Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of experience do ReAct Peer Facilitators have?

Peer Facilitators have a wealth of community and education experience in areas such as anti-oppression and discrimination, peer education, violence prevention, popular and peer education, body image, law, healthy sexuality, community development, and grassroots organizing. Aside from their work at METRAC, many Facilitators work with youth and communities in various other capacities.

What kind of training did your Facilitators receive?

Peer Facilitators receive training to build on their already impressive skills. This includes training about:

• The law and gender-based violence
• Accessibility issues
• Peer facilitation
• Power, privilege, and oppression
• Healthy relationships
• Community organizations and resources in Toronto
• Violence prevention

Do you do youth workshops with mixed groups (both boys and girls)?

Yes, we do. We also welcome invitations to conduct workshops in non-mixed classrooms. For instance, some schools and organizations have invited us to facilitate workshops for girls groups. Although non-mixed workshops can lend itself to more frank and open discussions, we also feel that everyone needs to be part of violence prevention education. If a school or youth group does decide to separate young women and young men, it is very important that both groups have the opportunity to participate in our workshops.

Do you conduct workshops, trainings, or speaking engagements outside of Toronto?

Yes, we do. However, due to our limited program resources, we ask for additional transportation fees to be able to honour requests outside of the City of Toronto.

How are you funded?

At this time, ReAct does not receive ongoing funding. Financial support for the program must be raised through fundraising initiatives. In the past, the program has received one-time grants from the United Way's Freedom from Violence Grants Program and The Canadian Women's Foundation.

Can we book a workshop or training for an assembly?

Our workshops and trainings are conducted with a maximum of 30 participants. However, we do offer speakers for panels, large group presentations, assemblies, and events.

What age groups do you work with?

Our workshops are aimed at youth between the ages of 13 to 24 years of age. However, we can adapt our workshops for slightly younger or older groups. Our trainings and speaking engagements can be tailored to any age group. Please contact us for details.

Do Peer Facilitators receive payment for their work at METRAC?

METRAC is committed to recognizing youth for their work and expertise. Peer Facilitators receive honoraria for the important work they do in the ReAct program.

Can ReAct conduct workshops with ESL learners?

We work with students at various levels of English proficiency. Such workshops involve more preparation time from us and the host educator and/or youth worker involved. Please book far in advance.

Do you provide youth, teachers, and youth workers with any resources after a workshop or training?

For most ReAct workshops, written resources can be provided to youth, teachers, and youth workers to help further the learning after the workshop is done. Written resources are provided for participants during ReAct trainings.

How do you monitor the effectiveness of your program?

We ask all participants (educators, youth workers, youth participants, and Peer Facilitators themselves) to fill out feedback forms. These are essential in tracking our progress and ensuring that our program is relevant and responsive to peoples' needs.

Peer Facilitators also attend general meetings, during which we discuss challenges and successes, de-brief about our work, and undergo training. Trainings involve a detailed pre and post-workshop survey process to assess participant's knowledge and understanding of issues before and after the training experience.

For additional questions, please contact ReAct at 416-397-0258 or react@metrac.org