This course is accredited by the Ontario College of Art and Design University.

The Look Both Ways program is a 5-week journey focused on self-reflection, post-traumatic stress, mental awareness, mental illness, and anxiety. Through a carefully crafted curriculum, participants engage in 10 assignments, which include various writing tasks such as storytelling, poetry, songwriting, letter writing, and journaling. The program encourages students to delve into their own vulnerabilities through creative expression. Throughout the 5 weeks, participants explore self-understanding by reading assigned materials, listening to curated songs, and actively participating in online discussions. Those who choose to submit assignments will receive guidance on channeling their ideas into reflective writing pieces, learning skills such as formatting sentences to effectively communicate feelings and crafting meaningful journal entries. The Look Both Ways program empowers participants to embrace self-discovery and express their narratives through creative exploration.

This program is designed to engage incarcerated adults 18+ in cohorts of 30 participants per session.

Upon completion of this course, participants will earn an OCAD Continuing Education certificate, facilitating increased access to post-secondary education. Furthermore, participants will acquire new skills, including technical writing and critical analysis. On a behavioral level, individuals will demonstrate enhanced self-reflection and awareness, improved communication abilities, heightened confidence, an increased sense of well-being, and a greater sense of accomplishment.

This program is available to young men (18-35) in custody who have completed one of FYou’s prerequisite level I programs, and filled out an application to participate. Being that the inmate must be able to complete the entire cycle of the program, only those who are projected to be in custody for at least six more months would be able to apply. All participants must fill out an application form that allows each young man to speak to their capacity to commit, dedicate and be passionate about the writing program.

Students will gain an understanding of how to evoke their own writing style through reading and hands-on practice, with the underlying goal of enhancing their existing vocabulary and developing their creativity. The program runs for 10 weeks, over the course of which students will be assisted and encouraged to improve comprehension through reading and response. Students will acquire the fundamental skills to produce strong writing (ie. how to format an essay, how to write a journal entry.)
Program requirements: 25 hours of class time, 15 hours of homework = 40 hours of work.

*Prerequisite credit and application required

*Prerequisite credit and application required

Special guest speakers include Rich Kidd, OVO40, Shad K. and more.

'Forgiveness or a lack thereof has affected many of us, including myself. With that being said, I’m incredibly proud of Tara and her team for creating such an inspirational and much needed initiative.'

'F-You is definitely an integral part of Toronto's community, and an example of community working together to erase negativity and inspire healing, and at that, has such a broad scope in the artistic community, it touches so many people. I would like to see F-You be a cross-country event that travels to the major cities, and teach these cities how to involve key influential figure in media the way that it does now.'

"This saved my life"

'Forgiveness is not permission, or predisposed justification — it’s the release of detrimental feelings, thoughts and emotions that can consume us.'

'I really enjoyed the event on Wednesday night and found it very inspiring not only for youth but also for the Youth Workers and adults to really think about the power of forgiveness and how it can play a huge role in you relieving mental stress and enabling growth.'

'This Project has taught me that hurt people hurt people.'

The FYOU Project Book Series: Published 4 books co-authored by dozens of contributors around themes of forgiveness, grief, loss, and manhood.

FYOU Project Workshop Series: Produced over *400 safe space events over the past *9 years, catering to people who’ve experienced trauma who wish to share their stories of how they overcame (and continue to struggle with) surviving extremely difficult circumstances.

FYou Project Jail Program: We deliver programs in jails that target mainly at-risk/gang-affiliated young men in custody; engaging in conversations about what is forgiveness/FYou Project about, anger management, conflict resolution, etc. We have had contact with over *500 inmates at various jails over the past 3 years.

Our Jail Program encompasses 3 main programming streams: