Brody Langager
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Amber Pelletier has experienced rock bottom. Now, she can proudly say she’s fought through it, thanks in large part to a local Saskatoon organization.
STR8 UP started 20 years ago, providing support for people wanting to escape from gangs and pursue a better life. As one of the group’s posters reads: people who are “sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
It’s a feeling Pelletier knows well. She came to the organization 14 years ago, from what she says were humble beginnings.
She has been part of the gang lifestyle. She’s faced substance abuse challenges. STR8 UP helped her leave it all behind.
“It’s really helped me grow as a person,” she said during a funding announcement last week in Saskatoon.
“And now I’m proud to say I’m sober … my children want me in their lives.”
STR8 UP received $1.125 million in core funding from the provincial government, money it will use to help fund its community intervention model programming in Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Regina.
The program offers supports for people between the ages of 15 and 30. Services include custody outreach, community supports, reintegration planning, tattoo removal, and assistance with housing, life skills and creating healthy relationships.
Part of STR8 UP’s funding also comes from Public Safety Canada’s Guns and Gang Violence Action Fund. The funding is for one year, with the potential to renew the following years.
Community Safety Minister Michael Weger said the program has received sustainable funding, noting a commitment from the province to keep STR8 UP running.
“For the individuals in the program, I want you to know that this investment is really an investment in you,” Weger said.
Dawn Robins, board chair of STR8 UP, said the group can now tackle the type of work they used to have to do off the side of their desks.
The organization, co-founded by the late Father André Poilièvre, who died last July at 88 years old, said the program has seen more than 400 referrals since January 2020. Between 2024 and 2025, it supported 120 participants and 43 clients accessed 231 tattoo removal sessions.
“I want you to know how proud of you we are and how far we’ve come,” Robins told members who attended Friday’s media conference.
She said when funding falls off and programs start shutting down, people reliant on these programs begin to fall apart as well.
STR8 UP has members on their board of directors, as well as management. Robins said their experience with gangs is crucial because “they teach us how we can help others.”
There were young children at the funding announcement, and Robins noted how the program is making a generational impact. STR8 UP members will also go to schools to speak with children about the dangers of gang life.
Co‑founder Stan Tu’Inukuafe said communities often have questions about why people join gangs and how to prevent them. He said instead, the question should be why do young people feel like they don’t belong.
“If we can make young people feel like they are valued and seen, then they can reimagine something different,” Tu’Inukuafe said
“In our experience, young people join gangs because they feel that there’s no hope.”
