When an 11-year-old Toronto girl went missing for four days in September 2016, it was assumed that she was just another child runaway. However, the reality is that the Toronto elementary school student — who we'll call Emily, to protect her identity — didn’t simply go missing: she had been sold by an older friend into the Toronto sex trafficking circuit, known as "The Game". This case is not uncommon. Last year, Toronto police rescued 60 victims from sex trafficking, and officers assume countless others are still being exploited.
“One in five young people have a mental health problem that needs help,” Myra Levy says. But, the clinical services director for East Metro Youth Services (EMYS) adds, “about one out of six of them are able to access services” due to long wait lists in the city.
A new Scarborough mental health clinic is now gearing towards helping youth and their families. As of Nov. 1, the “what’s up walk-in” clinic at the East Metro Youth Services will provide youth and their loved ones with free counselling on a variety of mental health issues.
As cars pulled up in front of Zoom Bar and young people began congregating in the parking lot, it was obvious something was going on that night. Scarborough’s talent came together on Sept. 16 to perform at Music Brings Peace to raise money for the East Metro Youth Services violence intervention project.