Our History

The Dan’s Legacy Foundation

Dan’s Legacy was founded in memory of a young man who, after surviving sexual abuse as a teenager, self-medicated with hard drugs in an attempt to numb the psychological pain of the traumatic experience. He received help from substance abuse recovery programs on two occasions, but did not have access to essential one-to-one therapy. Tragically, Dan relapsed, overdosed and died. He was 19.

In 2007, the Foundation became a federally registered Canadian charity. For the first seven years it operated as a family foundation, raising funds to distribute to other non-profit organizations providing recovery and training programs for at-risk youth. In January, 2014 the Foundation’s board decided to provide its own signature therapeutic programs under the operating name of Dan’s Legacy. Since that time, our counsellors have helped over 600 youth meet their educational, housing and life-goals.