CHJS is Coming to Canada (and We’re Excited)!

Canada’s kids are struggling. Nearly 1.2 million experience mental health challenges, fewer than 40% get enough daily physical activity, and one-third can’t access organized sport because of cost. At the same time, competitive programs tend to favor kids with prior experience or financial resources. Too many young people are watching from the sidelines.

The Center for Healing and Justice through Sport (CHJS) believes sport can do more than keep kids safe. It can help them heal. Our brain-based, healing-centered approach helps coaches, educators, community leaders, and parents use movement to regulate stress, build connection, and grow resilience.

CHJS isn’t just for kids affected by trauma. It’s for every child. When adults understand what’s happening in a young person’s brain and body, they can create environments where all kids feel seen, supported, and ready to thrive.

Leading the Canadian expansion is Julia Porter, a lifelong advocate for sport as a tool for social change. Jules has spent her career in Canada and around the world helping communities use play to tackle complex issues like inclusion and mental health. She knows sport can be messy, complicated, and magical. She wouldn’t have it any other way.

In practice, healing-centered sport looks like this: coaches who know how to calm a dysregulated team, teachers who use movement to build belonging, and programs where connection matters just as much as competition.

CHJS in Canada is about raising the bar for what sport can be. Not just safe, but healing. Not just for some kids, but for all. 

Because when designed with intention, nothing heals like sport.

Ready to bring healing-centered sport to your organization? Connect with Jules: jporter@chjs.org