For more than 45 years, Essex County Youth Diversion has worked with young people facing behavioural challenges, school issues, and involvement with police or the courts. Now, the organization says it is entering what executive director Joanna Conrad calls a “new era” — one focused not just on supporting youth, but the families around them as well. On Friday, Youth Diversion announced it has received $634,400 in Ontario Trillium Foundation funding through two separate provincial grants aimed at expanding family supports and early intervention programming across Windsor-Essex. The largest portion — a $534,400 Grow grant spread over three years — will expand the organization’s long-standing outreach services through a new Family Engagement and Coaching model. Conrad says the shift comes after years of seeing youth leave programs with coping strategies and support, only to return to households where parents and caregivers were still struggling to manage the same challenges at home. “The families are saying to us that they feel like they’re not supported, that they don’t have the tools in their toolbox to be able to help their child with the issue of high emotions,” Conrad said. She described the transition as a “natural progression” for the organization, which originally focused almost entirely on youth referred through police and the courts. Over time, Youth Diversion expanded its services to support youth outside the justice system as well — but Conrad says staff increasingly realized the family itself also needed support. “We really have to strengthen that environment that they’re within,” Conrad said. “They can leave with the strategies and a lot of hope to want to do well when they’re done with us, but then they just go back to the very environment that brought them to us to begin with.” Under the expanded model, families will now participate more directly in the intervention process through individualized coaching, workshops and ongoing supports focused on communication, emotional regulation, and resilience. Funding also helped create a new Family Engagement and Trauma-Informed Space inside Youth Diversion’s west-end office — a more informal setting designed to make families feel comfortable while participating in programming. The organization is also introducing customized “family toolkits” filled with sensory items, coping resources and strategy materials parents can use at home or while out with their children. Conrad said the kits are designed to help caregivers respond during difficult moments, especially for children dealing with emotional regulation or sensory challenges. “Sometimes your child may be having a moment and you’re like, ‘Oh, I wish I had something to be able to provide this support,’” she said. The kits can include items such as earmuffs, fidget toys, snacks, routine cards, and calming tools tailored to individual families. Conrad said the organization currently works with roughly 300 to 350 families annually through its youth justice and outreach services. The second grant announced Friday is a $100,000 Seed grant supporting RESET — short for Regulate, Engage, Strengthen, Empower, Thrive. The program targets youth with mild intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, and autism spectrum disorder who are experiencing behavioural challenges at school or at home. Conrad said the program was partly inspired by reports showing those students are being disproportionately suspended compared to their peers. “When it comes to kids, especially with learning disabilities or intellectual disabilities for that matter, they’re not necessarily understanding the repercussions of their behavior,” Conrad said. “They’re also not necessarily provided the strategies to change their behavior.” RESET is being piloted alongside community partners, including the Greater Essex County District School Board, with a focus on emotional regulation, social skills, and decision-making before behaviour escalates into suspensions or further discipline. Conrad said many behavioural incidents are rooted in frustration, emotional outbursts, or peer pressure rather than malicious intent. The organization hopes the program can intervene before students reach crisis points. “It’s not a vacation,” Conrad said, while describing the organization’s long-term vision for suspended students. “You’re going to come to Youth Diversion and you’re going to spend a couple of hours with us, and we’re going to help educate you about what the issues are.” Windsor Police Chief Jason Crowley said police are increasingly seeing youth-related calls tied to larger issues happening inside the home. “We’re talking about years of abuse, substances, possibly,” Crowley said. “It could be as something as simple as just lack of supervision for parents because they’re too busy trying to earn a living to support their family.” Crowley added that calls involving youth are becoming more serious over time. “You have minor calls such as vandalism calls that have been around since the dawn of time,” he said. “Now, we’re seeing a little bit more violent crime.” He said partnerships with organizations like Youth Diversion are critical to preventing young people from becoming more deeply involved in the justice system. “If we allow that to happen and start getting involved in the criminal justice system, it just expands from there,” Crowley said. Conrad says the overall goal is to build stronger support systems around young people before problems escalate further. “Young people make up only 20 per cent of the population, but they are 100 per cent of our future,” she said. “The only way to change the trajectory of their life is to provide wraparound supports and services to the people that are in their environment.”
