SR Vol 27 No 3, July 2009 - Nova Scotia Barristers' Society

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kudos Sarah MacLaren, Executive Director, LOVE NS Sarah Bradfield Nova Scotia Department of Justice You’ve gotta have a dream, to have a dream come true. Sarah MacLaren has a dream and she believes it can come true. That belief has allowed her to take a model that started in Montreal and make it work in Halifax. Leave Out ViolencE (LOVE) is a violence prevention and intervention organization that works with youth who have experienced any form of violence, be it as victim, witness or perpetrator. LOVE strives to provide a voice to youth, to help them find alternatives to violence and to end the cycle of learned violence through youth educating youth. Sarah launched the first LOVE Nova Scotia photojournalism program in January 2000 with no staff, no office, just a handful of volunteers and a strong belief in the work to be accomplished. As executive director of LOVE Nova Scotia, she has taken that first group of 18 young people and created one of the region’s most successful youth organizations. She now has an office and staff to help her, but it’s not like most offices. At LOVE, the staff are thrilled to be there, hugs are commonplace and there is a palpable feeling of caring in the air. It is a place of respect and trust for, and among, all those who enter. Under Sarah’s guidance, LOVE NS allows young people to find their way through the programs available, determine their own path and progress at their own rate. She has absolute faith that the solutions to problems faced by youth are held within young people themselves. In many ways, it is Sarah’s perspective on youth that makes the difference. “Every young person is gifted, not broken,” she says. LOVE is not there to fix youth, but to help them better express their innate gifts. Not only has Sarah helped create and sustain one of the area’s most successful youth programs, she has also become an invaluable resource to the youth justice community. Sarah and LOVE youth have been involved with or spoken to many diverse organizations, from the Mayor’s Roundtable on Violence and Public Safety to the Nunn Commission of Inquiry and the Nova Scotia Youth Secretariat. They have provided comment on the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Sarah is also on the board of the Nova Scotia Criminal Justice Association, a group that will be hosting a national congress on criminal justice this October. Somehow she also finds time to facilitate successful workshops and retreats focusing on youth issues and is on the Steering Committee of Envision Halifax, a network of community leaders. There can be no doubt that Sarah and LOVE have managed to engage youth in need. LOVE has an exceptional retention rate, with over 90 per cent of young people staying with the programs on a fully voluntary basis. Beyond the programs that have been provided to dozens and dozens of youth over the past nine years, LOVE Youth Leaders have gone on to educate hundreds more citizens, young and old, through LOVE Outreach sessions. Outreach sessions are conducted through partnerships with 30 The Society Record
schools and other community organizations, including diversity training workshops conducted for Halifax Regional Police cadets. For Sarah, success at LOVE is helping young people to become happy, productive members of society. As she notes, “where others might have seen a young person who only took from the social system, LOVE creates contributors.” Some LOVE kids are now completing high school and higher education, while others are gainfully employed and living independently, thanks to the development of the skills necessary to make their own positive decisions. The success of LOVE NS is also exemplified by its continued growth and acceptance into new communities in need. In September 2008, Sarah and her staff began programs in the First Nations communities of Indian Brook and Membertou. kudos Sarah’s dream now is to build a proper home for LOVE in the heart of our community, a space designed for and about youth. She recognizes the significant need in our city centre for a space that allows access to programs, services and information while providing an atmosphere that actually attracts youth to it. Based on her record so far and the power of her ever-optimistic attitude, it’s sure to happen. Sarah M. Bradfield has been a solicitor with legal services at the Nova Scotia Department of Justice since 1996. In 2006, she joined the board at LOVE NS after a friend brought the organization to her attention. Find out more about LOVE and its programs at www.lovens.ca. LOVE Community Day at the George Dixon Centre LOVE Links participants Dawson, Tristan, William and Blaze July 2009 31
Page 1 and 2: the SOCIETY RECORD VOLUME 27 | NO.
Page 3 and 4: Contents VOLUME 27 | NO.3 | July 20
Page 5 and 6: the president’s view This is my f
Page 7 and 8: BRIEFS Annual Meeting 2009 - June 1
Page 9 and 10: BRIEFS Cocktails & Conversations wi
Page 11 and 12: BRIEFS Steeves’ ensuing critical
Page 13 and 14: society news Library & Information
Page 15 and 16: ACCOLADES Brenda Pate, Janet Steven
Page 17 and 18: Children: Our future leaders and ed
Page 19 and 20: “Young people need an avenue to f
Page 21 and 22: LIANS Tips from the RISk & Practice
Page 23 and 24: eyond a reasonable doubt or beyond
Page 25 and 26: A meeting of minds Students and law
Page 27 and 28: Total Practice Solutions Succeed wi
Page 29: Youth Work that works Including you
Page 33 and 34: You be the judge A :Youth crime in
Page 35 and 36: to subject youth to an adult senten
Page 37 and 38: Restorative practices at work in th
Page 39 and 40: July 2009 39

SR Vol 27 No 3, July 2009 - Nova Scotia Barristers' Society

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