Elizabeth Fry Toronto

Not every entrepreneur measures success the same way.

For many women, business is about flexibility, community, purpose, and creating meaningful impact alongside financial sustainability.

Our FREE WEB program creates space to explore ideas, build confidence, and develop a business that works for your life.

Learn more:
📩 [email protected]
📞 416-924-3708 ext. 226



Source: Brush, Candida and Edelman, Linda F., Women Entrepreneurs Opportunities for Database Research

Prisons are often framed as places for accountability and rehabilitation.
In reality, carceral systems reproduce and amplify the very harms they claim to solve...isolation, violence, trauma, family separation and poverty. Incarceration has long-lasting and damaging impacts on individuals and their communities, deepening these cycles of poverty, trauma and exclusion.

If the goal is safe communities, we should invest in the things that create safety: stable/affordable housing, mental health supports, accessible education, livable wages and conditions where everyone can thrive.

Parenting doesn't come with a manual, but support from your community and practical tools can make all the difference. 📖

💡Join us for a 2-day parenting workshop where we will explore parent-child relationships, gain insights into children's behaviour & development and learn practical strategies to navigate the everyday challenges with confidence.

Whether you are parenting toddlers or teens, this workshop will help strengthen your connection, improve communication and parenting with a greater understanding. 🧡

Join us this July:
🗓️Thurs 23- Fri 24
⏲️11am-4pm
📌658 Danforth Ave. Unit 402

Ways to Register or learn more:
➡️Scan the QR Code
➡️Call 416-924-3708 and ask to speak with General Counselling
➡️Email [email protected]
➡️ OR visit our website and fill out the form under General Counselling: https://efrytoronto.org/programs-services/counselling-services/

During Pride and Indigenous History month, we reflect on the intersections of gender diversity, Indigenous identity and justice. 47% is a stark reminder of the ongoing impacts of colonialism, discrimination and systemic inequities.

This month, solidarity means more than recognition. It means:
❤️Upholding Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination
🧡Advancing Reconciliation
💛Community-led led & culturally grounded programs
💚Culturally responsive systems
💙Gender-affirming health care and services
💜Advocating for Trauma-informed approaches
🩷Policies that address the root causes of criminalization


Source:https://mentalhealthcommission.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/National_Action_Plan.pdf

Thank you to our wonderful volunteers for generously giving your support and time to the Elizabeth Fry community! 🎉

We loved celebrating with you over food, art and games 🧡

Your impact is felt everywhere, and it means everything!

Individuals can spend weeks, months or longer in custody because of barriers to bail, poverty, lack of safe housing, mental health challenges and court delays. The already overcrowded institutions across Ontario creates unsafe conditions for those being held, reinforces structural inequities, and harms individuals and their communities. The impact of "tough on crime" policies are profound----people lose employment, housing, custody of their children, healthcare and integral community supports.

International human rights standards recognize that pre-trial detention should be used as a last resort. A justice system that respects human rights should focus on alternatives to detention, not punishment.



Source: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-471X/14/5/75

Research Study: Youth Lived Experiences of Detention in Ontario

This research explores how the lived experiences of incarcerated youth reflect and challenge the use of youth detention in Ontario, and what insights they may offer for developing alternatives to imprisonment and broader decarceral approaches. Grounded in youth empowerment, community collaboration, and social justice, the study will involve 25 interviews with individuals aged 12–30 who have previously experienced youth custody or detention in Ontario.

Interviews will be conducted virtually in secure and confidential settings, last approximately 1–1.5 hours, and participants will receive an $80 honorarium. Participation is voluntary, anonymous, and will not affect any legal status or access to supports.

Participants will also be invited to contribute to aspects of the research process, including shaping interview questions and supporting outreach efforts.

To sign up or learn more email Liz: [email protected]

This week, our Standing Strong Counsellors attended the annual Community of Practice: Addressing Youth Dating Violence. Led by PREVNet, the Community of Practice facilitates knowledge mobilization and connects various intervention research projects addressing Gender-Based Violence (GBV).

GBV is a preventable and significant barrier to gender equality. Not only does it have immediate impacts on physical and mental health of survivors, but lasting consequences for individuals, families, communities and society. GBV and incarceration are deeply connected. Survivors of violence are often criminalized for acts related to self-defense, coercion or survival. Programs like Standing Strong promote safety through support and education, not punishment.

Thank you you to the Public Health Agency of Canada for re-affirming its funding commitment to ending GBV, and to PREVNet for hosting!

For centuries, Indigenous communities across Turtle Island have protected knowledge, language, artistry, governance and connections to the land, while continuing to be leaders of movements for justice and community care🧡

This month we centre the voices of generations continuing to build, create and thrive.
The future is being built with Indigenous brilliance at it's centre ✨

Celebrate this Indigenous History Month by attending the 26th annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival from June 2-7, 2026 (Tkaronto) and June 8-14, 2026 (online)! Celebrate Indigenous storytelling though film and more: https://imaginenative.org/festival/schedule/

Starting as a Picnic Protest at Hanlan's Point Beach with only a few hundred attendees, Pride has blossomed into one of the world's most vibrant celebrations of love and liberation. ✨

Before the parades, there was courage. There were voices demanding to be heard, seen and protected. Every march, picnic, vigil and celebration transformed power and visibility into joy.

This month we honor the journey of pride and the communities who showed up for one another, loudly, proudly and unapologetically. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🩷🤍

Check out ArQuives, who preserve materials in any medium by and about 2SLGBTQIA+ people in Canada and provide public programming and access to information on 2SLGBTQIA+ histories and scholarship https://arquives.ca/