Blog

When In the Lead came into Lester B. Pearson High School, we needed it — urgently. Our students were struggling to connect positively with one another, conflict was common, and staff were searching for a way to restore a sense of safety, respect, and possibility. I believed deeply in our students, but belief alone wasn’t  Continue Reading »

When I first met her as a panel member on a Youth Justice Committee she would hardly speak. She kept her eyes down, her posture tight, and her answers short. You could feel how little trust she had in the adults around her. And honestly, given what she had been through, I understood why. Yes,  Continue Reading »

Today, on National Truth and Reconciliation Day, the Calgary Youth Justice Society team will be engaging in city events remembering and honouring the lives of Indigenous children lost to residential schools and the lasting effect on their families and communities, as well as the ongoing, intergenerational impact of this system and those that replaced them  Continue Reading »

I grew up in a complex family dynamic and faced different barriers – dysfunction, poverty, violence, neglect, food insecurity, among others. My brothers and I did not have consistent, caring, trustworthy, positive adult mentors who showed us they cared about us, listened to us, valued our ideas, and recognized our strengths and potential. We did  Continue Reading »

Fifteen years ago, In the Lead was sparked by a simple but powerful realization: what we often see as “wrong” in young people can actually be what’s most “strong” about them. Founder Denise Blair was inspired after hearing about a panel of successful adults sharing their stories, all of whom had experienced childhoods filled with  Continue Reading »

Each year, young people in our community face new challenges and go through new experiences; they are constantly evolving and changing, and no two young people are exactly the same. As a youth-serving organization, the Calgary Youth Justice Society (CYJS) strives to ensure we are meeting the emerging and changing needs of young people as  Continue Reading »

  Hello everyone, it’s Danae (they/them) again! For all our classes with Coaches, this week was the first of our spring semester volunteer events. Our volunteer events are often a standout In the Lead memory for Young Leaders and Coaches alike, and it only takes a short time participating to understand why. A behind-the-scenes fact  Continue Reading »

  The last few years of my life have been extraordinarily transformative. As we all know, life happens, and we get dealt a hand—sometimes a crud hand. When this happens, you have two options, the first being to fold. The second is to play the hand as best you can, take the cards God or  Continue Reading »