When gangland shootings become a daily occurrence, the clamor for action immediately turns to law and order.
But there are others quietly working on a different front.
"Prevention is critical and there's a lack of prevention," said Carolyn Tuckwell, President and chief executive officer of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Vancouver.
The aim of the club is to prevent children from getting lost in the teenage years, especially children living in poverty.
That means 16 per cent of children in British Columbia.
"Families are out trying to make ends meet, Boys and Girls Club needs to be there so the kids are well supervised,'' said Tuck well. " It's one of the solutions to the current crisis we're experiencing,'' she said.
For $25 a year, parents can know that their children are safe after school at the Boys and Girls Club.
"I've been here ever since I was in grade one...the staff are really supportive, It's nice to be here.
Just as a CTV crew was arriving, a worker had to clean up a needle found outside the club.
It's a reminder of the danger kids are protected from inside the walls of the club.
Affordable child care is a huge issue for working parents
"Poverty and danger doesn't have a geographic barrier. What's more important is kids have place where they belong," said Tuckwell.
And providing that haven not only helps working parents, it invests in creating healthy young people who don't turn to crime.
Gangs offer that sense of belonging
And right now we're seeing the result of people joining gangs.
"It's absolutely critical, now more than ever those organizations like ours are able to be there for families'' said Tuckwell.
With a report by CTV British Columbia's Mi-Jung Lee
