The Black Lives Matter protests that peaked on June 6th 2020 across North America called for increased petitions to defund the police and place more focus on diversion and reintegration programming. Diversion programming allows the police or court to avoid a criminal record by mandating that participate in a community-based rehabilitation program to remedy the behavior leading to the original offence. Reintegration programs are designed to support formerly-incarcerated youth to obtaining job training and/or finding employment. Diversion and reintegration programming are key in supporting youth ..read more

Leadership skills are important in many aspects of life, including fighting for social justice and the right to equitable and fair treatment, respect, and opportunities. It’s for this reason that FYI partnered with the Institute for Change Leaders (ICL) to deliver the Black Youth Leadership Program (BYLP). The Institute for Change Leaders (ICL) teaches the skills that organizers, activists and campaigners need to create social change. Their core curriculum comes from Marshall Ganz, a Harvard professor who codified the relationship-building organizational framework. ICL offers the first accredi ..read more

I found that I could be completely honest with the group on my emotions and feelings.  - GNI participant Girls Night In (GNI) is a youth program that was created in 2019 and has engaged over 130 young girls from across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). It was founded by a group of young-adult women who are passionate about female empowerment and teaching young girls how to be the best version of themselves. GNI is built upon three core goals for youth: talk, eat, and have fun! It encourages active living, healthy bodies, and healthy minds. This is developed through solution-focused method ..read more

On Friday, September 10th, For Youth Initiative (FYI) opened its doors to the Oakwood-Vaughan community and celebrated the launch of its new youth space  with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, alongside Councillor Josh Matlow.  Down a set of stairs from the sidewalk, the space will serve youth aged 12 to 29 with homework help and one-on-one tutoring as well as career and academic planning, justice counselling, anti-Black racism support in schools, settlement services, job preparation and more. The large, brightly-lit site has movable shared tables, desks surrounded by dividers for quieter s ..read more