A TERRACE RCMP officer is spending time with tween and teen girls as a positive role model to help them through those difficult years.
Community policing officer Const. Angela Rabut got together with various community organizations to discuss how important it was for girls to have positive role models.
“The ages of 12 to 15 years can be difficult ones,” she said.
“Girls at this age are figuring out who they are and this is influenced by others involved in their lives.”
Ksan took the lead and formed the Ksan Girls Group and for the second year have received financing and hired two students to run a summer mentorship program for girls, said Rabut.
“The RCMP has committed to taking part in this program, including organizing four of the days,” she said.
“I am hoping to show these young woman that under this uniform and public light that I am a still just a girl like them, with hopes and fears and the gauntlet of human emotions that comes with being a girl. I want to instill [them with] pride and confidence of being a girl.”
She hangs out with the girls, such as going canoeing or hiking, and talking about how life is not easy and that is okay, about boys, relationships, school, friends, bullying, parents, hobbies, future aspirations, and other things, she said.
“It is so important for girls to accept themselves for who they are,” said Rabut.
“It is equally important for girls to have the confidence to try new things and push themselves.”
She tells them about some of her successes, and some of her failures and shares her life experiences, she said, adding that as the key lead agency, Ksan House Society has done an excellent job.