For Youth Initiative (FYI) is a non-profit organization that provides programs and services to youth living in low-income neighborhoods in Toronto. FYI describes itself as a youth-led, youth-driven and youth-focused agency that recognizes the importance of involving local youth in the development of programs and is committed to developing leadership capacities among youth. FYI’s goal is to end youth poverty by empowering youth with the tools they need to get ahead. FYI believes all young people deserve the opportunity to create successful futures.

FYI’s Re-Integrating the Socially Excluded (RISE) program used an evidence-based wrap-around support model for youth ages 12-17 who were in conflict with the law, to increase leadership abilities and skills to prevent and intervene in criminal activity.

From 2014-2017, FYI worked with YouthREX to develop and implement an evaluation strategy that allowed RISE to understand and monitor program processes and outcomes. This report summarizes the findings of the evaluation, and presents key program and evaluation recommendations.