Meet some "NEW" people: Youth Employment Specialist Latoya Dell

Latoya Dell is a youth employment specialist with Newcomer Women’s Services. She joined the agency four years ago.
In this photo, she’s standing outside Elmina Castle in Ghana. It was one of the more than 40 slave prisons and embarkation points for slaves who were being sent to the Americas. She’s standing on the other side of the “Door of No Return,” which was the narrow exit that slaves walked through on their way to the ships. It’s estimated that more than 12 million slaves were sent from Africa and millions of them died during the journey.

Latoya Dell understands what it’s like to struggle and what it’s like to be bullied and marginalized. She also understands what it takes to move beyond hardship to create a life that is purposeful. It takes vision, perseverance—and meaningful support from others. 

In her case, Latoya credits her Grade 4 teacher—Mrs. McIntosh—with having helped her through an especially difficult period. 

“I had moved here from Trinidad and Tobago when I was nine years old,” recalls Latoya. “I was being teased because of my accent and because I didn’t know how to read and write. Mrs. McIntosh is from Trinidad so she understood that I needed educational support after being separated from my mother who came to Canada before me. She taught me to read and write with the support of my mother and grandmother. She and her husband were amazing and we still keep in touch.” 

When she moved to Canada, Latoya was living with her mother, grandmother and eventually six other siblings in a Toronto Community Housing complex. 

"It is a neighbourhood that is labelled as gang-infested and drug-infested,” she says. “I’ve seen many young people in my neighbourhood become drug dealers, die—or, go to school"

Latoya Dell

Latoya and her closest friends chose the latter. But before heading to Sheridan College in Brampton to study the Community and Justice program, Latoya worked at the Scadding Court Community Centre in the café. While she was there, she was chosen to participate in a three-month project in India teaching English. She later was chosen to speak at a forum for young people in Ghana. 

“Both of those experiences were life-changing,” she notes. “I grew up in a low-income area, but after my time in India I understood poverty in a profound way. It helped me to appreciate that despite the need to acknowledge and address the challenges of my Black experience in Canada, I and many Canadians have been spared the poverty experienced by many in the world.”

Latoya was chosen to participate in a three-month project in India, teaching English. Here, she’s pictured with her students. In addition to teaching, Latoya and her team also helped restore the exterior of the school.

These experiences also reinforced her desire to help youths in her neighbourhood. Latoya went on to run a young women’s program back at the centre and after graduating from college started working with young men enrolled in a job-training program. Her initial goal was to work in a correctional facility but she was so discouraged by the way the guards treated her during her training that she couldn’t envision working in that setting. “If they were treating future correctional employees like this, it made me wonder how they treat the prisoners,” recalls Latoya. I was taken aback and it was then that I realized that I can’t change the system, but I can help change the people who commit crimes.”

Latoya started working with young men at the community centre running programs that taught them gardening and how to refurbish furniture. “We wanted to find them something to do where they’re weren’t being stopped or harassed by cops all the time,” she explains. “We wanted to give them an opportunity to not get caught up in a criminal life.” 

It’s a trap that Latoya understands all too well. Seven years ago, her brother was killed and his murder remains unresolved. “He was a great brother—and a great son—but he got caught up in the life. When he died, he was working and wanting to go back to school. We had seen many friends before him pass, but I didn’t think my brother would be one of them. I know that my brother was changed. He was done with the life and wanted out. His death took me back, but I knew then that I still wanted to work with people who are conflicted in the justice system. It’s still my life’s passion.” 

Her other enduring passion it to continue to advocate to bring an end to racism. The killing of George Floyd—and the entrenched systemic racism and violence—his death has exposed has left Latoya feeling raw and outraged. 

"Black people have been fighting for real change for centuries. Change will come when policies and laws are changed and people start being held accountable for their actions."

Latoya Dell

It’s an accountability that she expects from herself, her co-workers and her clients. And twinned with this principled outlook is a well of empathy that she has for the youths she works with, many of whom are facing challenges from homelessness, mental and physical disabilities to racism and discrimination. She understands the precarious balance between motivating others to change their lives, without doing the work for them. “I always tell them what I need from them and that we can’t move forward without that,” she explains. “I say, ‘I can’t move your feet if you don’t walk. If you walk, we walk together.” 

Latoya was invited to speak at a youth conference in Ghana. This photo was taken in front of a statue of Queen Yaa Asantewaa, which was donated to the people of Ghana by Yensomu Youth and Community Development and the African-Canadian community. Queen Yaa Asantewaa was a farmer, mother, intellectual, politician and human rights activist. She’s most known for leading the Ashanti rebellion against British colonialism.

For many clients, Latoya’s become their “Mrs. McIntosh” because she’s been there during a pivotal time in their lives.

“The other day I ran into a former client and she thanked me for helping her get into a shelter and she let me know that she’s working. She thanked me for pushing her and that when I checked in on her—even if she never got back to me—that it kept her going. When I hear stories like that it lets me know the program works.” 

It also makes her feel grateful and determined to keep making a difference with the clients who come to NEW.

“My philosophy of life is that we’re not guaranteed each day we wake up,” says Latoya. “We never know when our final day will come. I was raised by two strong, independent women—my mother and grandmother. They were giving and sacrificed so much. They drive me to want to live a good life, do good work and to leave a great legacy for my daughter.” 

Latoya climbed to the top of the house where she was staying with fellow students during her time in India.

Learn more about the Youth Job Connection Program and how you can get involved.