New Crime Stoppers workshop aims to prevent recruitment of rural youth by hate groups

There's no room for hate in rural communities.

That's the message Crime Stoppers wants to send with its new workshop, titled No Room for Hate.

The goal is to prevent young people from being recruited into hate movements in rural communities, said Sarah Bowers-Peter, program co-ordinator for Crime Stoppers in Guelph Wellington.

"A big part of what Crime Stoppers does is also crime prevention," she said.

"We want to make sure that people know that if they are aware of these types of things happening in their community and don't want to deal directly with police, Crime Stoppers across Ontario, but specifically Crime Stoppers Guelph Wellington, is an ideal option for them."

She said having a workshop like this is more important now than ever.

"When it comes to hate crime, whether it's LGBTQ2S+, whether it's religious, ethnic, cultural — we know they're happening in urban centres, but we also see them being reported through our media partners in local communities as well," Bowers-Peter said.

"For example, Centre Wellington is one of the communities that falls within our area and I know they've had issues with things such as drag shows. We've had a number of communities throughout Wellington County that have had pride flags torn down or vandalized."

Pre-registration is required to attend the workshop, which will be taking place on Nov. 18 at Wellington County Museum & Archives.