Toronto

HEROS has been involved in the city of Toronto since 2005. With a primary focus on the high-risk communities of Regent Park and the Jane and Finch corridor, HEROS is providing hockey opportunities to girls and boys from various diverse ethnic backgrounds. Regent Park consists of many children from African backgrounds and the Jane and Finch is an area that consists of predominantly Caribbean background girls and boys. These two communities share the struggle of dealing with poverty, gangs, drugs and violence. Most of the parents in this neighbourhoods work at multiple, low-paying jobs. They struggle to keep their heads above water and support their growing families. Children are influenced daily by drug dealers, pimps, prostitutes and gang members on their local streets and are often victim to weapons and gunfire that causes lock-downs at their school campus. HEROS is making a positive difference in both communities by providing a safe environment for these new Canadians to experience ice hockey and giving them a place to go every week to avoid the influence of their neighbourhoods around them.