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Dr. Nick Barnes is a children's psychiatrist from London, and I encourage you to watch his video on the 5 core principles of peer-supported community. Before I get into discussing the core elements though, I want to talk about the word peer. What does it mean? Why is it important to have peers? In the context of creating a peer-to-peer community, peers are people who make us feel safe. Who we can be ourselves around. People who are invested in our healing and growth, who are willing to leave behind any power dynamics, hold us accountable from a place of compassion and not judgment, and people who can drop in and be human together. What is a peer-to-peer community? When I first started doing research for Redefin’d I wanted to connect with different groups of young people who were considered at-risk. I wanted to create a peer community, a safe place for an open and honest dialogue. I wanted young people to open up and imagine what Redefin’d could be. What did they want to see change? What was working? What wasn’t working? What were their needs? Our gathering ended up around the dinner table, sharing lasagna, and this night was an opportunity to share stories and to listen. I remember that night when Ryan wrote on the board, "I feel like a commodity of the system." Redefin'd is an attempt to restore humanity to systems. To replace professional relationships with humans willing to be humans together, because healing happens in genuine human relationships. Peer-to-peer models have the ability to create this environment. "Healing and recovery are impossible—even with the best medications and therapy in the world—without lasting, caring connections to others.” - Bruce D. Perry, The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook Lastly, before I dive in, a shout out to my friend Mark Meinike at Operation Tango Romeo the Trauma Recovery Podcast for sending me this video. The five core principles of an effective peer to peer model: #1. Work where young people are at Each of us is different. We have lived experiences that have shaped our perceptions of the world, and our ability to relate with others. Therefore, the process of gaining trust, and building relationships, will not be linear. We are required to be in discovery - each and every time. We need to understand someone else’s story. Young and old, we need to be creative in our approach. The process here, if we need to name one, is to prioritize safety. That means going at the pace of the individual, meeting their needs and level of readiness to connect. Trust takes time. The effectiveness of this approach depends on the strength of our commitment to the needs of the individual. #2 Involve the right people Involving mentors can be powerful in this process, and the right people must be chosen intentionally and carefully. Are mentors willing to walk alongside young people in their growth, offering support when asked, while being mindful not to jump in and give advice? The mentor/mentee relationship isn’t about judging actions, offering up unsolicited advice, or needing to “teach young people a thing, or two.” It is about listening, and being a person who sees, hears, and values them for not only who they authentically are, but respecting where they are in the process. I love that Dr. Barnes talks about peers and staff as mentors too. We are all part of creating and compassionately holding each other to account in this process. The best mentors will be honest, and come from a place of kindness, not judgement. Dr. Barnes also highlights loyalty, reliability and empathy as other key mentor traits. #3 Focus on Relationship The first line in this video on relationships is, “Focus on relationships and build trust to create space for change.” Yes! Space for change happens when young people feel safe to express, to try and to mess up, and then try again. No one is going to open up and start to connect when they think they might be judged, or blamed. Or if they think someone is going to brush them off, or bombard them with all the things they should be doing differently. Safe space empowers change! #4. Encourage Young People’s Ownership, Co-creation empowers and motivates young people to become agents of their own change. They set the values they want to live up to, determine the culture, and how they are going to hold themselves and their peers accountable. Co-creation as an organizational value, also ensures that the staff, executive and board members, stays aligned and accountable to the needs, and priorities of the young people they serve. At Redefin’d we have designed our co-creation, and participant engagement process using the Guiding Principles of Youth Engagement from the YEToolkit. #5. Be Safe and have Boundaries Boundaries are important to get right. It seems that often, boundaries are being confused with emotional disconnection. When we feel unsafe with someone, attacked, hurt or confused, we reach a breaking point and react by setting boundaries that feel more like fortified brick walls. Learning to set healthy boundaries is not the same as emotionally distancing ourselves from connection with others. It is the opposite, and for many of us, it is a skill we will need to develop over time. In a peer-to-peer community, we want to create a container for safe expression. Safe expression also means getting comfortable with having uncomfortable conversations, because sometimes what we need to share with each other is about how we feel unsafe, and what we need to change. Creating this environment means selecting the right people, and training your mentors, volunteers and staff in the process of setting healthy boundaries. Everyone needs to feel safe and well supported. They too need to feel heard, and cannot be overburdened with emotion and responsibility. If the balance is right, they will feel safe and more emotionally available to deeply connect. “Compassionate people ask for what they need. They say no when they need to, and when they say yes, they mean it. They are compassionate because their boundaries keep them out of resentment.” - Brene Brown Liz Duerholt

Redefin'd. When I got home after a long day of cooking and such. I stopped to think. In the past six years, I've been trying to find myself, and define who "Ashleigh" is. I never had the chance to grow and learn what it all means to just "BE." After the abuse of every type, the neglect and denial from my family, that left me diagnosed, medicated and not capable, as some have said, to make any "healthy" connections. When I was apprehended, I was hopeful to have something, someplace to be safe, trusted and just loved for who I am. Instead, I was seen as this odd shape that wasn't fitting into the homes neat square hole. I have longed for connection, for someone to just say "hey you matter, you exist." Instead of being told that I won't make it. Instead of, "oh hey, you're still alive." I am broken still, but in the past few years, more importantly, in the last year, I've been putting myself together. I didn't really take it seriously before, because I didn't believe I mattered to anyone. I just had professionals tell me the usual, that I had to do it on my own, basically like, reading off a script, an "in case this happens," do this. I went through a lot of shit that I can't even begin to comprehend. Some of it has left me this way. NO ONE DESERVES TO BE TOLD THAT IT ISN'T THAT BAD! For the last nine months, things have been falling into place. I've made the push with people to show that I can be better, to show that I could make it to my 25th birthday when others said I couldn't. Some days still, I want to cry until my eyes swell shut, but I am still going to try. Being at here, at Redefin'd, I feel like I actually matter. Like I can be my crazy weird self. I can listen to music without being judged. I can have a real discussion. I can ask for a hug, and I know that when I can't ask, someone will notice and give me one anyway. Redefin'd is about being a real fucking human being! Everyone deserves this; what we have here. Everyone deserves to be supported and loved. We don't have to do it alone. Ashleigh Krew Member Redefin'd

Connection is not a weakness. Leaning on others, needing close relationships, needing people to love you is not a source of unhealthy dependency. Connection is non-negotiable. Three years ago, I found myself in a room of professionals being told that I was no longer welcome to work with the young people in my program. I started as a volunteer, before being hired on as a staff, and I spent 4 years creating a highly successful program, one that engaged and empowered at-risk young people to find hope and a sense of purpose. I was being asked to leave because, in their eyes, I was coddling them. They thought I was being too nice. My sense of connection with them was considered a weakness. Today, I am the founder of Redefin'd, and I work with young people from similar backgrounds; their struggles are the reality of disconnection. They have been neglected by parents, abused by family members, they’ve lived in poverty, been arrested, used drugs, experienced homeless. They are young people who have been managed by systems, paroled, labelled, shamed, diagnosed and medicated, but they have rarely if ever, been meaningfully connected with. I can tell you from experience, that we are not going to heal disconnection with more disconnection. Tough love, crime and punishment, professional boundaries, blame and stigma are not solutions, they are causing more harm. If we want to solve the complex social problems we face today, we need to undo the trauma that comes with disconnection. If we want to see rehabilitation and support people to successfully re-integrate into society, we need to understand that the opposite of disconnection is connection - love, trust, kindness, belonging, purpose, meaning, non-judgement, engagement and empowerment. Disconnection has a real impact. Recently, was having a conversation with a friend of mine, who has a long history in the mental health system, and she said something that has stayed with me, “I didn’t need one more professionalized relationship. I needed someone to care." Her transformation started with one kind woman who gave her a safe place to sleep at the end of her desk, a space that came with no expectations and no judgement. A young person whom I interviewed during my research for Redefin’d told me, “We are commodities of a system, not people.” It's hard to hear these stories, but in sharing them I want to acknowledge where we are falling short. It’s hard to overstate the importance of seeing disconnection as a root cause. In Canada, according to this CMHA report, suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people; the report states that youth mental health treatment is the second highest cost to the Canadian Health Care system. If you do a quick google search on loneliness and social isolation, you’ll find articles and studies that demonstrate the significant health risks associated with our increasing disconnection. Enough is enough. We know better. We need to do better. Clients want to be seen as people. Patients want someone to care about them. People are in search of healing. These truths are our call to connection. If we want to find solutions to the many social problems we face, we need to examine root causes; the urgency is real. Bruce Perry, of the ChildTrauma Academy says it perfectly in his book “The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook”: Of course, medications can help relieve symptoms and talking to a therapist can be incredibly useful. But healing and recovery are impossible—even with the best medications and therapy in the world—without lasting, caring connections to others. Healing is impossible without connection - that’s telling language. Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk, the author of “The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma.” confirms the same saying, “Being able to feel safe with other people is probably the single most important aspect of mental health; safe connections are fundamental to meaningful and satisfying lives.” There is no safety, without a meaningful connection. It is imperative that we become invested in this work beyond the superficial, we have to enter into healing connections that are meaningful and genuine. Brene Brown defines connection as: The energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship. I love her definition as it gives us a glimpse into the profound nurturing experience offered up by meaningful relationship. It is a healer. But, even in knowing this, we don’t seem to be very good at entering in, and for good reason - connection is scary. You have to be yourself, take risks, be vulnerable, be real, honest. Brene Brown can take you on a journey about why it upends us on the TED Stage. For now, I want to combat our fear of connection with inspiration. This video from Simon Sinek changed the way I think about my relationships. He gets to the heart, he challenges us to be the same person in our intimate relationships as we are with our teams at work. I hope his insight will inspire you to action. Connection is not the weakness, our fear of it is. It requires us to go inwards and be honest with ourselves about how we are willing to show up. It demands us to make decisions that prioritize kindness, trust, love, and the lives and well being of others, over what is normalized in today’s world. We have to be vulnerable, we have to choose courage - every single day. Simply put, we have to care about other people, we have to let them into our hearts. It will rarely be comfortable, or easy. Caring will give us courage to stand up at any cost. Maya Angelou captures it perfectly, “The price is high. The reward is great.” The reward is courage so great that we will be empowered to redefine everything. Liz Duerholt Founder & Executive Director Redefin'd

For the last few months, the Redefin'd Krew has been hosting an informal gathering at the Bow Centre Seniors Housing Society complex located in Bowness. Every second week we gather donated food items and set up a mini free grocery store, now called the Grocery Cafe. It has become a place for inter-generational gathering, a place to shop, to get a hug, and to share coffee and great conversation. In a few short weeks, the impact has been incredible. Seniors are coming out of their places to socialize, residents have noticed that people are coming several hours early to take part in the gathering at the cafe. Fresh produce flies off the shelves, and people are sharing recipes and food. Our Krew is excited about expanding this idea because they're getting a sense the value it's adding to the community. Fortunately for us, a funding opportunity through the Field Law Community Fund Program came to our attention, and we now have a chance to take our cafe to the next level. We hope to make it a permanent fixture in the Bowness community. We want to expand our offerings at the cafe to include low cost, nutritious meals prepared by our Krew in addition to the other free grocery offerings. If you're interested in learning more about Field Law, or in supporting our Community Cafe idea, you can vote for us until June 17th here. Last week we decided to organize a circle of people from Redefin'd and Bow Centre to come together and share their experiences of the Cafe so far. We baked a plum cake and put on the coffee! We introduced ourselves and then opened the floor for feedback. Stan shared that he appreciates the program, "Lot's of the time there are things I've needed and I don't have the money to buy, and it just happens that you have it here. I enjoy all the products; I hope that we continue on." Margarete also benefits from the program, and adds, "I know people really appreciate it because they don't all have the ability to get out and get groceries." Mobility is an issue for many people living at Bow Centre, and so is cooking for one. Many people struggle to find the motivation to prepare meals for a single person. Millie loves it when we portion fresh produce into manageable sizes, "Once you had cauliflower all cut up. Putting things in portions is the best thing you ever did. Cauliflower is very expensive, but besides that, we don't need to buy a whole head." Even Donna, the building manager has noticed the level of engagement, "A few weeks ago we had zucchini at the Cafe, and I am thinking no one is going to take a zucchini. Well, I found out about 40 different zucchini recipes in less than an hour. Everyone had a different way to prepare it." Food is a great way to bring people together, and we don't miss the opportunity to use this Cafe as a social hub. Blake talks about the benefit for our young Krew, "This is something we like doing, we find it meaningful. It's helpful to the people here, and we enjoy interacting with you. The whole community feeling of it, and everybody engaging and sharing stories, it is a huge part." Many residents like having young people come into their space. Don shares his experience of having young people walk right by when he's outside the building, like he's not even there, "It's nice when some people come in and talk." He goes on to tell the Krew, "You are going to be the leaders of the community, you are taking steps to go that way, and I want you to know that what you are doing is good. The doors will open when you show compassion." Liz Duerholt Founder and Executive Director Redefin'd

This question was asked of us weekly by our elder Blair during the summer program, and my answer was always the same: Redefin'd to me is a program that challenges the current system. A system, that quite frankly, has failed our young people. They are pushed to make adult decisions at a relatively young age, and during a crucial and confusing stage of their development. This can lead to unhealthy coping, such as drug usage and impulsive decision making. This is not intended to be an attack on the system, because I do feel it is important that there is a network of support for our most vulnerable. I am also aware with how hard care givers and front line staff work, and how much of themselves they give with very little reward. Rather, these are simply my observations, and how I think we can do better. I have worked for big agencies for many years, and I have seen a number of successes. The feedback I have often received is that I build strong therapeutic relationships, which is critical in front line work. I was even told that I treat the youth like "equals," like it's something that is so out of the ordinary and deserves praise. I thought to myself, shouldn't that be the norm? It had started to become clear to me, that it wasn't praise, but a criticism. That the language I use is not 'prescriptive' enough, but more natural. It never made sense to me to approach this line of work from a power over/under or paternalistic model, which despite its best intentions, is the current state of affairs. It has been my observation that clinicians and caseworkers feel they know what's best for the young people, and will threaten to take away services and support if they do not comply. So often, we identify how to work with people, through different theoretical frameworks, evidenced based practice, and a lot of other social work/counselling jargon. While this is important to some degree, we forget how to actually work with people, side by side. When we emphasize theory too much, we can fall into the trap of implementing a one size fits all service or case management plan. This may release some burden on the caregiver, but it is not how the world works, and it is the young person who ultimately suffers. Where and when does the disconnect happen? When do they start becoming clients, and stop being people? Perhaps it's a wider systemic and societal issue, as we further isolate ourselves in our own neighbourhoods, and we forget that it takes a village. There is a view that vulnerable people, particularly 'at risk' youth are a strain on resources, and become dependent on the system as adults. But Redefin'd views young people as valuable resources, who have the capabilities and desire to be independent. Their success is in their resilience, and this is achieved when they find a sense of purpose. This is something that is not easily measured. It is not a tangible outcome like housing or graduation, which is what funders and donors typically want to see. But what we could see is personal growth in such a short period of time. Youth that are normally reserved and quiet in their daily life, opened up their first week, and shared their deepest thoughts and feelings. We also observed that young people take great pride in their work if just given an opportunity to creatively express themselves. Whether it was building the foundation to a cob oven, breaking wood and concrete with their feet, or selling their own recipe of a pineapple jam, the self-regard they radiated could not be missed. Empowerment cannot be measured on a scale of 1-5, but it can be easily seen as they started to walk with more confidence, have a huge smile on their face, and even committing to wanting a better life for themselves. Of course we were not naive to think that every young person would come through our doors and they would instantly change their lives. That is not the reality for anyone, let alone young people who suffered some form of emotional trauma in their lives. Life is not a straight line, there's twists and turns, ups and downs. Rather then focus on their mistakes as failures, Redefin'd created a space where youth feel safe and comfortable enough to share their struggles, and work together to reach their version of success. I've often told Liz that I feel like I need Redefin'd as much as the young people. I need the reminders that it's not my role to help people, but to serve people. It's also not my job to focus on where they came from, but to understand where they are today. Liz had once told me "imagine being known for the worst thing you've done, that's what is being carried with these guys." In the days where diagnoses and case notes dominate, we easily forget about the person behind the labels that are assigned. I have been guilty of this. We have lost touch with the humanity in human services, and the passion behind compassion. It is time to stop putting band aids on problems, and embrace real solutions. This is what Redefin'd means to me. Yasmeen Nosshi Board Member and Volunteer Redefin'd

The summer is winding down and change is in the air. It's been a remarkable year for the evolution of Redefin'd, and we think it's worth sharing. The New Year Redefin'd started the year in consultation with the Youth Advisory Table. We held a series of round table discussions with Calgary's at-risk young people to talk about their challenges, the programs they've experienced and to collect their thoughts and ideas on what Redefin'd should be. The young people overwhelmingly expressed a need for change. We talked about housing which happens to be a significant challenge for most. They voiced many concerns: "I might not need a place to stay to have a job, but couch surfing makes employment hard and you can overstay your welcome.", or "Housing isn't affordable, it's 90% of my expenses". Through this we began to truly understand their reality. Transitioning from young adult to adult in our province presents many challenges. The young people from the Youth Advisory Table expressed seeing a lot of relapse in their peer group. They cited that due to the significant gap in services for those between these two age groups, they feel there is little accountability. They see the impact this lack of follow up in services has provided, and define it as "more of a drop off than a transition period." In our round tables, we invited the group to engage in our logo design process. The name chosen, Redefin'd, ended up reflecting the young people's desire for change. In early discussions, the group talked about redefinition being like a tree, "it's born a sapling but is redefined by experience", or "we see beauty in trees by how they have been shaped". These conversations lead to the design of the Redefin'd logo. Miranda, the lead on the design team worked with graphic designers and described the logo as a reflection of the path taken by those in the program. The style of the logo reflects moving from a rougher life to one more polished; the differences in font are meant to illustrate this transition. In addition, the unique spelling of fin'd puts emphasis on younger focus of the program, as well as finding oneself through the process. In some versions, you'll see the apostrophe is red in colour; this is a reference to their history, a piece of which they carry with them regardless of where they are on this journey. ATBX The Redefin'd logo made it to the big time on the ATB X Wall of Fame Shortly after the youth consultations, Redefin'd was accepted into the ATBX entrepreneurial incubator, a boot camp business accelerator hosted by ATB Financial. Starting in late February of 2017, we moved into the Xer co-working space and found ourselves surrounded by a community of new start ups, coaches and mentors that helped us organize and structure our idea. You can read more about our experience here. At ATB X, we were able to hone our idea and take it from the concept phase into full program design. We had the guidance to dig deep in order to explore and to better understand our project and its objectives. What are we? What do we do? Why? We came to understand the marriage at Redefin'd between charity and social enterprise, a term we reluctantly refer to. Heck yeah, we want to operate super cool and successful businesses because we want to connect our young people to the purpose they need to redefine their lives. We also want to introduce Calgarians to inspiring stories of transformation and encourage people in our city to invest in social change. Lastly, we want to create new and exciting opportunities to diversify our funding streams so we can continue the work that we do with less strings attached. But before any of that can happen, we need a program that puts people first. Our success depends on creating a space where people can recover. In order to do this, our work environment must be inclusive, flexible and compassionate. More than work experience, Redefin'd is the creation of a unique space of safety that is founded on these intentions and that provides a deeply therapeutic experience. Our challenge in all of this is to make sure we stay focused on work for its therapeutic impact, not its economic one. Our Theory of Change was a product of our time at ATB X and Homeboy Industries Homeboy defines this balance beautifully, "At Homeboy we bake bread to employ Homeboy's, we do not employ Homeboy's to bake bread". Homeboy is about rehabilitating Homeboy's. Being part of the ATB X start up community helped us realize where we fit on the spectrum and understand how better to navigate it. Homeboy Industries Mentorship In August 2016, Redefin'd had the opportunity to attend the Homeboy Industries Global Homeboy Networking Conference in Los Angeles, California. Homeboy Industries is a global leader in rehabilitation, working with gang members and people struggling with past incarceration through a work based model. Graffitti notes from the GHN Conference in Los Angeles, Ca. Once a year, several hundred people from around the world meet at the Homeboy Industries HQ and share ideas on social innovation happening in the world of recovery and complex social issues. Presenters were a mix of Homeboy staff and former gang members, as well as a handful of start up organizations that Homeboy mentors. We heard stories that brought the audience to tears and participated in sessions on staying true to a projects mission. Since our time at the conference, we'd been itching to go for a longer trip in order to glean more knowledge and inspiration from their team. A few months into our time at ATB X we got our chance. We'd hit a wall in our development and needed the inspiration and direction that we knew the Homeboy team could provide. In March of 2017, we approached Homeboy and worked out a schedule for our visit. A month later and we were in sunny Los Angeles, having coffee at Homegirl Cafe while looking over our two day slate of meetings and tours. Our time at Homeboy was a whirlwind. We didn't think two days was going to be enough time but then we met back to back with numerous departments from youth engagement, to substance abuse and Information Technology. We discussed the nuts and bolts detail of their programs and approaches until our brains were full. It was an invaluable experience that gave us the knowledge we needed to flesh out what Redefin'd would offer and the methodology required to make it happen. Homeboy has become a mentor to start ups like ours around the world. They take on a handful of mentee organizations each year and we at Redefin'd are honoured to be among them. You can read more about our experience at Homeboy here and here. Redefin'd/Pathways Partnership In early June of 2017, we moved out of ATB's space and stepped straight into launching our pilot program working with young people. We entered into a partnership with Pathways CSA in Bowness an Indigenous youth organization that was interesting in taking on a summer garden program of their own. With similar ideologies about youth empowerment we joined forces to offer the Redefin'd Pathways Summer Garden Program. One of the most significant issues Redefin'd has faced in attracting funding to our program is the early start up nature of our journey. Quite simply, we hadn't run the program on our own two feet and we lacked any form of social proof of concept. It was a chicken and the egg dilemma. We are grateful to Ronni and her team at Pathways who saw the potential in Redefin'd and were willing to make an early investment in our idea. Their belief and in our approach and program truly brought the Summer Program to fruition. We owe a debt of gratitude to the Pathways dream team that we've worked with all summer. They've grown along side us and our young Krew members as we worked to define the program. To Blair, our Indigenous Elder, who has been a blessing and has gifted us with insight, reflection and genuine compassion. To Madison who was our right hand woman throughout the summer and became an integral part of the team. To Pam for her belief in what we do and to David, Erin, Chris, Nicarla, Chantal, Jen and everyone else who has supported our work and brightened our doorstep. Thank you for your contribution and patience through our development. In Summary At the time of this writing, the Summer Program has been in operation 13 weeks. We've employed 16 young people and generated over 600 hours of meaningful work. The young people have been busy building an outdoor pizza oven, exploring urban gardening and composting, taking on serious food preparation and preservation projects, hosting farmers markets and soon will be constructing a cob bench in the Calgary Community of Southwood as part of our intention to strengthen our connection to the community. Our Krew has come along way. As a team they have gelled and you can sense an overwhelming sense of pride in what they have accomplished. As individuals they've grown more than we could have imagined in these few short weeks. They have more confidence and display greater resilience in their lives. Now it's nearing the end of the summer and of our pilot project. We are moving into new and uncharted waters. It's a time of uncertainty but also of excitement. Above all this summer has given us the gift of sight. We know we this is an idea whose time has come. Reflections Our Krew members redefining it at Rootstock 2017 "I've been a part of [Redefin'd] since the beginning. I've had a say in it. That's what I like about it, I've had a say. There's no other program like this. This is what we need." Redefin'd Krew Member "You have no idea the safety you have created here. This is a really special place." Pathways CSA Elder "This program has changed my life. It gives me something to do. Before this people never really liked me. No, they liked me, but they never really cared." Redefin'd Krew Member "I've had an amazing time. I learned what it's like to be sober. I want this life." Redefin'd Krew Member Redefin'd at Rootstock 2017 "This is my boss, but not really because at Redefin'd they're more like friends. They really care. I still wanna get paid though." Redefin'd Krew Member Pathways staff member: "Have you learned a lot from working in the kitchen here?" Krew Member: "Yes, I've learned so much working here." Pathways staff member: "That's cool. Do you use any of what you've learned at home" Krew Member: "No, I don't really cook like this at home. I've only made jam. I made it from the raspberries in my yard." Liz Duerholt Founder and Executive Director Redefin'd #Meaningfulwork #SocialEnterprise #GlobalHomeboyNetwork #Homeboy #Redefind

My journey with Redefin’d started back in December 2016 where I first met Liz and Yasmeen at a Youth Advisory Table. It was an amazing and fun experience. I had the pleasure of helping form what the Redefin'd program should look like and offer. And I have to say that my favorite part was helping them design the logo to the program. Redefin’d has changed my life. I feel like I finally have a purpose to wake up in the morning instead of staying in bed all day and accomplishing nothing. I love sharing with other people about the new things that I am learning at work, like how to make sourdough bread, ginger beer, jams, ice cream, yogurt, and kefir. At first, the idea of fermentation was really weird and kind of gross to me. But now I love it! I get so excited to come into work every day and see how my sourdough starter and my ginger bug are doing. I am also learning about how to identify different plants. For example; the mint plant has a square stem. I am also learning how to garden organically. I am learning the ways of the indigenous culture like how to smudge, and the importance of sage. I love coming to work because we always have fun and we actually GET SHIT DONE. Look at doughs eyes Working with Redefin’d isn’t a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, because you can always come back, however, it is a once-in-a-life time kind of experience. I feel like I can be 100% myself because, they don’t expect me to change. They let me be who I am. The staff aren’t just staff to me and they aren’t just my bosses; they are my friends. They celebrate the little moments in life, not just at work, but also in my personal life. And they take the time to actually get to know me and my story. They treat me as an equal and work side by side with me. Learning what I learn and having fun alongside with me. I looking forward to seeing this program grow and prosper as time goes by. Angel Krew Member Redefin'd

Leading up to our opening last Tuesday, there was a lot of anticipation and not a lot of sleep. Luckily there WAS coffee. We've been preparing for this day since we got accepted into the 2nd cohort at ATB X in February 2017. Through ATB's business accelerator program we were grateful for the opportunity to work with industry experts, enthusiastic and supportive mentors and the ATB Xers with whom we shared the space. We also want to thank our amazing board of directors, industry partners, mentors, youth advisers and supportive family members and friends that have given us the momentum to turn this idea into reality. Thank you for all that you've given, Redefin'd wouldn't be launching without you. Redefin'd is a non-profit that provides a compassionate workplace to young people with barriers to employment. We use meaningful work projects and leadership opportunities to connect participants to purpose and the internal motivation to change their lives. Last week we officially hired 5 young people and hosted our first three-day orientation focused on bringing the group together to co-create the cultural foundation of Redefin'd. If there was anything we learned from Homeboy it was that we need to listen, and then listen some more. So that's exactly what we did. As a group we explored common values, envisioned the future of the Redefin'd brand and discussed ideas for meaningful work projects over the summer. We engaged the group in conversations about values, starting with an exploration of how we all didn't want to be treated in a work space, by friends or in life. Then together we came up with a list of values to steer us away from those negative spaces. We also explored the meaning of community building, established house rules for the team and collectively decided that we would henceforth be known as the "Redefin'd Krew." Our orientation was heavy on brainstorming so we made sure to escape into the sunshine at every opportunity. We introduced the O.G. Krew to the garden, sampling tarragon, mint and chives and then we toured the bounty of cherries and honeyberries ripening in the orchard. We also had an unexpected delivery of a top-bar beehive which was a cool surprise. Many thanks to Dexter over in Montgomery for getting us one step closer to becoming Calgary's next urban beekeepers! With any luck, we will have a lot more to come on that project. Lastly, we introduced the O.G. Krew to the communal table. Should you follow us on any form of social media, you'll quickly learn that food is a central theme in our day. Making food from scratch and eating together is how we build community. It ties directly into our values of trust, safety and collaboration. There's nothing that brings people together like food, and by day two we had people in the garden scouting out fresh mint for our smoothies. Yes, food is magic. Thanks for joining us! We made it through our first week of excitement and pre-opening jitters and now that we have that behind us and it's time for the real work to begin. Liz Duerholt Founder and Executive Director Redefin'd #Vision #Redefind #Communalmeal #Values

Day 2 started with the house coffee at Homegirl cafe an addictive blend of coffee, orange peel and cinnamon and a fresh baked muffin. Everything is baked fresh daily and the left overs are distributed to any Homies hanging around at the end of the day. The first stop on today's tour was Andrew from the IT department. By department, I mean team of one. He handles the website, tech support, point-of-sale management for all Homeboy sites and businesses, and then manages the database of information that's used to track outcomes. Andrew graciously gave us an hour that he (no doubt) didn't have, to go over how Homeboy manages their outcomes. It turns out they have a customized database that creates a single point of entry for each client. They track demographic information for clients on intake, but throughout the process they try to track both ongoing and completed client goals, any certifications clients have received and if the client gets placed in employment. As is usually the case with individualized and holistic approaches, it's been difficult for them to find a standard metric to measure that provides a meaningful measure. The lesson here was on the importance of starting early to understand how metrics can be collected and analyzed. Not only is this important from an outcomes reporting perspective, but internally it gives us a tool that will help us refine and perfect the impact of our programs. Next on the rounds, we shared lunch with Marissa the Director of Educational Services. The focus of our meeting with her was on young people in the Homeboy program. She shared a ton of information with us, so much so that after two hours she finally took her lunch to go. Sorry Marissa. She shared that in the Education Dept they tend to go through a lot of iterations to respond to the evolving needs of young people. Homeboy has two specific case workers for young people and they find this population struggles with a lack of connection to community resources. One of the Homeboy programs runs a school out of the Boyle Heights Church, they also hire kids on a part time basis so they can work towards their GED or attend an adult charter school. The youth programs also tend to partner more with other agencies to deliver relevant programming. One such program, called Voices for Youth is a one week intensive program that's arts focused. Young people are involved in spoken word, drumming and writing and the week wraps up with a group presentation. In this program they've found that arts therapy can be very effective at engaging young people. Now they'd like to see a greater focus taken on the physical activity component. Marissa mentioned that experimentation with programming is fundamental. Marissa believes that one of the most accessible things to add to the program from the Homeboy model is the navigator. Navigators are the peer support backbone and they provide young people with a tangible connection to the program. Our last meeting of the day was with Ed, Homeboy's newly arrived Chief Development Officer. We connected with Ed to talk about fundraising and the how-to's of translating your story and outcomes into donor dollars. He presented a compelling case for putting your story into simple and understandable terms, which is easier said than done but is something we aspire to. Our story, similar to Homeboy's is about showing people the generational impact of our work. It's about describing the ripple effect that's created when you take someone out of a cycle. Homeboy says that they're an exit ramp to gang life. Consider how the future of a young child is changed when their mom or dad successfully makes it to that exit ramp. Lives and generations are transformed. Ed also made sure we understood the importance of relationships, relationships, relationships. He emphasized the need to increase touch points with our community and potential supporters in order to give them as many opportunities to genuinely experience us. Take-away: Build relationships and trust. Tell a compelling and clear story and for goodness sake make sure that you celebrate the good that happens as you grow. The main point of the day was really the importance of try and try again. From the way they record data to how they develop programs and work with donors it's about trial and error. Don't be afraid to try. Our last meeting was a brief chat with Father Greg Boyle, the Founder of Homeboy Industries. He's a popular guy around Homeboy and we had to wait outside his glass office as a procession of people, managed by a Homeboy bodyguard lined up to speak with him. It was lovely to meet him, but the magic was experiencing how he interacts with the people he shares his life with. It doesn't matter if you've been in prison, or you have "fuck you" tattooed under your eyes (yes, this is true), he's one of them. That's what he's created at Homeboy, kinship and community and it's what you feel the entire time you're there. That's something to aspire to. At the end of the two days our brains and our hearts were full of the amazing things happening at Homeboy Industries. Absolutely the only thing that we could manage at the end of the day was to buy merchandise from their store, which we did. Thank you so much to Alison for organizing the trip for us. For meeting with us on numerous occasions throughout our tour and sharing your wisdom. To all the homies that we had the chance to meet, the staff that gave us precious time, and to Homeboy Industries for supporting the Global Homeboy Network that's mentoring us and others non-stop to bring kindness, love and hope to communities around the world. We are grateful to be part of it. We look forward to seeing you again at the Global Homeboy Network Conference in 2018. Liz Duerholt Founder and Executive Director Redefin'd #Relationship #GlobalHomeboyNetwork #Homeboy

We are proud to announce that Redefin'd has become a member of the Global Homeboy Network. On April 11th Yasmeen and I escaped the snow and headed to California for a two-day mentoring session with Homeboy Industries. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the gang capital of N. America, Homeboy "helps formerly gang involved and the previously incarcerated, by offering hope, training and job skills. Homeboy Industries is the largest and most successful gang intervention, rehab, and reentry program in the world and has become a model for other organizations and cities." What their mission statement doesn't mention, is that their approach is based on kindness, acceptance and a client lead approach to recovery. This is the vital element to their success, and it's a feeling that you'll sense when you walk through their doors. It's a palpable sense of connectedness and community. The second significant mention is that they own and operate 10 social enterprises from food production and bakery to silkscreen and solar panel installation. Some of the operations are on-site at Homeboy Headquarters and others are offsite but nearby. They use these enterprises as work therapy. They "make bread to employ homeboy's, they don't employ Homeboys to bake bread". That about sums it up. The focus is on people, not on profit. Homeboy is a Registered Non-profit in the U.S., seeking donor funding for its operations however, their social enterprises do contribute a considerable amount to their bottom line. In 2016, their operating budget was just over $16.5M with $6M in revenue coming from their multiple social enterprises. At any given time they employ 150-200 trainees in these enterprises. Our trip to Homeboy was an opportunity to dive deep into their 18-month program. We wanted to know how they manage the intake process for new trainees, what services they provide, how the various departments in Homeboy work together to support individuals and how they monitor outcomes. Alison Lass, the lovely manager of all things Global Homeboy Network, promised to schedule us with as many people as possible to meet our needs and she didn't disappoint. Our brains were full to the brim by Thursday afternoon. Our first stop on the trip was a tour of the Homeboy Headquarters. Carlos was our tour guide, he is a current trainee in the program with 9 months under his belt. He's a young Dad that entered the program with a background of abuse and no trust in anyone. He started at Homeboy at first because of the honest pay cheque, but slowly he began to see that it was for real. People here cared and it was more about having the safe space to work on themselves. As part of the tour, we got to see their in-house Homeboy bakery in action. Next, we met with Fajima, Theresa and Mary from the Mental Health team and they discussed the importance of consistency in relationships so that trainees can find safety in the program and build trust. The Mental Health Team is constantly keeping complex trauma in mind to decrease pressure in trainees lives, because they already have enough of that. One way they've found to ensure the personal connection is maintained with trainees is a program they call Secure Base. It's a way for the support team to meet individually with each trainee to slow down and learn from each other. These meetings are trainee lead and are meant as a personal visit and guidance. Another integral component of the program is what Homeboy calls the Navigator. These individuals are graduates of the program that have joined the Homeboy staff as peer mentors. We had the opportunity to share lunch with Robert, the Homeboy senior navigator and his teammate Inez. They explain their role as the first touch point for trainees entering Homeboy. Considering themselves the feet of the organization, their job is to work side-by-side and supervise groups of up to 10 trainees building close personal relationships as they follow them through the 18-month rehabilitation process. They explain that every trainee starts with site maintenance to teach humility and this includes cleaning the bathrooms at headquarters and the streets of their adjacent community, Chinatown. Los Angeles Chinatown in bloom In the afternoon, we met with Fabian, Director of Substance Abuse, to discuss the 18-month process in depth. Their focus is really to get to the core of substance abuse, because healing is what brings stability. It's about giving these ex-gang members what they don't expect, an opportunity. At Homeboy this is a delicate balance between giving trainees a job and providing them space for the internal work they need to do. For the process to work he stressed that you have to first know their story and build relationships. Their process is focused on the individual and it can't be rigid. Our most significant take away from the first day was relationship. Most of the staff and leadership that we met with were graduates of the Homeboy program and they all told a story of relationship building, trust and safety. It's at their core and it's the ingredient that makes what they do a success. They are committed to working with people as they are when they come through the door, without judgement or a desire to save them. It's about acknowledging and working alongside each person as they work through their own healing process. At the end of the day we were ready for a decompress. As we headed down Sunset Blvd to our Airbnb we passed a lovely little urban garden right beside our bus stop. Inside was a solar powered aquaponics system, a chicken coop and garden beds of artichoke, fennel, lettuce, citrus trees and poppies. This Sunset Blvd. urban garden was enough to make any Northern gardener jealous. Liz Duerholt Founder and Executive Director Redefin'd #Homeboy #GlobalHomeboyNetwork #Relationship #SocialEnterprise #Meaningfulwork

Three weeks ago Redefin'd moved into our new home at the ATB X entrepreneurial accelerator program sponsored by ATB Financial. For the next 3 months we will be part of this fast paced business boot camp, sharing a co-working space and expanding our network with 20 other courageous businesses owners. Beyond getting our logo on the wall (which was awesome), we get free office space, office supplies, a printer and a yoga room. Day 2 was jammed with Xpert sessions on branding, using the lean canvas and harnessing social media. The lunch break had us all balancing plates of food and shaking hands as we connected in person with our individual business mentors who will be our business gurus through the duration of the program. During a quick 20-minute speed dating style intro that followed, we were convinced that Vidya and Shannon of ATB X found us the perfect match in our mentors Marcy Krafft and Tony McGrath of TAC Consulting Calgary. The day rounded out with another Xpert session and by the end, there were more than a few glazed looks. It was fantastic. The first lesson, the scope of which is just beginning to sink in, is the importance of your why. Why are you doing what you are doing? Do not confuse this with what you do, or, how you do it. This has become the hardest question I've ever been asked. After much iteration we're still not clear. Are we "breaking the cycle of trauma through kinship and innovative community engagement" which is what our website says, or are we "transforming hopelessness into hope", or maybe we're just about working with "young people at risk of being awesome". Lesson 2, know how to ask for help. This is focusing in on how to make the most of our time here. We are literally surrounded by resource upon resource every day. There are experts at ATB, our mentors, the experts that come in for training sessions, the people in our cohort. Help is around every corner. Understand that although they may have been, or are in same boat, they cannot know what we need until we ask. This sounds as easy. it's not. You have to plan for it. Lesson 3, have a to do list. This actually is a necessity because of the resource abundance outlined in Lesson 2. A list keeps you focused. You'll be learning a lot of new things and you don't want to get taken too far off course. The risk for this is high. Watch for it. It may, in fact, be why I'm writing this post. I should probably consult my to-do list. That's it for insights from the middle of ATB X week 3. We'll be in touch with more on our lean social canvas and the development of our why. Unless, of course, something shiny comes along. Liz Duerholt Founder and Executive Director Redefin'd

Hi Calgary, We're Redefin'd, a non-profit in Calgary with a vision to see every young person in our amazing city reach their full potential. Just how are we going to do it? By creating a space of respect and kindness where young people feel empowered to redefine their lives. We're also going to introduce an element of innovative community engagement including exciting new social enterprise opportunities. Our program is still under construction but please stay in touch and see what we have in store for you Calgary. Liz Duerholt Founder and Executive Director Redefin'd #Redefind #Calgary #Vision