Archives: Grants (page 3)

Artists’ Legal Advice Services will expand its legal clinic, public legal education, and legal resource programs for artists across Ontario. Volunteer arts, entertainment, and intellectual property lawyers, along with law students from the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall law schools, provide summary legal advice to artists, writers, performers, and other creators. This initiative will benefit artists who may not otherwise access legal help and will evaluate how adding paid staff strengthens service delivery within a long-standing volunteer model.

Solidarity Place Worker Education Centre will expand its Know Your Rights program to provide free public legal education on Ontario employment laws for vulnerable workers, including newcomers, youth, low-income individuals, precariously employed workers, and racialized communities. Through workshops delivered in partnership with community organizations, as well as multimedia educational resources, the organization will equip participants with the knowledge and tools to understand and advocate for their workplace rights. The project will also increase the number of available trainings and expand the program's reach across Hamilton and southwestern Ontario.

Mind Forward will conduct a needs assessment in collaboration with clients, caregivers, and staff to identify the gaps in legal services for people with Acquired Brain Injuries (ABI). Mind Forward will meet with current service providers for low-income and disabled people to learn about the existing systems and develop referrals and partnerships. The needs assessment will result in a final report, identifying future areas of needs for people with ABIs and their caregivers that can be addressed by Mind Forward and other service providers to improve access to justice for disabled people.

This two-year initiative by the Women’s Crisis Centre of Waterloo will integrate early legal intervention for survivors of domestic violence with prevention supports for men at risk of using violence. Through legal outreach clinics, counselling, workshops, and accountability circles, the project will strengthen access to justice, promotes early intervention, and creates replicable tools for broader use across Ontario.

The Hispanic Development Council (HDC) will partner with the Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples (CSSP) legal clinic to provide legal education, legal services, and other workshops and activities in Spanish for Spanish-speaking communities in the Greater Toronto Area. This project formalizes an ongoing partnership between HDC and CSSP and increases the capacity of both organizations by establishing coordinated intake, navigation, and referral processes. They will further support the Spanish-speaking communities by building community trust through co-hosted workshops and clinics.

The Sudbury Workers' Education and Advocacy Centre will continue to deliver a variety of legal education, legal navigation, outreach, and advocacy initiatives on workplace rights. These programs aim to increase legal capacity and literacy among marginalized workers in northern Ontario. Initiatives include multilingual Know Your Rights employment materials, monthly public legal education workshops, one-on-one navigation support, and community outreach.

Spinal Cord Injury Ontario (SCIO) and Canadian Spinal Research Organization (CSRO) will collaborate to add legal education specific to people with spinal cord injuries (SCI) to SCIO's existing online learning hub, CORETREE. The project will engage lawyers with lived expertise of spinal cord injuries, clients, caregivers, and service providers to develop tailored legal education on employment rights, housing rights and accessibility modifications, healthcare access and consent, and administrative tribunals. The project will empower people with SCIs and their caregivers to more easily navigate overlapping legal and social support systems and have their access needs met.

The Forgiveness Project (TFP) will collaborate with parole officers, youth on parole, and legal oversight to develop a digital Beyond the Breach guide that explains probation and parole conditions to young offenders through personal stories, quotes, practical advice, videos, graphics, podcast episodes, and blogs. The guide will be available online to inform youth of their rights and responsibilities and reduce unintentional breaches of probation and parole conditions. The guide will also be a resource used in wraparound programs that TFP hosts for young boys on parole reintegrating into communities.

Coopération intégration Canada Inc. (CICAN) will pilot a community legal clinic serving Francophone newcomers in Ottawa, providing legal information, limited legal assistance (immigration, housing, employment, some family law), and free notary services for individuals who face barriers to accessing traditional legal supports.