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Tonika Morgan

A child of adversity becomes a youth of action

YWCA Toronto young woman of distinction 2005

Born to teenage parents, Ms Morgan never really had time to be a teenager herself. Called on to help raise her two younger brothers while her parents worked and studied, Ms Morgan nevertheless excelled at school. Currently a dynamo facilitating civic engagement among youth, Ms. Morgan’s own experience of homelessness fuels her urgent message of hope. Ms. Morgan is the 2005 Young Woman of Distinction.

While Ms. Morgan was heading for a promising high school career at Gordon Graydon Memorial Secondary School’s International Business and Technology program, her life took a sudden turn. Disputes between her parents soon tore her family and her academic dreams apart. At 14, Ms. Morgan was kicked out of her house for the first time. And by age 19 she had dropped out of school and began a nomadic life, sleeping in parks and friends’ basements. When a last attempt to reconcile with her family failed, Ms. Morgan wound up at the YWCA’s Stop 86 shelter (now 1st Stop Woodlawn) for young women.

Three months at the shelter gave her the support to set out on her own and begin making her mark in the community. She began volunteering with the Toronto Youth Cabinet, which advises City Hall on issues affecting young people and she started speaking at YWCA events about housing for marginalized women. Before long, Ms Morgan became immersed in community development activities like the Common Cause Youth Safety Symposium, the CNE Programs Committee, the Task Force for Socially Isolated and Homeless Persons, The Cause, the Youth Summit Steering Committee of the Toronto City Summit Alliance and more.

In March 2003, the Jane/Finch Community & Family Centre hired her to help form a youth council in the area. Her personal experiences and dedication to youth empowerment inspired 20 youth to organize a youth forum where 1,100 young people from the community celebrated their contributions to the Jane/Finch community. Young people, particularly young women, have been drawn to her call to be pro-active about their issues, not reactive to others’ decisions. She encourages them to appreciate and respect cultural, socioeconomic and educational differences in their quest for change.

In 2003, Tonika founded the Medina Collective, an organization for young women of colour who participate in the urban arts community. In the summer of 2004, the Collective ran their first urban journalism, media mentorship program and launched Medina Magazine, Toronto’s only woman-centred urban arts magazine. Volunteer run, Medina uses urban culture as a vehicle to inspire young women to make change in their communities.

Ms Morgan’s compelling and urgent nature, fueled by a sense of social responsibility, inspires the very best in her peers, and the communities with whom she engages. Her voice rings true to others in difficulty. Her words, and her belief in conversation, have got the city’s youth talking about youth representation, cultural identity, women’s rights and homelessness.

From her own experience, Tonika knows that sometimes it is the little things that can change a life. It is an insight she takes with her to Ryerson University where she is pursuing a career in social marketing.

Tonika is a featured profile on Service Canada's Youth Achievement:
http://www.youth.gc.ca/

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