Horizons for Youth

Anthony’s Story

“I started thinking that no one really cared about me, because no one was caring for me.”

I guess it all started the day I was born. My mom was fifteen, he was a few years older. At eighteen, mother left for Toronto, leaving me, and country life behind her. Shortly after her arrival in Toronto, she sent for me. I mostly lived with my grandmother off and on, due to the fact that my mom had picked up some bad habits of selling her soul and body to the streets. At the age of six, I learned pretty fast about what was going on around me and what my family was all about. I started thinking that no one really cared about me, because no one was caring for me.

Eventually, my mother took me to live with a man who soon became my sister's father. I remember one horrible night; they had a big argument over her not coming home the night before. My mother picked up a knife and went to stab him. He picked up my sister and tried to use her as a shield. Thankfully she missed them both. Things calmed down, my mom left him; and he filled up the fridge and left as well.

“I was alone with my sister, who was just two weeks old…. I’m only eight.”

I was alone with my sister, who was just two weeks old. I did the best I could for a week and a half but I ran out of formula, diapers and there were no more clean clothes for us. Now remember I'm only eight, I can only do so much. Without the help of my grandmother, I packed up my sister and headed off to 14 division.

“They don’t want you getting attached, so they move you around a lot.”

Anna and I were placed in foster care. She was adopted by a nice family. I stayed in several foster homes until I was fourteen. They don’t want you getting attached, so they move you around a lot. After that, I moved into an independent living home for boys. Soon after that, I moved into an old grungy rooming house in the heart of Regent Park. I lived there for about a year, before moving again to Scarborough to a treatment home for troubled boys. There I met some friends and we moved out on our own. That is where my life fell apart. Booze and drugs took over my whole day. I was living it up!

“I had no money, no job, no family, no future.”

Then the need to join a gang set in. Being associated with various gangs put me in some dangerous predicaments and my life was going nowhere. The CAS cut my money off and discharged me. I had no money, no job, no family, no future. I was mixed up in a relationship with a girl I loved to hate with a passion, until she put me in jail for 18 months for something I didn't do.

“Horizons for Youth was there for me through the hardest times in my life.”

After doing time, I found out about Horizons for Youth. It was with the support of the shelter’s programs and services that I got my life turned around. Horizons for Youth was there for me through the hardest times in my life. When I was low on self-esteem, they helped me to stay positive. When I was starting to drift away, they motivated me to keep working towards a better life. There was so much I needed to get my life in order.

I distanced myself from the gangs, I found a job cooking and became independent enough to rent a room. Eventually, I met a wonderful woman. We started dating in 1997 and we now have two children together. Even though I still battle with the demons of my past, she has stood by me when I was on ice so thin you could see the water underneath it. I was hard to live with, but she still stayed in while I over came my abandonment issues, drug addiction and alcoholism.

I still visit Horizons for Youth from time to time. Although I don’t need as much of their help anymore, I like knowing that they are there. That they care for me, and are always happy to see me. I consider them part of my family.

Sam

My name is Sam and I first came to Canada from the Caribbean in 2002. Since Canada has more opportunities than my home country, and my father was living in Toronto, my mother made the decision to send me here. Before coming to Canada at the age of 16, I hadn’t seen my father since I was a baby. He now lived with his new family, a family I did not know.

Since I was not provided with formal education opportunities in my country, my Canadian school placed me in a class for students with special needs. My father’s point of view was that since I was not smart, there was no point in continuing with school, and instead I should join the work force. This is when I decided to leave.

"Horizons helped me see that I AM SMART"

I left my father’s home and ended up at Horizons. Horizons helped me see that I AM SMART. They assisted me in returning to school, helped me find supportive housing, and are always there to support me.

"My Horizons family will be there in the front row, cheering me on"

Recently my supportive housing home burned down. I now find myself back at Horizons. Where else would I go, Horizons is my Canadian family. I am still in school and doing great. I was so proud to bring the staff at Horizons my recent report card that was full of 80s and 90s. My Case Worker here even attended Parent Teacher night on behalf of my mother. This coming Holiday Season I am starring in my School’s Christmas Play. My Horizons family will be there in the front row, cheering me on.

The staff at Horizons helped me gain the confidence I needed to return to school, find stable housing, and start being the person I really want to be. By making a donation to Horizons for Youth, you are giving more than money; you are giving kids like me a chance.

Jill

My name is Jill and I am 21 years old. Thanks to Horizons for Youth, me, my boyfriend Josh, and our 3-year-old daughter Michelle, are now living a healthy, happy life. We may not have a lot of money for the extras in life, but as we look at our future, we have a clean and safe roof over our heads, and food in the fridge. It was not always like this….

“Looking back, I now see there were many problems in the home I thought was so secure”

I grew up thinking my childhood was like everyone else’s, I was happy and healthy growing up with my parents and my younger brother Jake. We attended private school, and went on great vacations. All this started to change shortly after I turned 14. My mother started to go out drinking at night more and more. Many nights she would come home late and argue with my father. In the morning when I got up for school, I would find my mom passed out on the couch smelling of booze. Looking back, I now see there were many problems in the home I thought was so secure. I now realize that for years there were late night screaming matches, phone calls from neighbours checking to see if everything was okay after they overheard the violence, and sometimes broken dishes and bruises on both of my parents. Six months after my mom’s heavy drinking started, Dad left. Three months later, mom’s new boyfriend moved in. I did not get with my new step father. Instead of choosing sides, mom decided to stay out of it completely, leaving me to deal with this on my own.

“Finally all the lessons I was learning at Horizons for Youth seemed real. I saw that I needed these lessons for myself and for my baby. I started paying attention, stopped the drugs, stopped the drinking, and started a job”.

This is when I turned to a new group of friends from outside school. Friends who could relate to what I was going through. The best way to forget about it all was to get drunk and high. Mom was so drunk that she didn’t even notice. One night when I came home, mom did notice that I was drunk and high. We had a huge fight. I told mom I could not live with her boyfriend anymore and that she had to choose. Mom told me that she was not choosing that they all had to live together. It feels that by saying this, mom was choosing her boyfriend over me. At this point I was 16 and saw a brochure for Horizons for Youth was at my school, so I decided to come give it a try. For the first year, I went from shelter to shelter, finding money anyway I could to drink and get high. Finally when I was 17 she met Josh, he was also staying at Horizons for Youth and together we moved into our own apartment. After a couple of months I got pregnant. Expecting a baby really opened our eyes. Finally all the lessons I was learning at Horizons for Youth seemed real. I saw that I needed these lessons for myself and for my baby.” I started paying attention, stopped the drugs, stopped the drinking, and started a job. Me and Josh are doing very well. We still come back to Horizons for Youth to do laundry and get food packages. When we are there, Kelly, the Outreach Worker, talks to us and helps with what we need. This September I started College, studying business. Josh works full time at a factory, and Kelly helped them get subsidized day care for Michelle. Thanks to support from people in the community like you, Horizons for Youth was able to help this family.