Youth Action Fund
2025 Projects - Law Foundation of Ontario Legal Education Collaborative Grant
Through funding received from the Law Foundation of Ontario (LFO), Laidlaw Foundation will fund organizations in Ontario that provide legal education, do legal research, and have a focus on legal content. As part of this collaborative granting process with LFO, Laidlaw staff selected, based on Youth Action Fund criteria as well as Law Foundation of Ontario criteria, 10 more organizations who are actively engaged with the criminal justice system and legal education, that often intersect with the education and child welfare systems. 10 organizations were successful in receiving a one-year grant starting in 2025 at $100,000 with a total amount of $1,000,000 allocated to new grants in 2025.
Positive Change Toronto Initiative
Change Justice Project Findings
Year 1 Request (2025): $100,000
Location: Toronto
This proposal is intended to build on the Change Justice project and the key emerging themes from the qualitative research into the lived experiences of Somali women and youth in the Canadian Justice System. Police raids, absence of legal resources and trauma
as a result of experiencing racial profiling, anti-Black racism and Islamophobia have been the merging evidence-based themes out of the research, and Positive Change will directly address them through empowering legal education to bridge some of the key emerging
concerns expressed by research participants. The project aims to address police raids and police relationship with the Somali community, offer legal education sessions with BLAC and the Muslim Legal Clinic, provide train-the-trainer mentorship program pairing youth with legal mentors who have navigated the justice system, and work with other Somali cultural groups to enhance trust and engagement.
Scadding Court Community Centre (SCCC)
Shoot for Justice
Year 1 Request (2025): $100,000
Location: Toronto
This initiative aims to empower youth (age 13-29) in Alexandra Park by helping them understand the justice system and their legal rights when interacting with police. They want youth to have the knowledge and feel equipped to handle situations such as being stopped or searched by the police, being arrested, and being in custody. To do this, Scadding Court wants to create a comfortable, safe and welcoming space where youth can participate in workshops around the legal rights of youth, while also enjoying recreational basketball. Additionally, participants will receive wrap-around supports, such as resume-writing, financial literacy and other skill-building and leadership activities.
In the first year, the program will happen at SCCC. In the second and third years, they hope to expand and replicate at other organizations in the neighbourhood, like Alexandra Park Community Centre and Cecil Community Center. SCCC believes using basketball as an engagement tool will attract youth who may not otherwise participate in such programs. It can help build trust and create an accessible and comfortable space for racialized youth in our community. They will identify partners like St.Stephen’s and the Ontario Justice Education Network to help develop a curriculum and provide guidance.
Platform (Young Women's Leadership Network)
Reclaiming Our Futures
Year 1 Request (2025): $100,000
Location: Toronto
This Black youth-led project seeks to empower young Black Girls, aged 14-22, who are negatively impacted by justice and educational systems. These youth are criminalized in the education system due to policing presence in schools, increased punishment through detentions, suspensions and expulsions, resulting in a school to prison pipeline. This project will equip young Black Girls* with language to better understand their experiences and provide tools to support them with advocacy while they experience compounding oppressions of both anti-Black racism and gender based violence.
The project will create space for collective healing, without the threat of re-traumatization, ensuring that Black Girls* impacted by criminalization within the education system have the tools to build allyship, solidarity and personal advocacy. Platform will do this through education, awareness and anti-oppressive leadership workshops. They are creating meaningful opportunities for their community to come together and develop a deeper understanding of their personal experiences and facilitate power to young Black Girls whose experiences of criminalization within the education system are often overlooked. This program will be developed and facilitated by Black women whose values and lived experiences reflect the lived realities of the participants.
*Their definition of Black Girls includes Black non-binary youth and Black trans girls.
Direct Your Life Organization
GAME (Guidance, Awareness, Mentorship, Employment/Education)
Year 1 Request (2025): $100,000
Location: Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA)
The GAME is a mobile program designed to provide comprehensive support to justice-involved Black and People of Color reintegrating into the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). In collaboration with federal and provincial institutions, Direct Your Life will implement restorative justice practices to address their multifaceted needs and promote resilient communities. They also offer 12-session workshops on mentorship, capacity building, and access to resources aimed at tackling the underlying causes of involvement in the justice system through a self-guided workbook and guided discussions. By breaking cycles of poverty, homelessness, and systemic trauma, our program empowers participants to build brighter futures. The project believes in nurturing positive habits and fostering success, essential for sustained societal reintegration.
By forging meaningful connections and offering targeted support in education and employment, they advocate for long-term positive change. The program ensures participants not only thrive individually but also contribute positively to community cohesion. Direct Your Life GAME operates within a supportive, inclusive community framework rooted in restorative justice principles.
Revitaled Reintegration Services
Lawlantis
Year 1 Request (2025): $100,000
Location: Across Ontario
Lawlantis is an innovative online web application game designed to demystify the complexities of the criminal justice system, particularly aimed at youth. Through interactive gameplay, it seeks to educate users on navigating critical processes such as court hearings and release preparations. This project is rooted in extensive research, incorporating insights from youth lived experience experts and justice sector professionals to ensure accuracy and relevance. Lawlantis will address issues such as systemic biases like anti-Black racism, anti-Indigenous racism, and colonialism within the justice system. It offers culturally informed perspectives, with diverse modes and settings aimed at empowering youth to advocate for themselves in a healthy manner.
The game's launch will be accompanied by a community event featuring youth community leaders with lived experience in the justice system, who will speak on mental health, navigating justice challenges, and setting goals. Participants will be able to play the game, engage in community-building activities, and access information on local resources to support their journey. Lawlantis aims to validate youth experiences within the justice system and empower marginalized and overrepresented youth to navigate their paths confidently and resiliently. By bridging educational gaps and fostering empowerment, the game strives to create a more equitable and supportive environment for all youth involved in the justice system.
Anab Youth Next Generation
Youth Empowerment & Justice Awareness
Year 1 Request (2025): $100,000
Location: Richmond Hill
This project reaches out to youth who are both out of school and out of jail. They engage community workers and members of the justice system to partner and share their expertise with youth who have joined their WhatsApp group where they share events like workshops on Justice and the law, resume writing sessions, and job fair opportunities. Anab Youth Next Generation will host in-person workshops on the criminal and justice system to encourage young people to ask questions and address areas of concerns on a more individualized basis. The team will also conduct a survey distributed through the WhatsApp group to assess participants needs and gather feedback.
Feathers of Hope
On the Wings of Justice
Year 1 Request (2025): $100,000
Location: Thunder Bay
This program is an educational program that informs Indigenous Youth of their rights in the justice system. The level of Indigenous Youth incarceration has reached a crisis level in Canada. Prisons are the new residential schools. While Indigenous Youth represent only 8% of Canada’s total population, according to Statistics Canada, “Aboriginal youth accounted for 46% of admissions to correctional services in the 10 reporting jurisdictions in 2016/2017” (Statistics Canada, 2017). It is imperative to educate Indigenous Youth on their rights, how to navigate the justice system and to advocate for themselves. The court systems are broken, colonial and oppressive. Even defense lawyers assigned can be an obstacle. One wrong move and youth are saddled with the yoke of criminalization for life which can lead to addiction, mental health issues, suicide, gang activity, loss of access to life chances, broken homes, learned helplessness and a repeating cycle of intergenerational violence and trauma. The Wings of Justice project will carry young people to a brighter, safer, and healthier future where they will thrive for generations to come.
Active Newcomer Youth Ottawa (ANYO)
Building a Bridge
Year 1 Request (2025): $100,000
Location: Ottawa
Building A Bridge, part of the Youth Empowerment and Rehabilitation Initiative (YERI) by Any Ottawa, supports at-risk youth, including refugee claimants, former gang members, convicted youth, and those at risk of school dropout in the Ottawa area. This program integrates legal advocacy and educational enrichment to help these young people navigate the justice and education systems. Through regular legal clinics, restorative justice circles, and comprehensive rehabilitation services, we provide essential legal support and promote healing and reintegration. Our educational component includes after-school tutoring, mentorship programs, and personal development workshops designed to enhance academic success and personal growth. By fostering a supportive environment and leveraging community partnerships, Building A Bridge empowers youth to overcome challenges and build brighter futures.
Success Beyond Limits (SBL)
Legal Education Program
Year 1 Request (2025): $100,000
Location: Toronto
The project will focus on providing legal education as an integrated part of Success Beyond Limits’ Summer Program. This 6-week Summer Program provides Black youth with mentorship, youth employment, enrichment opportunities, social and emotional supports while earning their first high school credit. The Legal Education Program will provide 100 youth from Jane and Finch in grade 8 with legal education and exposure to a career working with the legal sector.
This project will be youth-led by Academic and Social Coordinators who will work in partnership with Law in Action Within Schools (L.A.W.S.). Youth will be provided with an introduction to the criminal justice system using real life scenarios and how to navigate it. They’ll discuss how legal decisions are made and the racial disparities that exist in Canada’s legal system. Their exposure and education will culminate in mock trials at the conclusion of the program as they take on various roles in the legal process such as those of bailiff, judge, witness, jury and lawyers.
Sentencing and Parole Project (SPP)
Year 1 Request (2025): $100,000
Location: Toronto
SPP addresses anti-Black racism in the criminal justice system. In particular, the mistreatment and misunderstanding of Black offenders in criminal sentencing and parole that is contributing to dire problems such as the over-incarceration of Black youth and adults and harsher treatment while in custody. The over-incarceration and differential treatment of African-Canadians impacts the outcome of their rehabilitation and subsequent involvement with the criminal justice system, especially for Black youth. In addition, the dramatic over-representation of Black people in provincial and federal jails also has a dramatic impact on Black children and youth who are left without adequate financial, emotional and family support of an incarcerated parent. Without such support, Black children and youth are at exceptionally high risk of following the same carceral trajectory as their incarcerated parent. SPP will create and submit to court reports that promote equitable and accountable institutions and systems within our justice administration. These reports are titled SPP reports or Enhanced PreSentence Reports. They are inspired by "Impact of Race and Culture Assessments (IRCAs)" used in Nova Scotia. By presenting detailed, thorough and in-depth information that would otherwise not be available to judges about the complex lived experiences of Black youth in the criminal justice system, the reports dispel and disrupt stereotypes and provide a more suitable foundation for evidence-based
sentencing decisions.
SPP reports also include recommendations for culturally appropriate community-based rehabilitative programs that work with the youth, their families and appropriate services by and within Black communities. The Sentencing and Parole Project's education component focuses on bringing light to the socio-systemic problems that are contributing to the over-incarceration of Black people, including disproportionately high disadvantages in the areas of education, employment, housing, health care, community services, and policing.
