ARTICLE BY SEAN TREMBATH | SASKATOON BRIDGES MAGAZINE | MARCH 21, 2014

Winston Blake knows that school can’t prepare every kid for the pressures of the world. “Schools do a great job helping kids, supporting kids and dealing with the issues that are challenging kids every day. But we have to recognize, too, that it’s not their job alone,” he says.

High school — and life in general — contains conflict. People don’t always see eye-to-eye, and the Internet has made it easier for kids to make each other miserable. Blake believes that if we instil a healthy understanding of conflict, and how to deal with it in our youth, we’re equipping them for the challenges that lie beyond the diploma.

That’s why Blake and many others in Saskatoon are involved in the Restorative Action Program (RAP). The program puts community workers in local high schools — seven so far, with a goal of reaching every school in the city. RAP workers function as mediators, counsellors and confidants for the students. They give kids a non-teacher to talk to about whatever is going on in their lives.

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