In 2016, Humber College, in partnership with The City of Toronto’s Youth Equity Strategy, Amadeusz, and The Laidlaw Foundation, launched a research project titled Look at my Life: Youth Identified ‘Sparks’ for Firearm Possession Among Young People in Toronto.

Tina-Nadia Gopal-Chambers, a faculty member in the School of Social and Community Services, was the Principal Researcher on the project. The research findings were released this week which identified the following influences that contribute to young people becoming involved in crime:

• Risk factors, including trauma, family environment, lack of non-family adults/mentors, lack of community programs, negative peers, and negative school experiences;
• Systemic barriers, including racism, poverty, lack of community safety; and
• Barriers after being incarcerated, including accessing employment due to a criminal record and a lack of education, and returning to the same environment with little support.

A copy of the report is available at: amadeusz.ca/research-2.

Humber College Applied Research & Innovation is proud to be a key partner on this timely research and we thank Tina-Nadia Gopal-Chambers for her contributions.