2022 YOUTH ACTION FUND GRANTEES
Project Descriptions
IMPACT 'n Communities
($100,000)
The Violence Intervention Advocates Program (VIA), est. 2013, is a holistic youth leadership and life skills building program focused on increasing self capacity, resiliency and awareness for youth aged 14-20yrs who endure negative experience in systems such as justice, education and child welfare. VIA builds young leaders in the community who can intervene, educate, and be role models for their peers. Youth are taught to facilitate various workshops and teachings, to become peer mentors, and facilitate the same learned
programs within their neighbourhoods and to other youth in local communities. All VIA’s evidence-based engaging developmental workshops are rooted in an assets-based approach framework for knowledge transfer. VIA responds to personal/systemic barriers using intervention strategies, youth resiliency, self-empowerment techniques and culturally diverse activities. Youth learn violence intervention, conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, gang prevention, and other important issues and they then engage their peers in knowledge exchange.
Helping Hands Platform
($100,000)
Lending A Helping Hand is a two-year, youth-led research and advocacy project focused on young Ontarians’ experiences with community involvement. This research will culminate in a report containing perspectives and recommendations from youth facing barriers to education (including youth in or leaving care) as well as educators. In particular, the report will focus on the 40 volunteer hours required for high school graduation in Ontario; while this requirement holds the potential for meaningful community
involvement, it also presents barriers for low-income, newcomer, and racialized students. After the report is published, Helping Hands and peer youth ambassadors will share the report with community stakeholders to encourage policy change related to Ontario’s 40 volunteer hour graduation requirement.
Somali Scholars
($45,000)
Over the span of three years, Somali Scholars will support three cohorts of Somali students (60 students in total) entering their first or second year of university or college in the Greater Toronto Area. The transition from high school to post-secondary education is a very critical time for students and this transition can be difficult, especially for students who are among the first in their families to attend university or college in Canada. This project builds on the success of two previous cohorts of Somali Scholars Fellows which has connected almost 40 students with one-on-one mentorship from Somali professionals and provided them with tailored workshops so that they are better able to thrive in their academic career.
PositiveVibes T.O
($55,000)
Many young adults leaving both the child welfare system and justice system experience hardships in trying to live a life after exiting these institutions. The Excel Youth program aims to support the reintegration of young adults leaving these institutions. With identified mutual issues, such as high rates of unemployment and homelessness, lack of education and ability to establish support systems, our program seeks to address these issues by providing them with the education, skills, and community support needed to excel and take back their lives.
River Rocks
($100,000)
This project will use cultural and arts-based workshops to engage Indigenous youth in meaningful dialogue pertaining to the child welfare system, the education system and the justice system. Each year will have a different system as the focus theme (year 1- child welfare, year 2 - education, and year 3 - justice system). River Rocks will also carry out land-based learning activities with youth and create safe spaces where they can practice their art forms and spend time with community. The project will challenge youth to “re-define space” and “re-imagine” these systems, then create artistic responses to the content, in an art form of their choice, and present their work and perspectives back to community, inviting officials from these select systems to join our event and hear the youth’s perspectives.
Disability Justice Network of Ontario
($100,000)
This project will develop two toolkits: “Navigating the Criminal Justice System as Disabled Youth”, and “Navigating the Education System as Disabled Youth”. These toolkits will be used by Black and racialized disabled youth who are navigating structural ableism and systemic racism either in the criminal justice system or in the education system in Hamilton and across Ontario. These toolkits will be a source of self-guided education and offer a list of resources to disabled youth who are facing possible arrests from police or suspensions from school. These can also be used by organizations and agencies to co-design and build capacity of disabled Black and racialized youth in self advocacy. Approximately 100 young disabled Black and racialized people across the province of Ontario will inform this project. The project will also provide an outlet for criminalized disabled youth, and allow them to acquire new skills. This will allow DJNO to equip many disabled youth with the capacity to self advocate, while building a list of resources.
FLOW - Financial Literacy Online Workshop Management
($100,000)
The Youth Financial Upskill Project is a 32-week, three-level financial literacy workshop series intended to strengthen the financial knowledge, skills and capability of marginalized Black youth, aged 13-25, by prioritizing building self-confidence, improving financial inclusion and providing access to tailored financial information, education, and mentorship. Through experiential learning and real life experiences, FLOW’s curriculum will guide participants through key financial topics, which will focus on establishing better spending habits, instilling confidence, and equipping the next generation of Black youth with the skills to reach their financial goals with minimal risk. The project aims to create a non-judgemental, safe learning environment where Black youth, newcomers, and francophone communities can develop trusting relationships with staff coupled with adequate support to overcome feelings of isolation and explore
ways to address their financial challenges and relationship with money during key life stages and reduce stigmatization. Workshops will strengthen participants' skills to apply to real-world consumer and financial situations; make informed and effective decisions that promote financial well-being over their lifetime; and develop actionable strategies for managing their finances.
Think 2wice
($100,000)
This project will develop a film/docu-series to serve as a prevention tool for youth who are at risk of gun or gang involvement, as a public awareness initiative, and knowledge sharing tool for service providers who support gang-involved youth and young people who are reintegrating back into the community. Additional interviews will be conducted with youth who have reintegrated back into the community, experts and professionals; film B roll; and contract post-production experts (editing, stock footage, audio, motion graphics, colouring). Offering stories of gun and gang violence in Toronto from an inside perspective, gives young people the platform to share their insights, experiences, mistakes and hardships. It empowers them to address the issues they are facing and cultivate change in their city. This documentary will provide T2 with a platform to speak to historic and present-day legacies of inherent inequalities and systemic anti-Black racism and educate Canadians about the Canadian justice system. This project will also empower the youth audience to think twice before reacting to adversities, with the hopes of detouring them from gun and gang involvement. The team is comprised of young people who are incarcerated; have reintegrated back into the community; have lived experience; and/or are from neighbourhoods impacted by incarceration, gun, and gang violence who will be involved in the direction and steering of the storyline of this project.
Peacebuilders International (Canada)
($100,000)
Peacebuilders Bounce Back: Post Covid School Action Program provides youth experiencing the justice and school system with the opportunity to create school and community-based activities. Bounce Back aims to harness the creativity of community-based ideas generated by youth to address the impact of COVID. This project will break social isolation and develop close community connections while building leadership skills.
Hey Black Girl!
($100,000)
This project aims to serve as a knowledge sharing tool to propel and enhance Black women's entry, stay, and success in the educational system. This project will provide culturally-relevant and evidence-informed practices to ensure that Black women face decreased barriers to entry and are better equipped to achieve educational and professional progression. This is tailor made - for Black women - to equip youth with sustainable skills and resources to achieve success during and after the project. The project will implement an incubator program, featuring 7 sessions of intensive workshops, webinars and training sessions. It will be focused on skill sharing and knowledge dissemination where participants learn both hard and soft skills. All workshops and webinars will be led by Black women educators, speakers and industry professionals. At the beginning of the project, prior to the start of the incubator project, research will be conducted on barriers to entering the education system for Black women.
Assembly of Seven Generations
($100,000)
In Feb 2018, A7G started a weekly youth gathering space (on Friday evenings) to come together to share in circle, eat together, and offer peer to peer support. They have remained consistent with this gathering and have not missed a Friday night since. This space has helped create today’s capacity. Many youth who joined the earlier gatherings have now taken on several leadership roles: Helpers. A7G gatherings offer a space for youth to share openly about barriers they face each week. They offer a space focused on preventive supports for Indigenous youth living in an urban space. In Jan 2022, the team expanded to include over 15 youth Helpers to lead and support different projects and initiatives. Most Justice (preventative supports), Child Welfare (access for current & previous children in care, relationship building with Indigenous community) and Education (cultural supports) happens during Fridays. It’s the central meeting space where all upcoming projects are shared and new ideas bloom into initiatives (language drop-ins, land-based learning, food security and sovereignty, etc.)
Endaayaan Awejaa
($100,000)
This project supports Indigenous youth in northern Ontario who face barriers within the justice, education and child welfare systems. Many youth who are registered clients of Endaayaan Awejaa experience boundaries in daily life as they deal with legal issues within the justice system. Inadequate education causes barriers for Indigenous people and prohibits their involvement in continuing education as most Indigenous people find it difficult to navigate the colonial education system set in place. Turtle Island's current
education system is not in favour of Indigenous knowledge and learning. The system also does not contribute to the traditional knowledge and teachings Indigenous people require in order to feel connected to one another and culture. An objective is to continue offering teachings to their people so that they can carry lessons through life and thrive in community. Insufficient support in the Child Welfare system has left Indigenous people at the bottom of the bucket. There is not enough advocacy for Indigenous people looking for supports related to working with clients with children and protection of family. Endaayaan Awejaa amplifies clients' voices and ensures that children within the community are protected, that their needs are met, to advocate for families and provide supports to youth involved within the child welfare system to prevent another generation from being involved.
Near North Mobile Media Lab
($100,000)
"Ways to Wellness Project (WTWP) will support North Bay and surrounding areas’ alternative high school students at the Laurentian Learning Centre, through Ontario’s severely underutilized course code PPZ3C - an alternative physical education/health & mental wellness class, which addresses all well-being aspects: physical, cognitive, emotional, spiritual & social. The youth-centered arts and wellness duo Soul & Seed Collective will develop, facilitate, and run WTWP with self-directed initiatives and integral collaborations with community organizations, Elders, Indigenous and wellness facilitators. WTWP will support learning and improvement of wellness, health practices and understanding of behaviours that contribute to individual, generational, communal, and cultural wellness. Currently lacking Indigenous cultural components along with media, visual, and musical arts will be integrated into the curriculum, and core school offerings.
