Programs will close even as advocates sound the alarm about the growing severity of teen crime.
March 5, 2026 5 min read
Federal funding is ending this month for nine Hamilton programs working to prevent youth violence, despite police and social service organizations warning about a troubling increase in the severity of teen crime.
Those agencies are sounding the alarm about shootings, drug trafficking, organized robberies, bear spray incidents, and other crimes involving teens and — in some cases — children under 12 who are too young to be charged.
Social service providers say there is unprecedented need among children and teens, with the effects of the pandemic still being felt.
Youth violence was also a focus of a safety summit hosted last year by Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath, where community organizations spoke about the need for better collaboration and a focus on prevention.
“It was our hope (the government) would see the value in the work that is happening and the ongoing concerns around youth violence,” said city manager of community strategies Rachelle Ihekwoaba of the “disappointing” federal funding decision.
Worth noting: the funding is not being cut abruptly. It was clear from the outset that the $2.5-million grant from Public Safety Canada was meant for three years and would concluded March 31, 2026.
But local beneficiaries of the Building Safer Communities Fund say they had hoped there would be a way to continue that support.
The affected programs range from youth hubs to skills development to a basketball program — many specific to low-income neighbourhoods and youth who are Black, Indigenous or newcomers.
One of the most significant programs affected is a dedicated outreach program that supports Hamilton young people involved in or at imminent risk of becoming involved with guns, gangs and crime.
The focus was on “upstream preventive initiatives,” Ihekwoaba said.
“It’s unfortunate to see most of the programs will conclude,” she added.
The Community Outreach Response for Youth (COR) Program, led by non-profit Wesley and in partnership with the John Howard Society, is among those closing.
Over the three years COR operated, it served almost 1,000 youths, with staff engaging young people in the community at schools, basketball courts and other community programs.
“Their office is the street,” said Denise Scott, Wesley’s senior director of children, youth and family services, adding that it is so important to meet youth where they are at and offer flexible programming.
Scott, who has worked with at-risk youth for decades, says she is not aware of another program like COR in Hamilton, that is specifically aimed at preventing young people from becoming involved with guns and gangs.
The majority of programs that exist are for after a youth is already involved in crime, and in many cases are mandated by police, court or probation. But preventive programs such as COR cost less in the long run, she said.
Scott said funding is “at an all-time low” for new youth programs.
“Not only are we seeing not much in the way of new investment, but there are long-standing, strong, outcome-producing programs for youth that are struggling to keep their doors open with long-term stagnant budgets.”
At the same time, Hamilton is also at “an all-time high” for need.
Of the young people COR worked with, 69 per cent decreased risk factors, and 95 per cent increased protective factors.
A risk factor includes isolation, poverty, mental health, lack of stable housing, she said. Protective factors are things like supporting a youth to stay in school, such as helping with transportation or finding a homework program, helping them find a job, or getting a youth involved in positive recreation — like basketball, which is the most popular option.
The program works like this: a teen might be acting out aggressively, using substances or and having multiple contacts with police. A referral to the program could come from police, the school or family.
The COR youth worker then works to build rapport with the youth. Staff are skilled at connecting with youths, and when possible, Wesley hires workers who are from the communities they serve, Scott said.
Once the worker learns what is going on in a young person’s life, they work to find ways to address stressors and struggles. That could include referring to one of Wesley’s other programs, or to those at other agencies.
COR was modelled after the Provincial Youth Outreach Worker (PYOW) Program that Wesley has operated for 20 years, which has youth workers in schools and the community. Hamilton’s PYOW will try to take on some of the work that COR was doing, Scott said.
It won’t have the same capacity or specific focus on preventing gangs and violence, but Scott said the provincial youth team will take on the centralized intake, allowing the team to continue to refer at-risk youth to other programs across the city.
The issue, however, is that some of the local programs that youth have been referred to are also closing.
For instance, YWCA Hamilton also received grant money through the federal fund. It used the money to run a program that helped 70 young women, girls and gender-diverse youth build leadership skills, said Chelsea Kirkby, vice-president of strategic initiatives and program development.
The youth in the program created a “guns and gangs” safety tool kit and raised funds at a community market for a housing project. Without continued funding, this program will end, but Kirkby said the YWCA will continue to support youth in different ways.
“We feel particularly with youth services it is very difficult to secure ongoing sustainable funding,” she said.
This is a long-standing issue in youth services.
In 2018, a lauded program called Youth at Risk Development (YARD) that helped young people exit gang lifestyle closed in Hamilton after its funding expired. The John Howard Society, which ran the program for five years, could not find continued funding, despite the support of Hamilton police and other organizations.
Scott said many programs offering youth services across the city operate on “shoestring budgets” that have not increased with inflation.
Wesley relies on personal donations and fundraising to try to cover gaps, including private gifts that helped with much-needed repairs to their housing program that operates 19 beds out of two floors of 191 Main St. W. for young people at risk of homelessness.
The YMCA Hamilton was one of the only organizations funded through the grant that was able to find replacement funding before March 31.
The fund paid for the operation of a mobile newcomer youth centre, said Lily Lumsden, vice-president of employment, immigrant and youth intervention services for YMCA. Through that work, the YMCA also established a fixed centre at 420 Crerar Dr. on the Hamilton Mountain that acts as a hub for newcomer youth in the city.
Since the federal fund was understood to be time-limited, the YMCA created a sustainability plan, she said. When the grant ends March 31 the YMCA will continue to deliver newcomer services on the Mountain through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada funding and other program cash that supports newcomer services at this location.
However, the majority of other local programs funded through the federal grant are ending.The Spectator asked Public Safety Canada about the efficacy of the fund if the programs don’t have access to long-term, stable funding.
In a statement, the department noted the government has invested $250 million since 2022 in youth violence prevention and intervention through the soon-to-end program, including almost $4 million for Hamilton.
“Updates on the initiative’s next steps will be communicated as soon as possible.”
While the $2.5-million grant that is funding the nine programs is ending as of March 31, other initiatives continue.
This includes a pilot project, called Hamilton CARES (community assistance and resource engagement system). This “situation table” pilot began last year and involves 20 different organizations, including Hamilton police, Wesley and other agencies that can bring forward high risk cases.
In it’s first year the focus was on eight- to 14-year-olds, but has now been expanded from birth to 18, Ihekwoaba said, adding that this pilot is not affected by the concluding funding.
Nicole O’Reilly is a reporter with the Hamilton Spectator specializing in covering police, crime and the justice system. Reach her at noreilly@thespec.com.
