- Block Parent Program
The Block Parent Program "(French: Le Programme Parents-Secours)" is a large, volunteer-based, child safety & crime prevention program operating across
Canada . Participants in the program ("Block Parents") place signs on their homes indicating that the house is a police-screened, safe home for community members in distress, particularly children. If someone is in need of help and see a block parent sign, they know there is someone home who can help them and call the appropriateemergency service if necessary.The program now includes 300,000 participants.
History
The program first began in
London, Ontario in 1968. Independent programs began appearing across Canada until 1983 when a national committee was formed and the national Block Parents Program of Canada was created in 1986.Future of the Block Parent Program
Some provinces and communities are discontinuing, or proposing to discontinue, the block watch program, for various reasons.
* In March 2005 the B.C. Block Parent Society asked volunteers to remove the signs from homes. [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2005/03/23/bc_block-parents20050323.html]
* In
Prince Edward Island in November 2006, the Block Parent Program there was discontinued because it was "unable to recruit a provincial executive." [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2006/11/15/block-parents.html]ee also
*
Neighborhood watch
*National Safe Place (US)
*Safety House Program (Australia)External links
* [http://www.blockparent.ca/ Block Parent Program of Canada]
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