Natalie Dunleavy
Northern News Services
Published Friday, November 30, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - A program that aims to help families in need enrol their children in sports is making its way into more NWT communities this year.

Recognizing financial situations as a major barrier, the Everybody Gets To Play program is part of a cross-country strategy initiated by the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association.

The NWT Recreation and Parks Association held workshops in Sachs Harbour, Paulatuk, Inuvik and twice in Yellowknife this year to familiarize coaches and volunteers with the program.

The program's expansion in the North was due to its success in Fort Simpson, Inuvik and Whitehorse last year.

The goal is to make sport accessible to all youth, said Elsbeth Fielding, active living co-ordinator for NWTRPA.

In the workshop, participants go through the program's toolkit to discuss solutions to existing barriers, with a focus on youth in low-income situations.

"The low-income at-risk youth are the hardest group to reach, whether from their attitudes or choices," said Fielding.

A Government of Northwest Territories report indicated that in 2004, 15.2 per cent of households had less than $30,000 total income.

While this figure is the low-income cut-off for tax purposes, it does not necessarily define the poverty line.

In Yellowknife, 4.6 per cent of households are below this level, and the average is higher in smaller communities.

The report indicated 13.8 per cent of households in Hay River, Inuvik, and Fort Smith are also under the $30,000 total income mark.

Fort Simpson's Shane Thompson, who is recreation development co-ordinator of the Deh Cho region for the department of Municipal and Community Affairs, attended the workshop in Yellowknife this month.

Thompson said he strongly believes in the program's message, and would like to see it grow.

"This is a good program," said Thompson. "It would be beneficial to see it in other communities."

He said making sport accessible to kids is part of allowing them to make right choices.

"There's no bad kids out there, just bad choices," he said. "You have to give them the opportunity to make healthy choices."

Along with the toolkit provided to delegates to make changes in their communities, Fielding said networking is also key to promoting change.

"Finding people who care is the biggest thing," she said.

However, she said the situation is not a quick fix.

"(Change) is not something you can see that quickly," she said. "A lot of it is building awareness."

The NWTRPA is fundraising to expand the program to even more communities next year.