Visitors to City Square in Duncan Friday afternoon were treated to dozens of young people who were busy creating some elaborate and creative art pieces with coloured chalk.
The event, called “Chalk up the City”, was hosted by the Safe Youth Cowichan organization and was intended to raise awareness around safety issues for youth in the area.
It was also a venue for the SYC to gather ideas from youth on the organization’s Safe Spaces for Youth project.
The SYC is a committee interested in the safety of youth in the Cowichan Region.
The committee is run by youth, for youth.
Project co-ordinator Christy Villiers said the SYC has been designated two public spaces, one at Kin Park and the other in Centennial Park, which the organization can use as safe places where youth feel welcome.
Villiers said much of the funding for the project will come from the $30,000 that the Ministry of Justice has granted the organization to help pay for all of SYC’s expenses.
“We anticipate a lot of the suggestions will be for benches, stages, a covering shell for the spaces and maybe having Wifi installed in the public spaces,” she said. “Not only did we have a lot of fun creating the art in Centre Square on Friday, the event also raised awareness of who we are and what our objectives are. It went very well.”