The HUB Youth Services

Happy Reframe Friday! This week The HUB team has the opportunity to attend the VRC Webinar on Community Violence Problem Analysis, learning from violence reduction scholars in the US! We know that violence is concentrated and clustered, often perpetrated by a handful of individuals, centered around few locations, thanks to the research of Thomas Abt. This White Paper expanded on best efforts to deliver anti violence practices in communities. Some take aways for our team following: - acknowledging that the first step to reducing violence within the confines of a violence intervention model is to identify those people, places and behaviours that are most likely to be attached to violence. - There are 3 key elements to Community Violence Problem Analysis: 1. Incident Based Analysis 2. People Based Analysis 3. Place Based Analysis - the concept of dosing services appropriately based on an accurate definition of what "high risk" individuals means recognizing the need for BOTH prevention and intervention based services. "My big concern is that the practitioners get left behind in these types of efforts. We forget about the community and the role that they have to play. They have to be able to absorb this or none of this stuff works" - Aqueela Sherrills, CBPSC Click the link to read the paper, consider how these efforts can continue to be created in the Canadian context! #bedifferent https://vrc.umd.edu/

Happy Reframe Friday! Cure Violence Global released a raw, realistic comic to depict what violence interruption looks like in the field! At The HUB, we know gun and gang violence requires focused, fair and balanced solutions. This comic emulates the power of informal, messy, creative, relentless relationship building. Interrupting cycles of violence requires showing up for the small things first, dropping off pizza, sharing laughter and a coffee on a street corner, texting check ins that are frequent. This leads to high risk youth thinking about another option in their tool belt when violence could occur. Instead of only having one option - perpetrating violence - they have something else to try out - calling that safe person, that credible messenger, to support them to change their own norms about how conflict can be resolved. Choosing to call someone from The Hub team is a win 🥇 and can’t happen without small, intentional connection points along the way! There is trust and safety within the relationships we build, and our team is committed to being the bridge between a young person and a peaceful outcome! #violenceinterruption #bedifferent

Happy Reframe Friday! The use of credible messengers to deliver service and interrupt cycles of community gun violence has been effective in communities similar to Hamilton! Center for Justice Innovation Roca, Inc. YAAACE - Youth Association for Academics, Athletics and Character Education, The HUB and other agencies alike have already been using this method to detect violence, interrupt cycles and change community norms. At The HUB, we know we can't detect violence without being in close to connection to those at highest risk of causing and being victim to it, which means empowering young people from their communities who hold high social capital to be leaders of peace, explore opportunities within there community that are distant from crime, and offering healthy spaces for emotional processing. Without the use of lived experience experts, this work becomes unethical and inefficient, that is why The HUB high risk youth program, was designed by those of highest risk, for those at highest risk! #violenceinterruption #bedifferent

Happy Reframe Friday! South of boarder has released some exciting news surrounding intentional, focused, balanced and evidence based strategies to combat gun violence. At The HUB, we know Canadian contexts still differ from the U.S, however, we can always learn from what evidence holds and we are fierce advocates for bringing trauma informed, data driven solutions to not just our local community but at the national level. There will be an additional 85 million dollars designated to community violence interventions, with emphasis on street outreach teams with credible messengers, CBT and hospital based violence intervention teams. Noting shifts in neighboring continents fuels hope for the work we do at The HUB, as we know it takes a compassionate, gritty, determined village of system players to support those of highest risk of being victims and perpetrators of gun crime with peaceful, sustainable pathways. #bedifferent #communityviolenceintervention https://lnkd.in/gZapkiqi

Happy Reframe Friday! Policy is about people. Policy is about communities, and unfortunately, policy is usually created by those who are not representative of the community in which it impacts. We had the honour this week to attend two conferences that were centered around upstream solutions to community safety and gun violence reduction. A quote that stuck with our team "Policy makers deciding what works for racialized youth and programming is like a doctor prescribing medication to a patient they have never met". Forcing high risk youth into boxes such as barrier ridden programming, 9am-5pm support models and punitive approaches limits their ability to use their existing strengths towards healing. At The HUB, our intake process looks a bit different. It is slow, client led, time line free and based on what the client feels safe to share on their terms. We can't possibly know what someone needs until they let us in enough to express it, and policies often force high risk youth, specifically those from BIPOC communities, to feel additional oppression and stigma. What would it mean if we released the walls of the boxes our systems try so hard to uphold? How much more available and safe would services feel is we reduced the urge to force youth into boxes that are suffocating and white centric? #bedifferent

Happy Reframe Friday! What happens in communities after 5pm, when services close and the violence persists? Who is boots on the ground, checking in on folks, mitigating risks and violence with data driven solutions? In Hamilton, The HUB has been committed to being this gap filler, providing after hours support, with peace, justice and violence reduction at the core of service. 2am phone calls, pizza on a street corner, dropping off a toothbrush, sharing a coffee and a good cry, are all examples of informal engagements where trust is building with our team, relationships are solidifying, norms about violence and harm are shifting and youth are being served exactly where they are at! We can't expect youth facing high risk circumstances to always be safe enough to come to our buildings, meet in morning hours, and change their lifestyles to fit the 9-5 service model. That is why we have tailored our support mechanisms to be in places that violence is most concentrated, at times when safety is lessened and with those at highest risk of perpetrating or being victims of violence. Consider what marginal change to service delivery could look like in your agency spaces. Is there room for #beingdifferent ? #afterhourssupport #violencereduction

Huge shoutout to Samy’s Drug Mart for their generous donation of $5000 to The HUB! Their dedication to serving those most vulnerable and desire to support The HUB’s mission and values is appreciated and honourable! We are excited to be able to continue to offer service to folks in our community and donations support us to do so! #bedifferent

Happy Reframe Friday! When we think of the role lawyers play in the lives of high risk and high needs youth, we often limit our ideas around court rooms and legal aid calls. The Homeless HUB released an article in August of 2024 that expands our view of the role of lawyers in preventing and ending youth homelessness. ..".lawyers are uniquely positioned to play the role(s) of advocate, problem solver, and systems navigator. Lawyers can assist young people to access the services they need to help lift them out of homelessness by removing legal barriers that interfere with their housing, education, employment, health care and self-sufficiency. This is true of lawyers representing youth in the courtroom, as well as lawyers as part of an interdisciplinary team assisting with preventative wrap-around supports." Creating collaborative systems for young folks requires being creative about who is around the table. What if we included lawyers in the process, even before a criminal matter was an option offered more often? What if a youth who is feeling unsure about their rights, coming from CAS or within the scope of how services are delivering support could call someone to walk this through with, before signing forms related to their rights, or consent? Empowering young people to have support to make informed decisions can be one step towards barrier reduction, trauma informed advocacy and system change! Take a read! #bedifferent https://lnkd.in/exiMVPiP

Happy Reframe Friday! Today, The HUB is taking part in the Hamilton Overdose Awareness Day event at Gore park, starting at 10am. We will gather to honour the lives lost to the drug poising crisis, as well as continue to advocate to best practices for those using substances, that are evidence based, harm reduction and human centered. Hope to see you there! #overdoseawarnessday2024 #bedifferent #harmreductionsaveslives

Happy Reframe Friday! Expression of emotions gets to be creative! It gets to be freeing, melodic, lyrical and a time to explore how rhythm can tell a story! Join us at 905 Fest this Sunday, August 25th, at Bayfront Park, for a day of wonderful performances, learn more about our services and connection! #communityovercompetition #bedifferent