Released on March 6, 2026
The Government of Saskatchewan is renewing its partnership with STR8 UP: 10,000 Little Steps to Healing Inc. to continue delivering intensive supports that help individuals safely leave gang life and successfully reintegrate back into their communities.
STR8 UP is receiving $1.125 million in core funding, with the option of extending the agreement for one or more additional fiscal years. This funding supports STR8 UP's Community Intervention Model programming in Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Regina.
"STR8 UP's work changes lives and strengthens communities," Community Safety Minister Michael Weger said. "Every individual who chooses to leave gang life deserves stable, intensive supports to help build a safer future. Renewing this agreement ensures STR8 UP continues providing the life changing services that are necessary to reduce violence, support families, and make our communities stronger and safer overall."
STR8 UP's Community Intervention Model provides intensive, wrap around supports to individuals aged 15 to 30 who are ready to exit gang life. These services include in custody outreach, community supports, reintegration planning, tattoo removal, and assistance with housing, life skills, and creating healthy relationships. These supports help participants safely transition away from gangs and reduce their risk of reoffending after leaving custody.
Funding for this initiative is provided by Public Safety Canada's Guns and Gang Violence Action Fund as part of Saskatchewan's Gang Violence Reduction Strategy. This strategy focuses on the intervention, suppression and prevention of gang activity in the province.
Since January 2020, STR8 UP has received more than 400 referrals, demonstrating strong and ongoing demand for the program. In 2024-25 alone, the Community Intervention Model supported 120 active participants, with 43 clients accessing 231 tattoo removal sessions to reduce their gang identifiers and improve their employability. Every person who participates in the STR8 UP program represents a life redirected from gang violence toward safety, stability, and opportunity in our communities.
“We are deeply grateful for this funding, which strengthens STR8 UP’s transformative work and helps shift the narrative around gangs and violence,” STR8 UP Co‑Founder Stan Tu’Inukuafe said. “For too long, society has operated under the belief that ‘jail is the solution and community is the alternative.’ This support challenges that assumption and affirms a much more effective truth: ‘community is the solution and jail is the alternative. By investing in people and relationships, we address root causes, foster accountability, and create meaningful pathways forward. Real safety, healing, and long‑term change are built through community, not through incarceration alone.”
STR8 UP has been operating in Saskatchewan for 20 years and is a long standing partner in community safety.
This investment directly supports the Saskatchewan growth plan's commitment to building safer, stronger communities by reducing violence, strengthening families, easing pressure on the justice system, and improving long-term community safety.
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