Funds needed for ‘incredible’ program that sets youth headed for gangs on the right path

In high school, she saw many of her peers doing or selling drugs. She was falling into that same lifestyle when she was referred to YARD.

Now, thanks to that program, a young woman told a crowd gathered in the basement of the local John Howard Society’s Barton Street East building that instead of “getting high in her room,” she’s now graduated from high school and just finished her first year of college.

This is the power of the Youth at Risk Development (YARD) program. But YARD is at risk of closing when one-time, five-year funding comes to an end in August.

With that deadline looming, the agency has launched a #saveYARD campaign. On Thursday, they unveiled a video with “voices of YARD.”

The team, all wearing green #saveYARD T-shirts, spoke about the power of the program, which has seen some 463 participants since 2013, but also their fear of what will happen to the vulnerable youth if YARD is gone.

“What are we going to tell them when it’s done? Where do we send them?” Luisa Caruso, a front-line YARD worker said.

She worked with the young woman who shared her experience with the crowd, and said she is so happy and proud with the transformations she’s seen in so many young people.

Caruso will be out of work if they don’t find funding, but that’s not what worries her most.

YARD works with youth involved with — or at risk of becoming involved in — gang lifestyle to reshape how they think about community, violence and money. It includes weekly classes, followed by mentorship that can last up to 48 weeks depending on risk level.

For the 13 front-line staff, that means everything from teaching youth how to cook meals in the YARD program’s kitchen, to supporting them in court or in hospital. They have become a go-to program for schools, police and other agencies facing youth and gang violence.

Ruth Greenspan, the executive director of the John Howard Society of Hamilton, Burlington and Area, called YARD “the most incredible program we have” and “invaluable.”

The program took another blow this week when, on Wednesday, Greenspan said she learned they are not getting an anticipated proceeds-of-crime grant from the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services.

Hamilton police, who are supporters of YARD, had negotiated a $100,000 grant last year that funded one position until March. John Howard had applied for a renewal that would have covered the position from 2018 to 2020 and were “sad and surprised” to learn they’d been rejected, Greenspan said.

John Howard’s primary focus for program-saving funding is Public Safety Canada.

Hamilton East MP Bob Bratina attended Thursday’s video unveiling along with Mayor Fred Eisenberger to voice their support for YARD.

Bratina said the YARD program is “in line with the government’s plan to reduce youth violence,” and has written a letter to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale calling for funding.

The letter reads in part, “I believe that the John Howard Society’s YARD program is a worthwhile cause to support. Gang violence is a complex issue that requires strong collaboration, not only between levels government and law enforcement, but also with community partners working on the ground.”

Bratina plans to “walk right up to” Goodale and address the issue.