Ryan's Hope

07/29/2026

Ryan’s Hope — Reflection on Support, Sustainability, and the Work Ahead

Today is my birthday, and I’ve been reflecting on Ryan’s Hope , where we’ve been, where we’re going, and what it truly takes to carry this work forward.

Ryan’s Hope has always been rooted in lived experience. In Ryan’s life. In what he cared about. In the realities faced by people living with the same challenges today. For years, we offered frontline support, food, clothing, survival supplies, connection, and care with heart, integrity, and a small team who showed up consistently.

But frontline work is heavy work. Emotionally, physically, and financially. Even with help from Tom, my family, and our core volunteers, the load eventually became too much to carry without broader support. Some programs were paused. Some were let go. Not because the need disappeared, but because the resources did.

Like many organizations, we stepped back to breathe and to restructure. We returned to our original vision for Ryan’s Hope — upstream advocacy, using our lived experience and Ryan’s story to work on root‑cause solutions that make a lasting difference. This is the work Ryan cared about. This is the work that honours him.

As we move forward, we do so with a renewed commitment to what mattered most to Ryan: education, opportunity, and supporting those who show up for others. Our new direction includes:

• Bursaries in Ryan’s honour
• Awards and microgrants for those doing frontline work
• Upstream advocacy focused on root‑cause change

This is meaningful work. This is sustainable work. This is work that creates lasting impact. But it still requires support.

If you believe in Ryan’s Hope — in Ryan’s legacy, in upstream advocacy, in bursaries, in supporting frontline workers through awards and microgrants — your contribution makes a real difference.

Any amount helps: $2, $10, $25, $50, $100 — whatever your budget can afford. Every donation counts. Every donation makes a difference. Every single donation helps us carry this work without feeling alone in it.

Donations can be made via e‑transfer to [email protected].

And if your budget doesn’t allow even the smallest donation, you can still support the work by liking, sharing, and helping amplify our message. That support matters too.

Grace and gratitude,

Christine

It is in the shelter of each other that people live.
Irish Proverb

07/24/2026

It’s almost my birthday.

This year, my birthday wish is to help launch Ryan’s Hope’s new Legacy of Love Bursaries and Legacy of Love Awards. Ryan’s Hope has just relaunched with a new mission, a new upstream direction, and a new commitment to supporting marginalized students, frontline workers, youth leaders, neurodiverse advocates, and grassroots organizations.

If you’d like to help celebrate my birthday, you can support Ryan’s Hope as we begin this new chapter.

E-transfer: [email protected]
Message: “Happy Birthday”

Thank you for helping us honour Ryan through the work that we do.

It is in the shelter of each other that people live.
Irish Proverb

07/21/2026

Remembering Ryan and all those we have lost to drug related harms.

Feel free to share who you are remembering today.

July 21 marks International Drug Users' Remembrance Day.

Today, we remember the lives lost to Canada's toxic, unregulated drug crisis. Behind every death is a person with a story, whose life has value. Thousands of loved ones have been left behind to grieve.

As governments continue to close essential health services, expand coercive approaches to treatment, and move away from evidence-based responses, this day is also a reminder that the choices made through public policy have real consequences on people's lives.

Honouring those we've lost means refusing to accept these deaths as inevitable. It means demanding policies rooted in evidence, dignity, and human rights that protect people's health, uphold their rights, and address the root causes of the crisis.

If you'd like to, share the name of someone you're remembering today in the comments as we honour their memory together.

07/17/2026

07/16/2026

📣📣📣 Please share to change the narrative around homelessness 📣📣📣

Homelessness is not a story of “failure”
It is a reality shaped by systems, barriers and circumstance.

It’s time to stop the stigma and start the understanding:

- Many people experiencing homelessness are working but still cannot afford stable housing due to rising costs and low wages.
- A large number of people experiencing homelessness are fleeing unsafe situations including domestic violence.
- Youth homelessness is often hidden with many young people couch surfing instead of living on the street.
- Most people experiencing homelessness are not visible in public spaces which leads to underestimating how widespread it actually is.
- Stigma can create barriers to employment, housing and healthcare making it harder for people to exit homelessness.

Share this post to help challenge the misconceptions around homelessness and open the door to real conversation and change.

For more information and ways to support please visit the link in our bio.

07/16/2026

Today we’re introducing our new Ryan’s Hope logo and updated bio.

Ryan’s Hope is an organization we started in memory and honour of our son, Ryan Nayler. Our mission is to amplify the voices of lived and living experience in order to change policy, end stigma, and save lives.

07/09/2026

https://www.hivlegalnetwork.ca/site/know-your-rights-ontarios-safer-municipalities-act/?lang=en

Unhoused people and people who use drugs have rights like all other people in Canada. However, Ontario’s Safer Municipalities Act, 2025 (SMA) introduced new rules that give law enforcement, including some provincial offences officers, more powers to police drug use in public spaces. There are two parts to this law. Schedule 1 covers the public consumption of illegal substances and creates a new provincial law called the Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act. Schedule 2 punishes trespassing.

This guide provides information about the SMA, including information on what the law says, the powers that police have under this law, and what options you have if you are stopped or charged. This pamphlet provides legal information, not legal advice. For advice about your specific situation, speak to a lawyer. A list of legal service providers is provided at the end of this resource.

07/08/2026

As we shared with our community last September, Ryan’s Hope has transitioned away from frontline service delivery and into upstream advocacy. This shift reflects both the emotional realities of our lived experience and our commitment to addressing the root causes of the dual crisis facing our community and country.

Ryan’s Hope continues to stand firmly in the work of truth‑telling, systems change, and public witness. Our advocacy is grounded in lived and living experience, grief‑aware practice, and a deep commitment to challenging the narratives and policies that cause harm. We remain dedicated to raising awareness, educating those in positions of power, and speaking truth to justice in honour of Ryan and all those we have loved and lost.

Our mission is to advocate for and support marginalized populations, including but not limited to people living with mental illness, people who use drugs, those experiencing poverty and homelessness, and neurodiverse individuals. We work from an anti‑oppressive framework and are committed to dismantling systems of oppression such as colonialism, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, and ableism.

Ryan’s Hope is now operating as an upstream, mutual‑aid‑based advocacy initiative. This structure allows us to remain responsive, values‑driven, and protective of Ryan’s legacy. As capacity allows, we aim to support community‑rooted efforts and lived‑experience leadership in ways that honour Ryan and the many community members who shaped our work.

Grace and gratitude,

Christine, Tom, and the Ryan’s Hope family

07/01/2026

I’m sharing the full text of a deputation I delivered at the Barrie Community Safety Meeting in 2023 regarding the proposed bylaw changes. I was cut off before I could finish, so I posted the complete statement on our Ryan’s Hope page at the time. While gathering documentation for my upcoming film Three Steps Back, I came across it again. The truth of this statement still stands.

A lived‑experience perspective on homelessness, human rights, and community care.