2021 Crime Prevention Ottawa Award Winners Announced

Crime Prevention Ottawa is pleased to announce the winners of the 13th annual Crime Prevention Ottawa Awards. The awards recognize the people, groups and programs that have made a difference in preventing crime and making communities safer across the city.

For the second year in a row, the awards were be held online in response to the physical distancing measures in place during COVID-19.

The award winners are:

• Leadership Award – Ikram Jama

• Volunteer Program Award – Caldwell Tenant Circle

• Enforcement Professional Award – Cst. Stephanie Lemieux

• Youth Engagement Award – Serif Aydin

• Volunteer Award – Natalie Bruvels

• Outstanding Achievement Award – Gwen Madiba & Hanns Peter Princivil
  
  

Leadership Award – Ikram Jama

Ikram is a community builder: she has spent two decades developing partnerships and improving the lives of others. She worked as the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre’s public education program coordinator for 10 years and has volunteered with the Canadian Somali Mothers Association since 2007.

While working for OCISO as the manager of the Multicultural Inmates Liaison Officer, or MILO, project, Ikram helped reduce the risk of reoffending among male Somali youth. Ikram brought the need for culturally appropriate support for racialized youth in correctional facilities to the attention of the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services and oversaw the implementation of the project.

Ikram was also responsible for leading efforts to help Syrian refugee children successfully integrate into Ottawa schools. She is now Interim Assistant Vice-President and University Advisor, Equity and Inclusive Communities at Carleton University, where she is helping to advance equity and human rights across the university.

Volunteer Program Award – Caldwell Tenant Circle

Enforcement Professional Award ‒ Cst. Stephanie Lemieux
In her 16 years with the Ottawa Police Service, Cst. Stephanie Lemieux has always worked to build a safer, more inclusive community. For the past 7 years, Stephanie has served as the Community Officer for Centretown Ottawa. She works extensively with community members and local resource agencies to resolve complex issues and develop long-term solutions.

Stephanie’s practical contributions to her community include organizing a cleanup of Dundonald Park with Ottawa Police Service volunteers, community members and safety partners. With a colleague, she also delivered personal hygiene products and other essential items to 10 shelters and 9 drop-in centres through the Purse Project. Stephanie’s remarkable contribution is a result of her ability to address complex local and personal issues sensitively and effectively. She has become a key resource, and residents feel comfortable turning to her for help. Through hard work, kindness and commitment, Stephanie has helped her community see police in a more positive light.

Youth Engagement Award – Serif Aydin

Since arriving in Ottawa in 2018, Serif Aydin has put his dream of empowering young people into action. Serif founded Youth 4 Success in 2019 as a platform to help remove barriers that Canadian youth face around employment and higher education. These include substance abuse, education, language and a criminal record.

Youth 4 Success creates a safe space where youth can find support and take part in positive activities. Serif encourages youth to work hard to find success rather than turning to crime. Youth 4 Success is involved in 15 active projects and has 123 youth volunteers. They host weekly, monthly and annual events, and Serif has hired youth to assist them financially and give them an opportunity to be part of the solution. Serif recently confirmed commitment from 20 non-profit groups to bring their unique skills and knowledge to the table to support youth in his community.

Volunteer Award – Natalie Bruvels

Natalie is an active and enthusiastic supporter of youth and community safety. Following a shooting in her community in 2017, Natalie joined a needs assessment and community safety planning project for the South Keys-Greenboro-Hunt Club Park area. As a resident volunteer, Natalie was instrumental in voicing issues and uncovering solutions that made residents feel safe, valued and heard in their community.

Natalie organized a Library Day and met with City staff to develop free recreation programming for youth. This allowed many children to participate in skating, soccer, swimming or dance for the first time. She works hard to build strong partnerships and strives to keep her neighbours’ concerns top of mind. Natalie remained an ongoing link to her community during the pandemic, despite the demands of being a single parent and pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Ottawa. She is a living example of community engagement.

Outstanding Achievement Award – Gwen Madiba & Hanns Peter Princivil

Gwen Madiba and Hanns Peter Princivil work tirelessly to improve living conditions for homeless Black families. During the pandemic, they took the children living in temporary shelter at the Tabor building in Vanier to the park at noon every day to give their parents a break. When they overheard one boy’s teacher complaining about background noise in his apartment during online classes, Gwen and Hanns raised funds to deliver nearly 1,500 sets of headphones to homeless Black children living in shelters, and to Black youth and children from low-income households. They provided 50 homeless youth with their first bicycle and used their own money and muscles to help move families in their community.

Through Equal Chance, Gwen and Hanns have developed many free programs for homeless Black families and children in temporary housing, including meals, mental health support and employment services. Their culturally informed, inclusive programming has helped 125 children and youth in the past year.