Assets Coming Together for Youth Project

The Assets Coming Together for Youth Project (ACT for Youth, 2009–2014) was a five-year community-university research partnership that brought together a multi-sectoral alliance of community stakeholders and an interdisciplinary network of researchers. The initiative engaged in applied research, capacity building, knowledge transfer, and evaluation focused on youth in urban communities, using the Jane-Finch community as a case study.

The project aimed to develop a comprehensive youth strategy outlining how urban communities, such as Jane-Finch, could build assets for youth. Grounded in the positive youth development perspective—which emphasizes the promotion of youth assets rather than focusing on deficits—ACT for Youth integrated this approach with a social justice framework. This integration acknowledged that youth in marginalized urban communities faced significant barriers such as racism, sexism, poverty, zero-tolerance policies, and unemployment, all of which were detrimental to their well-being.

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