From the abortion pill to the national overdose crisis, there is a need to ensure that Montreal youth have access to meaningful health education.  As the Quebec government explores how to reintroduce health education to schools, Montreal’s vibrant service industry is coming together to show how important sex education is for our city’s youth. Head & Hands’ Annual Serve Beach Volleyball Tournament is taking place on Sunday, July 30th.

As the Quebec government’s two-year sex ed pilot project comes to an end, there is no word on how or whether it will be made standard across the province. Schools have not been given the right tools to deliver comprehensive sexual education to youth, and may continue to be ill equipped to do so for years to come.

With large-scale sensationalization of the “abortion pill” (recently made free in Quebec), the Canada-wide overdose crisis, and continued conversations around cyberbullying and consent, youth must be able to access accurate information without feeling afraid or being judged – and we have a responsibility in our community to make it happen. Youth cannot escape these realities, and we are here to make sure that they understand them fully. The Sense Project model is built on the knowledge that teens will experiment, but they need to experiment safely, with all the information and nuance that they can get.

Head & Hands will be closed Monday, June 26th for the long weekend.

If you’ve ever wished about getting more involved in the Head & Hands community, now’s your chance! We’re looking for passionate and motivated folks to apply to be on our Board of Directors.

Elections will be held at our 2017 Annual General Meeting on Saturday, June 3rd, 2017. 

For more information on how to apply, click here!

We can’t wait to work with you!

Love,

The Head & Hands team

Starting May 1st, Head & Hands will be open:

Monday 10:00am – 5:00pm
Tuesday 10:00am – 10:00pm
Wednesday 10:00am – 10:00pm
Thursday 10:00am – 10:00pm

Head & Hands will be closed on Monday, March 20th, for spring cleaning day.

“[At J2K], we can get away from everything else. From school, from home, off the streets” – Julien*

When winter comes to Montreal, we tend to live our lives indoors.

At Jeunesse 2000 (J2K), the Head & Hands youth drop in centre, teens from Montreal between the ages of 12 and 17 can come together to escape the cold. Our Animators are on site to offer emotional support to youth on top of running activities including cooking, music composition, and basketball.

The basketball program at J2K is popular year-round, but in the winter time, when courts are snowed in, young people lose a place to spend their time after school, and spaces like J2K become even more essential. The J2K basketball program offers a secure, familiar, and warm(!) space to stay active throughout the winter months.  

This holiday season, you can give the gift of vital group space for teens. Your support keeps toes warm and smiles on faces, because community shouldn’t stop just because there’s snow on the ground!

Click here for more information on how to donate!

Maybe you haven’t started thinking about holiday gifts, but these two pups have!

This holiday season, why not think about giving the gift of Head & Hands?

That’s right, our Give The Gift campaign is officially back! If you know someone who loves Head & Hands, or someone who would love Head & Hands if they knew a little more about us, this makes the perfect present! Instead of hours in a store looking for something “just right”, Giving The Gift shows you care about your loved ones, but also about your community’s youth! This year, we have a special card hand drawn and designed by youth artist Dillon, featuring a very festive wintry scene!

How does it work?

This year is a little different than usual: now, when you make a donation in honour of a loved one or friend, we mail them a card with a handwritten note straight from us, letting them know about the impact your gift had.

What kind of impact exactly? Well, here’s an idea of what a donation can do…

$15 provides 2 days of healthy food to a young family

$25 funds one counselling session with Rhonda

$50 covers the cost of 5 after-school tutoring sessions

$75 gives one sexual health workshop to a classroom full of youth

$250 puts our Street Workers in the community for 15 hours of outreach

$500 takes care of the bill for one week of our free medical clinic

No matter who is on the receiving end, there is nothing more satisfying than the goodness that comes from a donation being made in one’s honour! Ready to go? You can donate online here.

Want to learn more? 

Head & Hands would like to extend our deepest sympathy, support, and love to the family of Darius Brown, who passed away last Thursday Nov. 17, 2016, in NDG. We would like to extend our support to his family, friends, and community. You are in our thoughts and our hearts.

Rhonda, our social counsellor, as well as members of our streetwork team are available to you should you need support in this difficult time. You can reach us at 514-481-0277