HOPE: Helping Offenders on Probation Excel

At YSM, we strive to help street-involved youth reach their full potential. This includes helping youth on probation, parole or bail access needed resources to encourage them to meet their goals and live a better life.

What Is HOPE?

HOPE is a program tailored to seek solutions to youth offenders’ individual needs. It assists street-involved youth, age 16-29, specifically with the following:

  • Training & Employment Readiness
  • Mental Health Counselling
  • Community Work Service 
  • Fines & Restitution 
  • Life Skills Training 
  • Anger Management
  • Substance Use Support
  • Men of HOPE
  • Women of HOPE

The HOPE program was cultivated as a response to the increased need of incarcerated youth. Namely, it was not only designed to address the incarceration rates of youth, but to effectively provide them with an alternative to crime.

HOPE’s mission

Support rehabilitation and reintegration by promoting community involvement and connecting youth on probation with training and employment resources.

HOPE’s vision

Give youthful offenders a reason not to re-offend by helping them set achievable goals.

How the HOPE youth rehabilitation program works

The HOPE program allows youth on probation to connect with various resources to seek help and determine next steps after their incarceration. Once their application has been approved, each youth offender will be assigned a case worker to set goals for improving and moving forward with their life. They will have the opportunity to participate in different programs that are focused on helping them rehabilitate and reintegrate back into society.

The intake process:

If you have left a youthful offender system and are interested in joining the program, you must complete the following steps:

    1. Contact Pete Nojd, HOPE Care Manager Specialist by email at pnojd@ysm.ca or by phone at 647 283 3712.
    2. Complete the application process after connecting with Pete.
    3. Meet with case worker to create a plan of action. Once a youth has met with their case worker, they will work with them to determine appropriate program(s) and establish a timeline and program clarification requirements.
HOPE (Helping Offenders on Probation Excel) process flow chart, youth offenders programs

What to expect:

  • When you come for your intake appointment, please bring a valid piece of government-issued ID with you.
  • Once you’ve checked in with reception, have a seat in our waiting area.
  • Your case worker will greet you when it’s time for your intake appointment. They are here to support you in a judgement-free environment. 
  • By the end of your appointment, you will have established your goals for the program and will receive all applicable meeting dates and locations.

Connect with us

If you would like to know more about opportunities with the HOPE program, feel free to reach out to us. Whether you have questions or wish to team up with us on our mission, we’d love to hear from you.

Please use the contact information below depending on the purpose for your call.

 

For referral and intake

For program partnerships

Name

Peter Nojd –  HOPE Care Manager Supervisor

Peter Nojd –  HOPE Care Manager Supervisor

Email

pnojd@ysm.ca

pnojd@ysm.ca

Telephone

647 283 3712

647 283 3712

 

 

 

 

HOPE offerings: youth rehabilitation & reintegration programs

The purpose of HOPE is to help youth heal and improve their lives post-incarceration. To do this, we offer a wide range of youth rehabilitation programs, depending on their needs and goals, to help them gain the right skills and experience to move forward with their lives. Descriptions of all our youth rehabilitation services offered within HOPE are covered below.

Parenting Programs

Our parenting programs include “Nobody’s Perfect”, a free program for parents and caregivers with children 6 years and under. In this program, we discuss and explore children’s growth, learning and ongoing developmental needs, understanding child behaviour, promoting children’s health and safety, and how to cope and build sustainable self-care practices to work through parental stress.

The Nobody’s Perfect program is great for clients who are looking to reconnect with their children post-incarceration. Participation in this program will help them learn the skills and knowledge needed to be a nurturing and supportive parent and gain confidence in their parenting skills.

Mentorship

We offer various mentorship programs and opportunities both directly and indirectly. Through programs such as HOOPS 4 HOPE, in which we connect youth and individuals in law enforcement through sports and activities that promote positive relationships. Likewise, our Man2Man program provides an opportunity for male caregivers to share the experiences with fatherhood, life struggles, relationships and communication.

Mentorship allows youth to establish a positive connection with a like-minded person to guide them based on their experiences.

Work Programs

Our employment services provide youth with the opportunity to refine and develop strong skill sets to increase their employability and successfully attain jobs. There are a variety of diverse programs within our employment services to help youth who have criminal records transition into the workforce. Programs available to HOPE clients include, but are not limited to, Evergreen Next Step, Youth Job Connection, and Starbucks Barista Work Placement Program.

Youth who seek YSM’s Employment Services will improve their job readiness and better prepare to enter the workforce. When they’re ready, they will be matched with work opportunities and will receive coaching to retain employment.

Learn more about YSM’s Employment Services here.

Post Incarceration Housing Support

To support successful reintegration, we connect youth to our housing workers who work diligently and carefully to identify suitable and sustainable housing arrangements for youth. Likewise, we provide educational housing supports like “Housing 101”, which teaches youth the fundamentals of home ownership and the steps they must take to successfully attain financial autonomy.

We believe that everyone deserves a place of their own where they can feel safe and secure. YSM’s Housing Support Services can help youth find emergency shelter, submit applications, or find a home at our Genesis Place transitional apartment facility. 

Learn more about YSM’s housing supports here.

Art Programs

We provide programs such as ARTSPACE, where youth are encouraged to tap into their artistic potential and stimulate their creativity through a variety of means such as painting, rap, dance, cooking, etc.

Allowing youth to explore their creativity is a great way to practice self-care and discover new talents. Exploring the arts allows them to feel empowered and introduce a sense of joy and creative expression into their lives. These programs can also lead to new or re-established hobbies that give youth a source of inspiration and something to look forward to as they navigate life’s challenges.

Life Skills Training

We provide youth transferable life skills through a variety of unique programming to meet the diverse needs of youth in HOPE. Namely, we offer our Creative Cooking class, whereby youth learn about food preparation, budget shopping, and basic cooking skills to promote independence. We also offer Mothers of HOPE, whereby we provide mothers with the skills, tools, and personal development to effectively take care of their children and promote healthy life choices that keep their families united.

Learning life skills is crucial for setting youth up for success in the future and helping them feel empowered to live positive lives. YSM will work with each of our community members to determine which life skills programs are most suitable for their goals.

Community Work Service Programs

These are programs designed to directly engage our youth with the community whilst meeting particular court-related requirements.

Some of these programs include Community Service Hours to fulfill a condition of a court order or restitution to society by volunteering. 

Professional Counselling

HOPE clients have access to professional mental health counselling services. These services provide tailored support to individual community members through one on one counselling sessions with a professional  trained to help guide youth through their various mental health challenges.

Learn more about YSM’s Mental Health Counselling services here.

Spiritual Care

In various ways we promote positive development and individual spiritual well-being. This includes offering group or one on one interactions which address positive thinking, motivational, and spiritual dialogues. As well as providing them the tools and resources to support their spiritual journey.

Anger Management (6-Week Program)

HOPE’s Anger Management is facilitated by a professional counsellor who  provides participants with tangible techniques and practices to better self-regulate their emotions. Likewise, clients are encouraged to engage with psycho-educational materials provided by the instructors. This program runs for 6 weeks, after which a certificate of completion will be issued.

Learn more about YSM’s Mental Health Counselling Services here.

Health Care Services

HOPE participants have access to a full range of health services, including: dental, physiotherapy, orthodontics, etc. All of our services are free and confidential, and they do not require a OHIP card to access.

Learn more about the YSM Evergreen Health Centre here.

Substance Use Support (6 Week Program)

HOPE’s Substance Use  group is facilitated by a professional counselor. Offered both in person and virtually, these weekly interactive sessions provide HOPE participants with tangible techniques and practices to better self-regulate substance use while surrounded by others who are all working towards decreasing use, and creating personal recovery plans.

This group focuses on finding ways to process and deal with drug and alcohol use by providing youth with coping skills. Clients are encouraged to engage with harm reduction material and conversations prompted by the instructor(s).

Men of HOPE

For men aged 16-29, we offer a supportive and safe space for men to learn who they are and what they want to do with their lives.

Women of HOPE

Participants, aged 16-29, in the HOPE program are provided with capacity-building opportunities to further assist them in navigating personal challenges, overcoming systemic barriers, and reducing recidivism. The Woman of HOPE interactive weekly support group is an opportunity for youth to develop positive peer support, ignite their passions and learn about community resources.

HOPE Celebrations

Read about a recent HOPE Graduation Ceremony with guest speakers from the Toronto community.

What We’ve Done

Read about our HOPE Graduation Ceremony in Fall 2020 with guest speakers from the Toronto community, including Mayor Tory.

HOPE Graduates pose with their certificates while wearing face masks-fall 2020
Group photo at a HOPE graduation
HOPE staff and participant
Group photo of HOPE participants and police officers at a friendly basketball game
Group of youth at a trampoline outing
HOPE participants at Coldest Night of the Year walk
Youth HOPE participant looking confident on a boat
HOPE Staff with Mayor Tory

For urgent help please call 211 or visit 211toronto.ca which will connect you with urgent care programs and services in Toronto.