Our Commitment
At the YMCA of Niagara, safeguarding children and youth is not just a priority – it’s a responsibility we hold with the utmost care. We strive to ensure that everyone feels safe, valued, and protected while at the YMCA and within our broader community. Our commitment extends across all programs, services, and activities, embracing every child and youth under our care.
YMCAs across Canada share this collective mission. We proudly stand behind the National Child Safety and Protection Initiative, which ensures that safety is integrated into everything we do at the YMCA. Through rigorous policies, ongoing staff training, supervision standards, and a proactive approach to safety, we create a secure environment for all.
Child & Youth Safety and Protection Policy
At the YMCA of Niagara, we share a profound responsibility to protect children and youth from harm. Every child deserves a safe space to learn, grow, and thrive, and our policies reflect our unwavering commitment to creating that environment. We recognize the importance of identifying children and youth who may be at risk and act swiftly to ensure their safety.
As part of this commitment, all staff, volunteers, and community partners have a duty to report any concerns regarding the safety or well-being of a child or youth.
We are committed to:
- Providing a secure environment for children and youth across all programs;
- Identifying and responding to situations where children or youth may be at risk of significant harm;
- Reporting concerns immediately to Family and Children’s Services Niagara (FACS);
- Taking necessary actions to ensure that children and youth remain safe at the YMCA.
Our Child & Youth Safety and Protection policy is a living document, updated annually to reflect best practices, national standards, and legal requirements.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
We proudly embrace the diversity of families and individuals within our YMCA community. Whether part of a two-parent family, a single-parent household, same-sex parents, blended families, or other family structures, we honour the unique strengths that diversity brings. We understand that children and youth also come from various cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic backgrounds, and may face different challenges based on gender, race, ability, or identity.
Our goal is to create a welcoming and inclusive environment where all children, youth, families, staff, and volunteers feel they belong. By promoting positive relationships and offering continuous training for our staff and volunteers, we ensure everyone is equipped to recognize and address child safety concerns with a lens of equity and inclusiveness.
At the YMCA of Niagara, every child and youth deserves to feel safe, supported, and celebrated for who they are. We are committed to standing by this promise, every day, in every program.