In-Court Resources
There are limited services available inside courts to provide youth support or information to those dealing with charges. In-court resources are service organizations that exist in the community, but have offices or staff in the courthouse. They often work with or collaborate with police, courts, crown attorneys, and CAS.
General Information
If you are a youth attending court while on bail, your release documents will let you know which courtroom you should be attending, and at what time. Each time you attend court, you will be given a new date and time to appear again as your case progresses. Make sure you write this down, or get it written down from duty counsel.
If you lost your paperwork, you will likely be appearing in the same courtroom as you did previously, but to verify you will need to attend the help/services desk. For privacy reasons, youth cases are not listed on the “Daily Court List” tool online, the "Find my Case" tool, nor are they listed on the printed dockets on the court information wall (in Hamilton, this wall is by the washrooms).​
John Howard Society or Elizabeth Fry
JHS and EFS are non-profit organizations that work with people who are criminalized and/or in conflict with the law. Elizabeth Fry specifically serves women, trans, and non-binary people, however Efry’s Hamilton area office was recently closed. John Howard now takes on clients of all genders. JHS offers help with bail planning, including providing supervised bail programs when you do not have a surety. They also offer a significant amount of programming and information for youth who have been criminalized, including things like anger management to complete diversion or probation processes.​
Banyan Community Services
Banyan is a not-for-profit organization that provides some programming to youth dealing with charges in the Hamilton, Haldimand, Norfolk and Niagara Regions. They are also responsible for running and maintaining open and closed custody facilities for youth in those areas.
The Youth Mental Health Court Worker Program supports youth in navigating court and aims to connect them to other resources. Referrals/inquiries may come from the individual who has been charged, family members, friends, care providers, community agencies, judges, defense/duty counsel or crown attorney at any stage of the court process.
The Counselling and Assessment program provides brief counselling services for young people aged 12 to 18 that are currently on probation.
Banyan can provide Court Ordered Section 34 Assessments– psychological and psychiatric reports for youth that have been charged with an offense.
These programs work with the Crown, Hamilton Police Services, and Provincial Ministries, as well as community-based agencies.​
Indigenous Court Workers
Indigenous court workers often work out of Indigenous Friendship Centres. Most courthouses have an Indigenous court worker who can:​
-
offer you support
-
give you legal information
-
help you apply for a Legal Aid certificate
-
refer you to community services for help with issues like mental health, trauma, substance use, and/or homelessness
-
help you with your release plan for your bail hearing
-
help you with your plan of care for your sentencing hearing
-
help you with Indigenous diversion, if appropriate
The Hamilton Regional Indian Centre (HRIC) has an Indigenous Courtworker Program that provides assistance to all Indigenous people who are in conflict with the legal system whether they are status, non-status, Metis, or Inuit. If your courthouse is outside of Hamilton, check-in with your local Friendship Centre to see if they offer a courtworker program or can connect you to another resource. Find your local centre at the Ontario Federation Of Indigenous Friendship Centres.​