Joanna Conrad

07/20/2026

The conversation continues!

At our upcoming Family Engagement Night, we’ll build on Joanna’s presentation and work through her seven practical tips for helping children navigate today’s digital world.

Didn’t attend Joanna’s presentation? You’re still very welcome. The workshop is designed to be useful whether this is your first time joining us or you’re continuing the conversation.

Together, we’ll explore practical strategies, healthy conversations about technology and simple tools families can begin using at home right away. Every family will also receive a free toolkit filled with helpful resources.

📅 August 20, 2026
⏰ 5:00–6:30 PM
📍 3640 Wells St., Cottage #5
🎟️ Free to attend

Register here: http://bit.ly/4aDZiCL

Parents and caregivers of children of all ages are welcome. Please share with someone who may benefit!

07/17/2026

It was a pleasure joining Cyber Harrassment (CHS) for a conversation about youth online safety, prevention, and the importance of creating spaces where young people feel safe asking for help.

Every day in my work with Youth Diversion, I see how the digital world can present both incredible opportunities and significant challenges for youth and families. Prevention, education, and early intervention remain some of our strongest tools in helping young people make informed decisions and navigate the online world safely.

Thank you to Varsha and the CHS team for the opportunity to be part of this important discussion. I look forward to continuing our collaboration and future conversations focused on protecting and empowering youth in today’s digital landscape.

If you haven’t already, take a few minutes to watch these short clips!

A single online mistake should not define a young person’s future. ...

07/10/2026

Many conversations have focused on social media and whether restricting access will make children safer, particularly from online grooming. While reducing exposure may help in some ways, it’s important to understand where most online exploitation actually begins.

It rarely happens in public posts.

It happens in:
• Direct messages
• Private group chats
• Disappearing messages
• Gaming platforms
• Apps where adults can easily pretend to be someone they’re not

Technology alone cannot prevent grooming. Education can.

One of the greatest protective factors we can give young people is the confidence and knowledge to recognize red flags, trust their instincts, and know they can come to a trusted adult without fear of getting in trouble.

Parents don’t need to know every app their child uses. They need to keep the conversation going.

Try asking:
💬 “Has anyone online ever made you uncomfortable?”
💬 “If someone asked you to keep a conversation secret, what would you do?”
💬 “Would you tell me if someone asked for a picture or wanted to move your conversation to another app?”

These aren’t one-time conversations—they’re ongoing conversations that build trust.

At Youth Diversion, we’ve spent years helping youth and families navigate today’s digital world through practical, judgment-free education focused on online safety, healthy relationships, consent, digital citizenship, and recognizing manipulation before it becomes victimization.

If you’re a parent, caregiver, educator, or community member looking to better understand today’s online risks, we invite you to join us for our free caregiver workshop:

📅 August 20
Family Engagement Night
Helping Families Navigate the Digital World

Together, we can help young people stay safer—not just online, but wherever conversations happen.

07/05/2026

Excited to share an upcoming CHS podcast conversation on Youth Online Safety: Prevention, Accountability, and Community Support with Joanna Conrad, Executive Director of Youth Diversion.

We’ll be discussing cyberbullying, digital privacy and consent, youth decision-making, community collaboration, and how parents, schools, and caregivers can better support young people in today’s digital world.

Recorded on July 7, 2026 at 12:00 PM ET
Coming soon on YouTube and Spotify.

Together, we can build safer digital spaces for our youth.

Youth Diversion

07/05/2026

🥉 We’re Honoured to Receive a 2026 CommunityVotes Bronze Award!

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who nominated and voted for Youth Diversion in the CommunityVotes Windsor 2026 – Non-Profit category.

This recognition belongs to our dedicated staff, volunteers, Board of Directors, community partners, and the youth and families who place their trust in us every day.

For more than 45 years, Youth Diversion has been committed to empowering children and youth through prevention, early intervention, restorative justice, and family support. Every young person we work with reminds us why this mission matters.

While awards are never the reason we do this work, it’s an honour to know our community values the impact we’re making together.

Thank you for believing in our mission and for helping us build stronger futures for youth across Windsor-Essex. 💙

07/05/2026

06/30/2026

Sometimes the opportunities that mean the most are the ones that connect both your professional work and your personal life.

I’m honoured to be presenting at the 2026 Down Syndrome Association of Ontario Family Conference, where I’ll be sharing practical strategies to help parents and caregivers of individuals with Down syndrome navigate the ever-changing world of social media.

I can’t wait to be part of this incredible weekend and learn alongside so many amazing families and speakers. 💙

Good news! There is still rooms and tickets available at the DSAO Conference so we’ve extended the early bird pricing for another week. Take advantage of this opportunity!

Tickets available at DSAO.ca

06/28/2026

In December 2025, Australia became the first major economy to ban minors from social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and X. However, the vast majority of Australian teens (85%) have accessed social media in the past seven days, according to research published in the Briti...