Resources

Your rights as a young person in care

Every young person in our care has rights set out in the Child, Youth and Family Services Act and protected by Brave Spaces' policy. These are not earned. They are not contingent on behaviour, mood, or progress. They cannot be taken away as a consequence.

• The right to be safe — physically, emotionally, sexually, and culturally.
• The right to be heard and have your views given weight in decisions about your life.
• The right to be treated with respect and dignity at all times.
• The right to privacy — of your body, your belongings, your communications, and your personal information.
• The right to your identity — culture, race, language, religion, gender, sexual orientation — and to be supported in expressing it.
• The right to maintain contact with family and other important people.
• The right to education appropriate to your needs and abilities.
• The right to participate in religious and cultural practices of your choice.
• The right to receive medical care and to be informed about and participate in decisions about your health.
• The right to make a complaint without fear of retaliation, and to have it taken seriously and acted on.
• The right to contact your CAS worker, a lawyer, Ombudsman Ontario's Children and Youth Unit, Kids Help Phone, and other supports at any time.

How to make a complaint

If something at Brave Spaces — or in your placement — is not okay, here are your options. You can use any of them. You do not have to choose one. Nobody can stop you from doing this.

1. Talk to a staff member you trust. Ask them to help you write it down if you want.
2. Use the complaints box in the home. You can write anonymously if you want.
3. Talk to the Director (Felecia Wells). If the complaint is about the Director, you can go directly to your CAS worker, Ombudsman Ontario, or any of the contacts below.
4. Call your CAS worker. Their number is in your file and you have a right to it.
5. Call Ombudsman Ontario — Children and Youth Unit. They are independent from Brave Spaces and from your CAS. Phone: 1-800-263-1830. Email: cy-ej@ombudsman.on.ca. Or use the online form at ombudsman.on.ca/have-a-complaint/child-and-youth.
6. Call Kids Help Phone. 1-800-668-6868 (call), 686868 (text), 24/7.

No retaliation. If you make a complaint — about anyone, including a staff member or the Director — nothing in your placement can be reduced, taken away, or threatened because of it. This is a hard rule.

Key contacts you can use anytime

For Indigenous youth and families

Brave Spaces will operate on the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. We work closely with Indigenous service partners to support each young person's connection to their own nation, community, and family.

• Native Child and Family Services of Toronto (NCFST) · 416-969-8510
• Peel CAS Indigenous Services · via peelcas.org
• Mississauga of New Credit Anishinaabe Family Resource Centre · for youth with ties to the territorial First Nation
• Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres · for connection to local Friendship Centres across the province

For 2SLGBTQ+ youth and families

• Rainbow Health Ontario · gender-affirming care navigation
• The 519 · community space and programming, Toronto-based
• Covenant House · LGBTQ2S-affirming youth shelter and supports
• Kids Help Phone — 2SLGBTQ+ counselling available 24/7

Frequently asked questions

How big is the home?

Six beds, intentionally small. Every young person is known by name, by history, by dream.

Where is the home?

Brampton, Ontario (Peel Region). The specific address is provided upon confirmed placement.

Who decides if I come here?

You and your Children's Aid Society worker. Wherever possible, you visit first and meet staff and residents before any decision is made. Your voice matters in the choice.

Will I be in the same room as someone else?

No. Every young person has their own bedroom, which you are supported to personalize and make your own.

What if I disagree with my care plan?

Your care plan is co-created with you. If you disagree with something in it, that disagreement is recorded and revisited. You are not required to sign something you don't agree with.

What if I want to keep practicing my religion / culture / language?

You are supported in doing so. Cultural, spiritual, and identity supports are part of how the home operates — never used as consequences.

Can my family visit?

Family contact is supported in collaboration with your CAS worker and any court orders. Where contact is safe and wanted, we help facilitate it.

What happens when I age out?

Transition planning begins on the day of admission. We support you with life skills, ID and banking, housing applications, employment connections, and adult services like ODSP and DSO. You can stay in care to age 21.

If I run away, will the police be called?

Each young person has an individual AWOL plan. Police are not the default response. We work with you in advance to plan what should happen if you leave the home, so the response is the one that makes you safest, not the most automatic.

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