A foundation rooted in lived understanding

The Harvey Foundation for Justice & Opportunity is created from a belief that a person's interaction with the justice system — or the actions and circumstances of someone in their family — should not determine the limits of their education or future.

This mission is personal to me. I have had family members who have been incarcerated, and I have seen how justice-system involvement can affect far more than the individual at the centre of a case. Families can experience lost income, instability, stigma, interrupted education and fewer opportunities. Children, partners, siblings and parents can carry consequences even though they were never charged with anything themselves.

The Foundation also carries a meaning that is especially close to my heart. The Harvey Foundation for Justice & Opportunity was created in memory of my mother, Nahtashea Maylynn Harvey, who passed away from a drug overdose in 2017. Her life, her struggles and her memory are part of the reason I understand how deeply a person's circumstances can shape not only their own path, but the lives of the people who love them.

Through this Foundation, I want her memory to live on by creating opportunities for others. Her name and legacy will be connected to an organization built on the belief that people are more than the most difficult circumstances they have experienced. Whether someone has faced incarceration, criminal charges, addiction within their family, financial instability, stigma or the consequences of a loved one's involvement with the legal system, those obstacles should not have the final say in what they are able to become.

I am creating this Foundation to invest in what happens next: education, training, stability and opportunity. The goal is not to judge whether someone is deserving based on a charge, conviction or family circumstance. The goal is to create fair, transparent pathways to education for eligible people whose opportunities have been materially affected by the legal system.