Resources

Recommended Reading

We've compiled a huge list for of articles and books that we found over our years of working with youth from all backgrounds.  We hope that somewhere in this list you'll find inspiration, insight, knowledge, and maybe even some humour.  Download the full list and start reading.

Featured Books

The book starts with where high-risk youth come from with an overview of attachment, trauma and brain development. It moves on to a practice framework and philosophy for working with this challenging but important population of youth covering engaging and working with youth through relationship; harm reduction approaches; resiliency/strength-based perspectives; community collaboration; addictions; strategies; and ethics and boundaries. There are case examples, personal experiences of the author, vignettes of progressive practice, as well as discussion questions, and the opportunity for self-reflection, at the end of each chapter.

In this important graphic novel, two Indigenous brothers surrounded by poverty, drug abuse, and gang violence, try to overcome centuries of historic trauma in very different ways to bring about positive change in their lives.

Pete, a young Indigenous man wrapped up in gang violence, lives with his younger brother, Joey, and his mother who is a heroin addict. One night, Pete and his mother's boyfriend, Dennis, get into a big fight, which sends Dennis to the morgue and Pete to jail. Initially, Pete keeps up ties to his crew, until a jail brawl forces him to realize the negative influence he has become on Joey, which encourages him to begin a process of rehabilitation that includes traditional healing circles and ceremonies.

Powerful, courageous, and deeply moving, The Outside Circle is drawn from the author's twenty years of work and research on healing and reconciliation of gang-affiliated or incarcerated Indigenous men. (From House of Anansi Press)

Reclaiming Youth At Risk offers educators and others access to unique strategies for reaching troubled youth. This resource explores: - The roots of discouragement in today’s youth, including destructive relationships, learned irresponsibility, and a loss of purpose. - How to create a Circle of Courage to give youth a sense of belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity. - How to mend a circle that has been broken. - How to reclaim youth who are troubled or lost.
 

From street-dwelling drug addicts to high-functioning workaholics, the continuum of addiction cuts a wide and painful swath through our culture. Blending first-person accounts, riveting case studies, cutting-edge research and passionate argument, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction (available for order in Canadian and U.S. editions, as well as an acclaimed audiobook version) takes a panoramic yet highly intimate look at this widespread and perplexing human ailment. Countering prevailing notions of addiction as either a genetic disease or an individual moral failure, Dr. Gabor Maté presents an eloquent case that addiction – all addiction – is in fact a case of human development gone askew.

Our goal is to make research and practice accessible and relevant to the youth sector through knowledge mobilization, capacity building and evaluation leadership.  Check out some of these links to get started:

Videos & Documentaries

Paper Tigers

Through my Eyes

For Want of a Home