Youth Justice Fund Projects
2010-2011
CALGARY YOUTH JUSTICE SOCIETY:
Development and Community Outreach
Program - Phase Two
Location: Alberta
Duration: 2010/09/01 – 2011/08/31
Total Youth Justice funding: $50,000.00
The Recipient proposes to continue to improve the use of, and access to, a community resource database of programs and services to create additional and more varied referral options to be considered by youth justice committees for youth involved in the criminal justice system, including youth with mental health issues.
COMMUNITY JUSTICE SOCIETY - HALIFAX REGION:
iMOVe: Seeking the Way
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Duration: 2010/09/01 – 2013/08/31
Total Youth Justice funding: $457,470.00
The Recipient proposes to run a peer mentoring program targeting youth held in custody at the Nova Scotia Youth Facility who are vulnerable to, or already involved in, gangs. This program includes strategies to assist the youth in building self awareness and social connection through personal story telling, performance art, music, film making and editing, and social media activities. The program is offered twice per annum in an intensive twelve (12) week cycle. It is anticipated that 72 youth will enroll in the program over the course of project.
The program continues in the community for youth who are given full or conditional release from the youth facility and for other youth referred to the program. The youth engage with iMOVe mentors (youth previously involved in the criminal justice system) who provide community reintegration peer support.
EDMONTON JOHN HOWARD SOCIETY:
Bridges Treatment Program Transition/Reintegration
Worker
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Duration: 2010/08/01 – 2012/03/31
Total Youth Justice funding: $154,280.00
The Recipient proposes to provide post-release service through an individualized support plan for youth serving open custody sentences at the Bridges Treatment Program. The support plans aim to consolidate and maintain the youth's progress from a therapeutic program for a dual diagnosis of addictions combined with mental health issues. They require targeted and informed support to succeed in making the transition from custody to community. The Transition/Reintegration Worker begins to form a relationship and create a post-discharge plan in conjunction with the youth and the treatment team while the youth is involved in the program, and builds on this initial connection to provide support through transition back into the community for a minimum of 3 months post-discharge. This support focuses on assisting the youth in establishing and maintaining relationships with family and other support systems; providing referral to appropriate services and follow up; and supporting the youth in continuing with the treatment plan developed while in custody.
EMPOWWORD INC.:
9 Heavens Healing Academy
Location: Greater Toronto Area, Ontario
Duration: 2010/06/14 – 2013/05/31
Total Youth Justice funding: $304,050.00
The Recipient proposes emphasise responsibility combined with life skills development and the opportunity to explore various aspects of the healing process, in this gang intervention initiative for youth in conflict with the law. The approach includes relocating youth from Jane & Finch area of Toronto to Alliston, in the Georgian Bay region of Ontario. At the weekend camps, participants benefit from new experiences that aim to enhance their self-worth, honour, purpose, esteem, respect, and confidence. This three-year initiative is designed to produce a set of integrated curriculum modules for the 9 Heavens Academy including the following: life skills, mental health and illicit substance; vocational learning that is applicable to different learning styles and fosters marketable employment skills; cultural teaching based on the principles of 9 Heavens; wilderness survival training; black history curriculum; and literacy and computer skills. The program targets 40 gang, drug and justice involved youth over the three-year period and includes 60 weekend camps.
HEALTHY ABORIGINAL NETWORK, THE:
Youth Reintegration Comic Book Project
Location: Courtenay, British Columbia
Duration: 2010/05/01 – 2011/06/30
Total Youth Justice funding: $107,561.00
The Recipient proposes to allow youth currently involved in the criminal justice system that are vulnerable to, or already involved in, gangs to take an active role in creating a reintegration tool which will assist other youth with their reintegration. The content of this booklet will be based on the barriers and challenges they have faced during reintegration and their suggestions for dealing with them. This assists the youth to develop their own coping strategies for successful reintegration back into the community. The booklet is to be widely distributed as a reintegration tool in the form of a comic book to youth justice facilities and support organizations.
View the summary of the project evaluation
JOHN HOWARD SOCIETY OF NEW BRUNSWICK (THE):
Fighting Illicit Drugs
as One: Strengthening Families Program - Phase II
Location: New Brunswick
Duration: 2010/04/01 – 2013/03/31
Total Youth Justice funding: $395,751.00
The Recipient proposes to develop, implement and pilot the Strengthening Families Program (SFP) in 3 culturally distinct New Brunswick Communities - Campbellton (rural francophone), Tobique (First Nations) and Saint John (urban). This program is a family based service addressing the illicit drug use of youth involved with the criminal justice system. Parents and youth participate both separately and together in fourteen, 2-hour group sessions that include science-based parenting skills, youth life skills, and family life skills as well as informal family practice time and group leader coaching. The SFP is a fully accredited model program, nationally and internationally recognized as a best practice for its success with youth aged 12-18 years involved in illicit drug use and/or abuse. The program provides accredited training for the coordinators and facilitators (undertaken in Phase I) to ensure accuracy of service expectations and consistency for evaluative measures between program delivery sites.
KENTVILLE FAMILY COUNSELLING CENTRE:
The Annapolis Valley Youth Community
Support Program
Location: Kentville, Nova Scotia
Duration: 2010/04/01 – 2013/03/31
Total Youth Justice funding: $485,499.00
The Recipient proposes to provide support for youth involved in the justice system who continue to commit offenses and have illicit substance abuse issues. The youth are matched with a youth support worker/mentor who is a graduate student of the addictions counselling program from a recognized community college or university program in Nova Scotia. The youth support worker/mentor provides positive role modeling for youth, who enter the program on a voluntary basis, and encourages positive coping strategies and techniques to decrease substance use. The youth support worker/mentor also works collaboratively with community partners such as probation, family, child welfare, housing, and the school system to develop a plan of support and intervention strategies for each youth.
NEW DIRECTIONS FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH, ADULTS AND FAMILIES:
Project
OASIS: Outreach and support to individuals in settlement
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Duration: 2010/04/01 – 2011/03/31
Total Youth Justice funding: $182,988.00
The Recipient proposes to continue the pilot phase and complete the evaluation of a multi-disciplinary intervention program designed to respond to the challenges faced by newcomer refugee youth who are in contact with the youth criminal justice system and involved in or at risk of involvement with gun, gang and drug activities. Through social intervention, community organization, and neighbourhood mobilization, the project aims to decrease newcomer youth crime and victimization, help address possible mental heath issues caused by past traumatizing experiences and provide new opportunities for these youth.
View the summary of the project evaluation
PUBLIC LEGAL INFORMATION ASSOCIATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND:
Exploring Access
to Justice for Aboriginal Youth in Newfoundland and Labrador
Location: Newfoundland and Labrador
Duration: 2010/06/15 – 2011/10/15
Total Youth Justice funding: $127,348.00
The Recipient proposes to explore language, cultural and legal barriers to fair and effective youth justice for Aboriginal youth in conflict with the law in Newfoundland and Labrador. It includes a series of focus groups with service providers and youth involved in the justice system to explore barriers that exist for Aboriginal youth and to seek feedback on how such barriers might be addressed. Recommendations from these focus groups include considerations on how to overcome these barriers, which will be shared with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Department of Justice. This project also explores existing legal information and resources available to support Aboriginal youth in conflict with the law.
- Date Modified:
