May 25th is International Missing Children's Day. Nearly 470 children whose whereabouts are unknown are reported to the child welfare system each month. The average time a youth in care is missing is 13 days. Join us in honouring and remembering children who have been or continue to be lost, missing or disappeared. #MissingChildrensDay

Part 1 The Representative for Children and Youth sits down with Jade, a former youth in care, to have a conversation about her life experiences and the importance of belonging. Part 2 – Coming Soon.

B.C.'s Representative for Children and Youth statement about the ongoing and persistent harm and trauma caused by residential schools across B.C. and Canada. RCY pledges to walk alongside First Nations, Métis, Inuit and Urban Indigenous communities as strong allies and to continue our work to improve child- and youth-serving systems and support B.C. families. You are not alone. If you need emotional support, the National Indian Residential School Crisis Hotline can be reached at 1-800-721-0066.

Yuxwelupton, RCY's Knowledge Keeper, speaks about the ongoing and persistent harm and trauma caused by residential schools across B.C. and Canada. RCY pledges to walk alongside First Nations, Métis, Inuit and Urban Indigenous communities as strong allies and to continue our work to improve child- and youth-serving systems and support B.C. families. You are not alone. If you need emotional support, the National Indian Residential School Crisis Hotline can be reached at 1-800-721-0066.

Raising awareness around FASD as a disorder that can affect anyone from any culture, society or background is an important step in removing the shame and stigma faced by children with FASD and their families. Lack of awareness around FASD has harmful effects on the well-being of these children and their families, who have the same rights as all other children and families to the supports and services they need to thrive. On April 15, 2021, RCY released Excluded: Increasing Understanding, Support and Inclusion for Children with FASD and their Families, a report calling for the provincial government to take action to improve supports and services to children with FASD and their families. Development of the report was co-led by Myles Himmelreich, who shares his experience as both a person with FASD and someone who works closely with children and youth with FASD. Read the report: https://rcybc.ca/reports-and-publications/excluded/ ——————————————— B.C.'s Representative for Children and Youth (RCYBC) is an independent office of the Legislature. RCYBC supports children and youth in government care, children and youth who are not in government care but who require assistance in dealing with government services, young adults who were in care or who are receiving Community Living services and families of young people receiving or eligible for services. Our goals are to help children and youth understand their rights and what to do if their rights are being ignored, to help connect children and youth with government services and programs and to help children and youth be a part of discussions regarding the care and services they receive. If you feel like you are not being supported in your home or community, please feel free to contact us via: Text: 1-778-404-7161 Chat: rcybc.ca Phone: 1-800-476-3933 Email: rcy@rcybc.ca Be sure to subscribe, like, comment and most importantly share this video. Find us online! Twitter & Instagram: @RCYBCYOUTH www.facebook.com/rcybcyouth www.rcybc.ca Music by LesFM, Track "Into the Forest"

Statement from the Representative for Children and Youth for National Child Day. Full statement: www.rcybc.ca Music credit: Lesfm via Pixabay

On July 14, RCY held a webinar in support of the Skye’s Legacy: A Focus on Belonging report release. The webinar focused on supporting important conversations around the significance of belonging in children’s lives, and how services and systems of care can foster greater belonging and connection. #childadvocacy #rcy #rcybc #youth #youthvoicesmatter #youthadvocacy

Did you know that you can chat with the Representative for Children and Youth’s office in B.C. from our website? You can also text (1-778-404-7161), email (rcy@rcybc.ca) or call for free (1-800-476-3933). Our Advocates are here to help!

Did you know that you can text the Representative for Children and Youth’s office in B.C. if you’re having a problem? Yup, you can, and you can also chat on our website (rcybc.ca), email (rcy@rcybc.ca) or call for free 1-800-476-3933. What happens if you get in touch? In this video, Maddie’s got a problem with her social worker. She wants to see her brother but no one’s listening to her to make it happen. So she texts the Rep’s office and talks to an Advocate. You can get in touch if you feel like you are not being listened to, your rights are not being respected, or you’re having a problem with a government service (like maybe with your social worker) and you don’t know what to do. Even if you’re not sure if we can help, you can get in touch anyway, and we’ll do what we can, or show you where you should go, if necessary. We’re here to help.

Here's a Claymation story of how Pink Shirt Day got started, made by the Social Media Youth Team at the Representative for Children and Youth's office in B.C.