The Regent Park neighbourhood of Toronto was selected for the second H.E.R.O.S. program and commenced operation in 2005.
The area is surrounded by aging concrete towers that provide low–income housing. Many recent immigrant families live in the area and have arrived from Sudan, Ethiopia and the Dominican Republic.
Most of the parents in this neighbourhood work at multiple, low-paying jobs. They struggle to keep their heads above water and support their growing families.
When their kids leave home in the morning for school, they walk past drug dealers, pimps, prostitutes and gang members.
H.E.R.O.S. is a non–profit organization that uses hockey to build self–esteem and teach life skills to at–risk youth. The organization aims to help kids growing up in the highest–risk neighbourhoods of Canada's major cities.
The goal of H.E.R.O.S. is to help these families by offering a positive lifestyle option and support for their children to choose a different path.