Rev. Sky Star

Rev. Sky Starr is the Founding, Executive Director and CAO of Out Of Bounds: Grief and Trauma support (OOB). She holds a Master’s Degree in Psychology and a Bachelor’s Degree in Community and Religious Studies, from Tyndale University. As an avid stakeholder in her community, she was instrumental in the formation of a crisis response network team in Jane/Finch which she co-chaired for three years as the first responder to crisis. She is the brain-child of Fathers Across Cultures, which provides mentorship and support to men, fathers, mentors and young men as ‘fathers-to-be,’ to curb the violent deaths of young men.

Providing creative, compassionate care for those who are traumatized by violence, she works with schools and community organizations from a unique trans-cultural perspective. Her work and services include monthly group facilitation, grief & trauma-focused training, workshops, restorative justice mediation, therapeutic intervention, mentorship, legacy-building, and emotional intelligence training to youth, schools and the wider community. Over the past 12 years, Rev. Sky has focused her research activities on addressing healing and recovery for mothers, victims and survivors of gun violence.

Her G-Social, research group and other community work received radio and televised coverage from CBC and City TV. Much of her work over the past two decades is concentrated on understanding the grief and trauma experiences of mothers and families suffering from grief-related PTSD, responding to crisis in various Toronto communities and travelling to other provinces as requested.

Rev. Starr’s work in the community embodies philanthropy serving the needs of youth, mothers, residents and community. She works tirelessly with gun survivor mothers to build legacies for their lost children and to ensure that youth who are killed are recognized. She has created an annual Interfaith Remembrance where families from the GTA and even across Canada can memorialize their lost family members. Rev. Sky is recognized as an icon in the community and has been dubbed “the mother of Jane and Finch,” by Jully Black and others who appreciate her invaluable services to Jane/Finch and affected communities.

As a pioneer in the field of providing gun violence response, education and services, Rev. Sky is a published author of book chapters and articles on gun-related grief and trauma. She has developed customized models of care which is shared with communities and agencies in response to gun violence deaths and trauma. These experiential research data provide invaluable approaches and responses to gun violence trauma, with pertinent information, strategies and models of care for policy makers, service providers, victims and survivors of gun violence. Her work includes book reviews and invitations for public consultations across Canada, in the States and Australia.

 

Awards / Recognitions:

  • Global Women Leaders, September 2018
  • International Women’s Day, Certificate of Recognition, March 11, 2018
  • Ambassador For Peace Award – March 24, 2018
  • Mother of Magnificence Award in 2017 and Noble Drew Ali Award, 2017
  • Leading Women, Building Communities Recognition Award, 2016
  • Attorney General’s Victims Services Award of Distinction in 2015
  •  Mario Sergio’s Volunteer Appreciation Award, in 2015
  • Exemplary Community Volunteer Award by Parks & Rec, in 2015
  • Jane/Finch MP and MPP Citation and Bi-Centennial Awards, 2015
  • Black Canadians Role Model and Community Ambassador Award, 2014
  • Fabulous Woman Of The Year Award, 2013
  • Queen Diamond Jubilee Award in 2012
  • CBC TV’s national “Champion of Change” in 2010