resources for youth
These help lines are always ready to listen.
The Assaulted Women’s Helpline provides a free, 24-hour, 7-day-a-week phoneline. They provide crisis counselling, emotional support, information, and referrals, in up to 154 languages to woman who have experienced abuse. In addition, service to deaf and hard of hearing women is available through the use of TTY line. They provide a province-wide data base of resources as well.
The classic. Confidential and non-judgemental and most importantly, available 24/7 every day of the year. Kids Help Phone also has a comprehensive website with information and resources on many different areas of concern such as bullying, jobs, family, the internet, dating, school, and emotional health.
Their "brother site", BroTalk, also exists specifically as a resource and support zone for teen boys.
The Lesbian Gay Bi Trans Youth Line exists to provide service for youth, by youth that affirms the experiences and aspirations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, 2-spirited, queer and questioning youth in Ontario.
Support volunteers are available by text message, online chat, and by phone.
1-800-268-9688
PFLAG is a national voice that speaks for a more accepting Canadian society by providing support, education and resources on issues of sexual orientation and gender identity. Volunteers are contacted by frightened adolescents and by angry, fearful or ashamed parents.
PFLAG Canada supports, educates and provides resources to anyone with questions or concerns.
1‑888‑530‑6777
Need to talk?
The following are Toronto-based Organizations
Oolagen is an accredited, not-for-profit children’s mental health agency and University of Toronto teaching facility. It uses a strength-based, community-centric approach to delivering a variety of services for families and youth.
Anything you ever wanted to know about sexual health is just a click away! Topics such as birth control, sexually transmitted infections, healthy relationships, puberty and many more, "created by youth for youth", and facilitated through Planned Parenthood Toronto . They also offer an online info line five days a week, where teens can get info directly from highly trained teen volunteers. A non-judgmental, sex-positive, pro-choice, and inclusive, source for information.
Facilitated through Planned Parenthood, Supporting Newcomer Access Project (SNAP) is a peer sexual health education project led by newcomer youth for newcomer youth in Toronto. Workshops and activities aim to address the lack of relevant effective sexual education for this demographic.
Organizations Dedicated to Youth
Our friends are doing great work with, and for, young people in Canada.
FOXY stands for Fostering Open eXpression among Youth and they are on a mission to use the arts to enhance the education, health, and well-being of Northern and Indigenous youth in Canada.
FOXY uses traditional beading, theatre, digital storytelling, photography, and music to help teenage girls express their knowledge, opinions, and questions about health and love, with a strong focus on sexual health and empowered decision-making. They are an incorporate non-profit organization. Winner of the one million dollar Arctic Inspiration Prize (2014).
Femme International is an NGO committed to advancing the rights of women and girls through gender-targeted programmes that focus on menstruation, sexual health and feminine hygiene. They are currently based out of Nairobi, Kenya.
Femme International firmly believes that "Menstruation is a natural occurrence that ought never to cause shame or hinder opportunity." Menstrual management results in widespread gains for women and girls, including increased rates of school attendance, and lower instances of reproductive infection and disease.
In 2013, The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) provided a $2.5 million grant to support the ASC! Project, a five-year, national research initiative on art for social change, the first study of its kind in Canada.
nuance is our response to a lack of representation of newcomer, immigrant and second generation voices in popular sex and sexual health media. We exist to diversify and expand the sexual health conversation through the power of multimedia story-telling. Our pieces include cultural and spiritual perspectives and explore how sexual health affects not only our physical, but also mental and emotional well-being.
Friends of SExT
SExT: Sex Education by Theatre would not be possible without the support of these organizations
Since its inception in 1987, the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR) has been a trailblazer as the only national charitable foundation that raises awareness to generate funds for research into all aspects of HIV and AIDS.
Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is an arm's-length agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. The OAC's grants and services to professional, Ontario-based artists and arts organizations support arts education, Indigenous arts, community arts, crafts, dance, Francophone arts, literature, media arts, multidisciplinary arts, music, theatre, touring, and visual arts.
The Social Research Center in HIV Prevention is funded by the Canadian Institute for Health Research. It is an integrated network of centres specializing in HIV/AIDS health services and policy research.
Public health is the science of ensuring safety and improving the health of populations through education, policies, and research for disease and injury prevention. The Dalla Lana School of Public Health engages with issues of public health, research, and service, on a global scale while encouraging cross-disciplinary applications and evolutions.
Toronto Arts Council (TAC) is the City of Toronto's funding body for artists and arts organizations. Since 1974, TAC has played a major role in the city’s cultural industries by supporting a very broad range of artistic activity. From the emerging artist to the most established, from celebrated institutions to arts that challenge convention, TAC is typically the first funder to offer support. Today, TAC grants lead to exhibitions, performances, readings and workshops seen annually by over 7.5 million people.
The Michaëlle Jean Foundation is a national charitable organization that uses its unique arts for collective impact model to enable underserved youth to use creativity to change their lives and their communities. To that end, we work with arts organizations, the business sector, local organizations, government and other sectors of society to make a lasting difference in the lives of people across the country.
Flemingdon Health Centre is a registered charity and an incorporated not-for-profit Community Health Centre. Besides family medicine, they provide a wide variety of services to the community, and seek to address relevant identified issues, such as poverty, employment, food security, isolation and newcomer support.
They provide a sexual health clinic on Monday and Thursday from 3-5pm called the Gate.
Ophea is a not-for-profit organization and is led by the vision that all children and youth value and enjoy the lifelong benefits of healthy, active living. Since 1921, Ophea has been working to support the health and learning of children and youth in schools and communities through quality programs and services, partnerships, and advocacy.
Ophea works in partnership with school boards, public health, government, non-government organizations, and private sector organizations to develop groundbreaking programs and services that support healthy, active schools and communities.