPG to being the roll-out which began with a workshop for 4 CRPG leaders and staff members held March 1 – 6, 2020 at CFB Albert Head in Victoria, British Columbia hosted by Canadian Red Cross facilitator Lisa Evanoff.
PHASE is a culturally- and geographically-sensitive program that gives JCRs the tools to help themselves or a friend in challenging situations and provides guidance on how to be an ally, intervene as a bystander and get help. Promoting Healthy and Safe Experiences replaces Positive Social Relations for Youth used by the Cadet program and Preventing Harassment and Abuse through Successful Education used by the JCR program.
“We worked closely with the Red Cross based on their existing programs to build a harassment awareness program for the Junior Canadian Rangers, and that was about a little over 20 years ago when we started the JCR program and brought PHASE in as a way for us to keep kids safe in the program,” explained 4 CPRG JCR Company Training and Development Officer Captain Christopher DeMerchant.
“For the Junior Canadian Ranger program, the update is including topics that kids are facing now and that kids are going to face shortly, so we talk more about what’s going on online, what’s going on in social media, and I think it’s presented in a non-judgmental way.”
DeMerchant said they have also added content around gender identity and sexual orientation, and one of the big changes is dividing the program between older and younger youth, so the topics are now organized into one segment for 12- to 15-year-olds and one for 15- to 18-year-olds.
With 15 4 CRPG JCR leaders taking part in the initial workshop at the beginning of March, DeMerchant said that the plan is to roll the updated PHASE program out across 4 CRPG over the fall and winter.
One of the keys to PHASE is it is not about preaching about what is right or wrong, but about giving adults the tools to facilitate discussions and help youth make healthy choices. DeMerchant sees the best part of the program is JCRs learn we can all work and play together when we respect each other’s differences and respect that everyone is dealing with their issues and there are ways we can help them with that.
“It’s being able to connect with resources in the community, connect to adults, healthy role models that they can go to when they have a challenge in their life,” said
DeMerchant.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean they are personally experiencing it, but it could be they as an older youth can find some resources for younger kids who are experiencing issues at home or issues on how to resolve disputes amongst themselves. We know that younger kids go to older kids and ask them for their advice and their guidance, so the longer those JCRs stay in the program, the older they become and the more they become the youth leaders that we need them to be by giving them the tools that they need so they cannot only help kids in their patrol but their siblings and their friends at school. These are skills they can take with them for the rest of their life.”