At the age of 12, Pete Gill was hanging out with a group of children in south Vancouver that would eventually include some of the most notorious South Asian gangsters B.C. has ever seen.
He was getting into trouble and had already been kicked out of school three times. One day, a police officer said to him: “Keep this up and one day I will be throwing you in the trunk of my car and taking you to the youth detention centre.”
“I was young and just forming my identity. But I was going down the wrong path and that incident did it for me. I realized I had to change my narrative and get an education if I didn’t want to go down that road,” said Gill, who is now a sergeant and a 25-year veteran with the Victoria Police Department.
“The biggest tragedy in life is the waste of talent.”
Gill, 52, now serves as Lower Island regional director of Khalsa Aid, an aid organization associated with the Sikh faith.
While the organization provides aid to all groups throughout the year, the focus on marginalized and vulnerable youth at the coldest and darkest time of the year clearly resonates with Gill.
This month, Khalsa Aid is partnering with the Victoria Immigrant and Refugee Centre, Oasis Society for the Spiritual Health of Victoria, Threshold Housing, Foundry Victoria, Rise Together and Beacon Youth Shelter to put together 100 personalized care packages for marginalized and vulnerable youth.
On Saturday, about 50 volunteers got together to assemble the care packages, with the contents differing slightly based on the specific requests of the different agencies.
The Victoria Immigrant and Refugee Centre had asked for items appropriate for immigrant children spending their first winter in Canada. Rise Together asked for socks, gloves, undergarments and personal hygiene products.
The Victoria Police Department will include personal hygiene kits, as well as assisting with their distribution to local youth shelters.
Gill sees common ground between his faith and his profession — both pledge to serve the community.
While the relationship between police and youth can sometimes be acrimonious, it’s possible to change stereotypes by changing experiences, said Gill. “If we want to change the narrative, we have to show the police as a group made up of compassionate and caring people.
“The care packages are an opportunity for us to show of warmth and compassion to a segment of the population that we feel is underserved.”
parrais@timescolonist.com
