Project Black Feather - Helping Youth Exit Unhealthy Influences and Habits

Over the last little while, I've been posting about Project Black Feather. This program received its initial funding from the federal government through its Building Safer Communities Fund in partnership with Langley City and Township. The program is for students in the Langley School District who are at a high risk of becoming vulnerable to unhealthy influences and habits. Such influence could include gangs, and habits could include problematic substance use. Langley City Council previously received a presentation on the number of students helped and the positive outcomes. Last week, Council heard more, including about an outcomes report based on eight program participants who were followed for about a year.

The key outcomes for reducing vulnerability for young people in the program include:

• Crisis prevention through surge capacity: The program provided the right support when needed. Knowing that sometimes little support is needed, and sometimes a lot of support is needed.
• Trust durability exceeds expectations: Young people stayed connected to the program, where traditional programs would fail.
• Capacity-building, not dependency: Young people acquired transferable skills and reliance as part of the program to remain sober and stay employed.
• Youth began learning to set healthy boundaries on their own: Young people left harmful peer connections.
• Family stabilization enabled youth stabilization: The program also worked through coaching and supporting young people’s caregivers.
• Workplace integration emerged as a high-leverage pathway: Young people who got connected at their workplaces developed positive connections.
• Youth moved from being service recipients to contributors: Several young people in the program became peer leaders and even volunteered to support other program members.
• Partner corroboration confirmed distinctive reach: Other organizations and government ministries noted that Project Black Feather was reaching young people that they would otherwise be unable to reach.

The program's success is based on how it works. Its foundation is to build trust with young people participating in the program, which means being reliable and there for a young person whenever. The report noted that bringing a sandwich to a young person helped them become fully engaged in the program. The program is also wrap-around, and if the young person needs to connect with another service provider, the Project Blackfeather team would make the arrangements, including transport, and be with the young person during appointments if required. The program also directly engaged the young person’s caregivers.

It was really encouraging to hear about the good work of Project Black Feather and how it is having a positive impact on young people in Langley.

April 13 Council Notes: Mobile Integrated Crisis Response, Slow Streets Program, and Long-Term Care

In 2015, Langley City Council adopted the “Community Crime Prevention Strategic Plan.” One of the action items in that plan was to call on the province to expand the Car 67 program to our community. This program is now called the Mobile Integrated Crisis Response program. This program pairs a police officer and a health care professional who respond to calls when people are in mental health distress. The goal of this program is to reduce repeated police calls for service for the same person and instead provide people with an appropriate, continuous health-based response.

A recommendation from Langley City’s Citizens’ Assembly called for continued provincial advocacy as well as for piloting a Mobile Integrated Crisis Response program in Langley. The City will continue to advocate for provincial funding. On Monday, Council passed a motion to include, in the 2027 budget consideration process, a one-year pilot program for a Mobile Integrated Crisis Response team, with an effectiveness evaluation report of the pilot. Based on the pilot's outcome, it could support a business case for the province to provide ongoing funding for this program, as they do in other communities.

Council also recently endorsed Transportation 2050, Langley City’s Transportation Plan. One of the priority planning actions in the report was to develop a Slow Streets Program for neighbourhood streets. A Slow Streets program, among other things, includes lowering the speed limit to 30 km/h on local side streets. As such, Council passed a motion to include developing a Slow Streets Program in the 2027 budget consideration process.

I hear from many residents about their concerns with the health system. While the health care system, including hospitals, is a provincial responsibility, Council has advocated on behalf of residents on matters we regularly hear about, even if it is outside our authority to take direct action. Back in 2024, the province announced a commitment to fund 300 new long‑term care beds at Langley Memorial Hospital. The provincial government has recently reduced its capital projects funding in the near term, so Council passed a motion asking me to write a letter to the province to inquire into the status of the announced long-term care beds at Langley Memorial Hospital.

April 13 Council Notes: Community Emergency Preparedness Fund, Day of Mourning, Regional Land Use Changes

Langley City staff are always looking for grants to help reduce the cost of providing services to our community. On April 13, Council approved applying for $69,800 through the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund. If we are succesful in the grant process, the grants will be used to connect our Emergency Operations Centre to the Alertable notification system to ensure the timely delivery of emergency messages, including appropriate processes for using the notification system. The grants will also be used to provide training to staff, purchase communication equipment, and purchase beds for the Emergency Operations Centre.

Council received a presentation from the New Westminster and District Labour Council on the upcoming Day of Mourning on April 28, 2026. It is an annual day of remembrance for workers killed and injured on the job, and serves as a call to action to improve workplace safety, as one person killed or injured due to their work is one too many. Recently, there has been a focus on mental health with bullying, harassment, and workplace stress as a focus area to improve workplace safety. If you are an employer, you can encourage your staff to observe a one-minute silence at 11:00 a.m. on April 28th. Langley City will be observing this moment of silence.

I previously posted about Maple Ridge’s proposal to change regional land-use for its North 256 Street Industrial Land and Surrey's proposal to change regional land-use for the Hazelmere Golf Course. As part of any proposal for regional land use change, the Regional District seeks feedback from all member jurisdictions. Council directed staff to provide a response to these two proposed regional land-use changes.

Council appointed Lana Kirkwood as the member representing the Indigenous community and Liam McCarney as a youth representative for Council’s Arts, Recreation, Culture & Heritage Committee. You can learn more about Council committees and how you can take part on the City’s website.

April 13 Council Notes: Affordable Housing Fund, Securing Vacant Properties, Development Process

Last month, I posted that Langley City Council is looking at updating its Community Standards Bylaw. The short version is that the new proposed updated bylaw will have stronger requirements for fencing and securing vacant buildings and properties. It will also allow the City to take remedial actions if a property owner fails to comply with the bylaw (at the property owner's cost). Council provided some feedback about the proposed bylaw last month. As a result, City staff added buildings that “may be in a derelict state or state of disuse” to the vacant building definition in the bylaw and provided more examples of acceptable secure fencing. Council gave first, second, and third reading to the bylaw.

Examples of Secure Fencing

Council gave final reading to adopt an updated bylaw that enables certain development applications to be processed by Langley City staff without going through a Council approval process. This process only applies to resident projects with 6 or fewer units, small commercial projects, and minor development variance applications. Council also gave final reading to update its Fees and Charges Bylaw as a result.

Council is in the process of creating an affordable housing fund, which is needed as the City now requires all new residential projects within an 800-metre radius of the Willowbrook and Langley City Centre SkyTrain stations to have at least 2.5% of the units available for rent for at least 20% below Langley City market rates for the life of the building. As previously posted, two things are required to enable the fund: a bylaw and a Council policy. Last night Council gave first, second, and third reading to the bylaw. The bylaw includes language to ensure that the fund will be used only to create non-profit or government-owned below-market, non-market, subsidized, and special-needs housing units. If the bylaw receives final reading and is adopted, Council would then consider adopting the enabling policy.