Institut d’apprentissage 2022 de Cadre
The Path to an Exemplary Youth Mental Health System
23-24 février 2022 | #Cadre2022
The Path to an Exemplary Youth Mental Health System
23-24 février 2022 | #Cadre2022
L'inscription et les opportunités de stand d'exposant sont maintenant ouvertes pour #Frayme2022. Nous vous invitons à vous inscrire tôt pour profiter des tarifs réduits tant qu'ils durent !
L’Institut d’apprentissage est un des seuls congrès nationaux au Canada à se consacrer exclusivement à la transformation du système de santé mentale et de traitement de la toxicomanie chez les jeunes. Il s’agit d’une occasion unique de réunir différents acteurs du secteur issus de disciplines, d’horizons et d’expériences variés dans le but de transposer les connaissances en action.
Pour vous, à quoi ressemblerait le système idéal de santé mentale et de traitement de la toxicomanie pour les jeunes Canadiens? Quels types de services offrirait-il? Comment les jeunes et les aidant(e)s naturel(le)s seraient-ils mobilisé(e)s? Comment la recherche, la pratique et l’expertise vécue se conjugueraient-elles pour éclairer la prestation des services?
À l’occasion de #Cadre2022, nous vous invitons à nous proposer des idées afin que nous puissions tracer la voie vers un meilleur système, qui répond aux besoins de nos jeunes, de nos familles, de nos défenseur(e)s, de nos prestataires de services et de toutes les autres personnes qui œuvrent dans le secteur de la santé mentale et du traitement de la toxicomanie chez les jeunes. Le thème de cette année sera l’occasion de présenter des services et des programmes qui sont des modèles d’excellence en matière de mobilisation, qui sont fondés sur des données probantes et qui, surtout, placent l’équité et l’accessibilité au premier plan, et ce, dès l’étape de leur conception. Ce thème nous permettra également de nous réunir et de faire un remue-méninges sur la manière dont toutes les personnes qui travaillent au sein du système peuvent apprendre les unes des autres, partager des ressources et passer du dédoublement à la collaboration. L’Institut d’apprentissage permettra aux membres du réseau de Cadre, qui regroupe plus de 400 organismes, de se réunir dans un esprit de transformation radicale du secteur — si nous pouvons rêver d’un système idéal, nous pouvons le concrétiser.
L’Institut d’apprentissage 2022 de Cadre sera à nouveau organisé sous forme d'événement virtuel afin que la participation ne soit pas limitée par des facteurs géographiques ou d'accessibilité.
Votre expérience à #Cadre2022 sera alimentée par des activités engageantes et stimulantes, notamment des ateliers, des plénières et des sessions de réseautage, quelle que soit la manière dont vous choisissez d'y assister.
Cette année, l’Institut d’apprentissage se concentrera sur plusieurs domaines afin d’harmoniser notre travail avec celui de nos partenaires du réseau et les secteurs de Cadre ayant le plus d’impact. Comme l’activité se déroulera sous une forme hybride, c’est-à-dire virtuellement et en personne, vous aurez encore cette année accès à l’ensemble du contenu et pourrez choisir comment vivre l’activité en fonction de vos préférences :
Parce que nous en avons vraiment, vraiment besoin. Le système est fragmenté et cloisonné, et Cadre a pour mission de jeter des ponts par la collaboration et le partage. Grâce à l’Institut d’apprentissage, nous allons:
Lors de l’Institut d’apprentissage #Frayme2022, Cadre offrira une fois de plus aux participants une expérience complète avec des stands d’exposants. Les stands virtuels permettront aux exposants de présenter leur travail et leur organisme, tout en mettant la facilité et l’accessibilité au premier plan de toute l’expérience. Les participants à #Frayme2022 pourront visiter les stands virtuels à n’importe quel moment de l’Institut d’apprentissage, et s’ils souhaitent en savoir plus, ils pourront programmer des conversations en face à face avec les représentants des stands.
Cette année, l’Institut d’apprentissage #Frayme2022 se déroulera sur la plateforme immersive vFairs (en anglais seulement). Les exposants pourront bénéficier de toutes les fonctionnalités d’un stand d’exposition en personne, à l’exception des poignées de main.
Afin de favoriser une augmentation du trafic, nous avons prévu beaucoup de temps de réseautage pour permettre aux participants de visiter les stands et d’en apprendre davantage sur les organismes exposants.
Tarifs
Organisme sans but lucratif: $400 + TVH
Organisme à but lucratif: $500 + TVH
Partenaire du réseau Cadre: $350 + TVH
Numéro d’inscription au registre de la TPS/TVH : 729061325
En devenant un commanditaire officiel de #Frayme2022, vous offrirez à votre organisation une visibilité et une notoriété auprès de toutes les personnes qui travaillent dans le domaine de la santé mentale et du traitement de la toxicomanie chez les jeunes au Canada, d’un océan à l’autre. Votre commandite figurera dans les activités promotionnelles qui précéderont l’Institut d’apprentissage, et vous bénéficierez de la notoriété de la marque et des possibilités de réseautage avec un public très mobilisé et ciblé de défenseurs des jeunes et des aidants, de participants ayant une expérience vécue, de chercheurs, de prestataires de services, de décideurs, etc.
Veuillez consulter le tableau ci-dessous pour savoir ce que comprend chaque niveau de commandite de l’Institut d’apprentissage de Cadre, qui se déroulera sous une forme virtuelle sur la plateforme vFairs (en anglais seulement) :
Vous aimeriez être un commanditaire?
Jordan is a proud Métis citizen who uses the teachings of the Métis flag as one reference point during keynotes, educational sessions, presentations, and conversations on decolonizing systems and structures. He brings with him cultural humility, wisdom of ‘all my relations’, an appreciation of shared leadership, as well as a focus on equity and justice.
Jordan (MA, RCC) has completed his Masters in counselling, works as a concurrent disorders clinician, is part of the provincial education committee with the British Columbia Association of Clinician Counsellors, and during 2021 has co-presented at places such as: BC Children’s Hospital, Taos Institute, University of British Columbia’s ‘Let’s Talk Overdose’ conference, and the international Grief and Bereavement Conference in Singapore.
Len Pierre is Coast Salish from Katzie (kate-zee) First Nation. Len is an educator, consultant, TEDx Speaker, social activist, traditional knowledge keeper, and cultural practitioner. He is in the final stages of his Master of Education degree from Simon Fraser University focusing on curriculum and instructional design. His experience includes Indigenous education and program leadership from various health organizations including the First Nations Health Authority, Fraser Health Authority, and the Canadian Centre for Mental Health and Addiction. As an agent for change, Len leads and advises for systemic transformation in universities across North America. He specializes in the development of educational programs and services with decolonization and reconciliation as its core values. He comes to us with an open heart and open mind and hopes to be received in the same way.
Maggie is a social worker with experience in clinical, leadership and system change in the field of child, youth and adult mental health. She brings expertise in implementation science, and in working collaboratively with staff, organizations and systems to undergo complex change to better serve people. Maggie joined Stepped Care Solutions in July 2021, and supports various aspects of implementation, as well as supporting the daily operations of Wellness Together Canada. Maggie is also a Sessional Instructor with the School of Social Work at McMaster University.
A strategic and empathic system change leader and psychologist with over 18 years of experience, Alexia offers expertise in implementing large-scale, evidence-based, innovative mental health programs at the organizational and systems level. Alexia served as the strategic lead on the development of SC2.0’s core components and implementation guide and continues to lead the effort to build implementation best practices into the SC2.0 model. With a passion for and an expertise in Implementation Science, Alexia has provided training, coaching and consultation to individuals and organizations at the provincial, national and international level in the field’s best practices to achieve best possible outcomes for those we serve.
Paula Galenzoski is the Program Manager for Youth Hubs Alberta, stewarded by CMHA Alberta Division. She and her team provide implementation coaching and support for 11 integrated youth service hubs across the province. Facilitating social innovation, systems transformation, and community building are the big dreams of the Implementation Support Team. In keeping with her passion for community collaboration, community building, and education, she is serving her third term as Trustee with Fort McMurray Catholic School Division. Previously Paula worked with the Government of Alberta in disaster recovery, a role that came to be following her family's evacuation in the 2016 Horse River Wildfire. Through these experiences, she realized her keen interest in social networks and community collaboration. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Criminology and Psychology from Simon Fraser University, and spent 15 years practicing as a registered massage therapist. Her interests and experience are broad and diverse. She lives in Fort McMurray, Alberta with two teenage boys, husband, and their bulldog Piper.
Ron Goguen is a Project Manager with the Health Department of the Government of New Brunswick, focusing primarily on initiatives relating to Youth Integrated services. With more than 15 years of experience, Ron is well-versed in all aspects of project management and the various methodologies, process improvement and organizational change management in both the private and public sectors. Certifications include the Project Management Professional and Prosci Change Management Practitioner. Improving youth outcomes remains his driving force to ensuring youth and community voice are the nucleus of planning and implementation.
Brooke Allemang is a Doctoral Candidate in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary whose doctoral work is supported by the CIHR’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research. She is a passionate advocate for youth partnership in research and a clinical social worker who is committed to amplifying youth voices in health and mental health service delivery.
I am currently in my last year of my undergraduate degree studying psychology and a research assistant at the University of Calgary and SickKids Hospital. I’m really passionate about youth engagement in research. With experience as a youth partner and research assistant, I bring a unique perspective to this work. I am motivated to create change in the narrative around being a researcher with lived experience and the ways in which youth engaged research is conducted.
I am a person who has lived experience with mental health and addictions. I found the obstacles these experiences created to be extremely difficult to overcome in my youth. I now use these experiences as a source of strength and perspective in my role as a Youth Peer Support worker. Authentically connecting with people and reducing stigma is my passion. I love bringing humor, fun, and creativity to my work in councils, research, consulting, knowledge translation, and beyond! I am proud to be a part of communities working so hard to reduce these obstacles for other young people who are going through what I once did. There is still a lot of work to be done. I am hopeful we can make the changes needed if we work together!
Stacie is a 2020 Dalhousie Kinesiology graduate from Saint John, New Brunswick. She was Co-Chair of the Youth Advisory Council of the Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Services Review conducted by the NB Child and Youth Advocate’s office. She is also the Co-Executive Director of the Young Canadians Roundtable on Health, Founder of the Mental Health Student Support Network, and a Youth Partner with Frayme. She was the recipient of the PHE Canada Student Leadership Award in 2018-2019 for her leadership role in the School of Health & Human Performance. She is currently attending the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton in the Bachelor of Education program.
Sue Duguay is a 22-year-old student at the Université de Moncton in Law. She has a major in Political Science and two minors in Economics and Management Science. A former president of the Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française (FJCF) and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadiennes du Canada (FCFA), Sue now sits on the Board of Directors of the Club Richelieu International as Treasurer. She co-chaired the Youth Advisory Council for the review of youth mental health and suicide prevention services (in New Brunswick, 2021) and her provincial involvement began in 2013, on the board of directors of the Fédération des jeunes francophones du Nouveau-Brunswick (FJFNB), the organization she chaired from 2016 to 2018 while being involved with multiple related causes over time. Recipient of the Canadian Leader Award (Atlantic Region), her passions for public speaking, society, politics, and law, regularly serve as a propulsion towards new accomplishments.
Stephanie obtained her Master of Science and PhD from the University of Waterloo’s School of Public Health Sciences. Since graduating in 2017, she has led and managed many collaborative population and public health research and evaluation projects using participatory approaches. At HRI, Stephanie’s role includes planning and executing a variety of research and evaluation projects related to mental health and addiction. She works directly with key stakeholders, including advisory groups, service providers, clinicians, and people with lived and living experience. In addition to Stephanie’s passion for evaluation, she is a photographer (stephanieklu.com) and enjoys running and baking.
In addition to being a Research Assistant at HRI, Thepikaa is a PhD Candidate in the School of Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo. Thepikaa’s research interests include youth health, substance use, mental health, and program evaluation
Cyndy Moffat Forsyth is the inaugural Executive Director for The Grove Hubs (formerly called the Integrated Youth Services Network). She is responsible for bringing the vision to fruition by working collaboratively with the communities of Wellington County and Guelph. Prior to this role, Cyndy was the Homewood Research Institute’s first chief development officer. She also served for almost a decade with the Huntington Society of Canada as VP of Development and Marketing. Cyndy has always been an active volunteer in her community and has served in leadership roles with organizations such as the YMCA-YWCA of Guelph and the Asset Development Committee for the Guelph Community Foundation.
Dr. Mario Cappelli is a Child Clinical Psychologist who for the past 25 years has specialized in working with children, youth, young adults and their families. He is currently the Senior Clinician Scientist at the Knowledge Institute on Child and Youth Mental Health and Addictions and an Adjunct Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Cappelli’s research focuses on how to best identify needs and how to improve the integration of services between emergency departments or primary care and community-based child and youth mental health services.
Dr. Ashley Radomski is a health systems researcher with BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services. She is the Lead of a Provincial Network aimed at addressing system-level issues for adults with complex mental health and substance use service needs. Ashley was a former postdoctoral fellow at the Knowledge Institute on Child and Youth Mental Health and Addictions where she conducted research on the mental health of children and use in response to COVID-19 and the use of clinical care pathways across Ontario
Dr. Joanna Henderson (she/they) is Director of the Margaret and Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth & Family Mental Health at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and Executive Director of Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO). She is also a Senior Scientist at CAMH and a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. Her work aims to improve access to high quality, integrated services for youth with substance use and/or mental health concerns and their families.
Dr. Janis Wolfe (she/her) is Clinical Practice Lead at Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO). Her work focuses on supporting the integration of the YWHO clinical service delivery model and the development of program standards for this integrated youth service.
Dr. Dimitropoulos is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, cross-appointed with the Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics. She is also a Full Member of the Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education, the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, and the O'Brien Institute for Public Health. She is an award-winning clinician, researcher, and mentor who has dedicated her career to bridging research and practice on youth mental health.
Tanya Halsall is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research affiliated with the University of Ottawa and an Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Carleton University. Her primary research areas are in youth development, participatory evaluation and health promotion. Her specific interests are in ecological approaches and interventions that support behaviour change to enhance youth well-being. She has also been involved in evaluating system transformation initiatives in child and youth services at the regional, provincial, national and international level.
Mardi Daley, B.A. is an advocate, facilitator and Peer Specialist working in youth mental health and homelessness in Toronto. Working from the lens of lived experience, Mardi collaborates on research projects to support by-youth for-youth resources, training and engagement. Her interests include youth employment, peer support and ethical youth engagement.
Rory Higgs (they/them) is a peer support worker and researcher from Vancouver, BC. They have previously developed peer support projects for Foundry and Vancouver Coastal Health, and are currently studying social and cultural contexts of early psychosis at the UBC School of Social Work. They also coordinate the BC Hearing Voices Network and sit on the BC EPI Alumni Council and Health Justice Lived Experience Experts Group.
Anne Liao (she/they) is a youth peer supporter at Foundry’s virtual clinic, BC’s one-stop-shop youth wellness centre, as well as a group facilitator with the BC Hearing Voices Network and the Kaleidoscope Mental Health Support Society. They also sit on the BC EPI Alumni Council and research the role of culture in early psychosis at the UBC School of Social Work.
Stuart McHenry (he/him) is the Knowledge Translation Lead at Jack.org, where he works directly with youth to improve mental health systems on campuses across the country. Prior to joining Jack.org, Stuart was involved in the academic labour movement, and completed his Master’s degree in Migration and Ethnic Relations from the University of Western Ontario. His Master’s research and community organizing experience continue to inform the work he does with Jack.org today.
Samin is a nursing student and the co-president of the Jack.org chapter at Ryerson University. As a recent immigrant, Samin believes that she has had the opportunity to view many of our societal issues such as mental health stigma from a dual perspective. This has led her to constantly compare the two societies she has lived in to better understand the gaps and advances in each one and to evaluate the effectiveness of the actions that are taken to address mental health issues. Samin aim's to bring this perspective to their Jack chapter at Ryerson, where they aim to center their work around understanding the unique mental health needs of their community based on the concerns voiced by the students and to tailor their interventions accordingly. This approach allows them to let the community themselves decide how their team can support them using their platform and the resources Jack.org provides. Samin's goal is to be nimble and innovative in addressing the ever-changing needs of their community, which she believes becomes especially important during these unprecedented times.
Agnes Chen is a proud mom of 4, a registered nurse, and the founder of Starlings Community, a not for profit whose mission is to ensure the healing of children impacted by the stigma of a parent’s substance use. As a child, Agnes grew up in a home where untreated trauma and addictions existed, which exposed her to the deeply rooted ways stigma exists in our society and within our current systems of care. Today, she uses her personal and professional experiences to inspire a community that can offer impacted families hope while simultaneously enabling a family's healing.
Nida Ansari is an undergraduate co-op student from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Currently studying at the University of Guelph, she is pursuing a degree in Psychology and French. Nida completed two successful co-op work terms with The Grove -Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario as their Peer Training Coordinator, where she spearheaded the development of the Youth Support Program. Nida’s research interests currently focus on effective pedagogical practices for youth and adolescents, youth mental health, and overall leadership and engagement. Combining her love for education and psychology, Nida sees every opportunity as a meaningful learning experience, and strives to ensure that whatever she accomplishes has an impact on the community around her in some way.
Jemma Llewellyn is a community-based arts practitioner and Post-Compulsory Education teacher from Wales, UK. She has worked in formal education settings and youth arts organizations, with children and young people from the ages of 6 to 25, including ESL students, and students with additional and complex learning needs, in China, England, Wales, and Canada. Jemma’s PhD research, practice, and scholarship focuses on addressing human rights issues by providing an artistic platform where youth voices are amplified and the practice of adult allyship is modeled through improvisation and collaborative mentoring. It is her belief that to make real social change in the world we need to address the transhistorical hierarchy paradigm between children/youth and adults, through youth-led dialogical participatory practices. Jemma is committed to the process of decolonization, anti-racism, and anti-oppression which are foundational to her personal values, projects, and partnerships.
Fae Johnstone, MSW, is a consultant, writer and activist with over 8 years of local and national involvement in 2SLGBTQ+, feminist and anti-gender-based violence advocacy. As the Executive Director of Wisdom2Action, she leads a diverse team undertaking local, provincial and national initiatives in the areas of 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion, mental health, children’s rights and violence prevention. Fae is a highly regarded public speaker, writer and 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion consultant. Over the past decade she has trained dozens of workplaces and social service organizations across Canada on 2SLGBTQ+ and trans inclusion. Fae is a recurring contributor with Xtra Magazine, and her work has been published in the Ottawa Citizen, Toronto Star, Huffington Post and other publications.
I am currently a PhD candidate in Health Research Methodology at McMaster University, focusing on examining the co-occurrence of substance use and mental health concerns among youth. I am also a Registered Nurse with experience in youth inpateint psychiarty and a Research Associate at the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research leading program development and evaluation for the YA-SUP. My clinical and research roles are all grounded in identifying, contributing to, and utilizing the best available evidence to improve and optimize the lives of youth.
Lisa has worked across non-profit and charitable sectors for almost 16 years, both in Canada and the UK. A large focus of her work has been designing, implementing, and evaluating open access community-based mental health services. She is most passionate about putting research and evidence into action, so that services are impactful whilst ensuring they are co-designed, co-led and co-evaluated, with the voice of lived experience at the core. Lisa works as a partner at Habitus Collective in London, UK, helping charities and the NHS design bold innovative services that measurably improve the mental health and wellbeing of individuals and communities. She most recently has helped to design and secure funding for a number of Recovery Cafés in the UK.
Catherine has been working as a peer practitioner for over 6 years. She always says to others, when sharing her own story, peer support is what saved her life and she’s always strived to give back what she was given, which was to feel heard and to be connected. Her journey as a Peer Supporter began as a volunteer at CMHA and eventually she became employed as one of the first peer supporters Alberta and then began delivering Recovery College courses to adults and young people. She then moved to practicing peer support in a hospital setting as part of a harm-reduction and addiction recovery team and later moved to the UK to work as a peer supporter within an NHS eating disorder clinic and leading on co-development projects with Habitus. She is currently a member of the International Peer Leadership Network hoping to grow peer leadership opportunities for peer supporters across the globe.
Working for Habitus Collective UK, Callum works with organizations throughout North America and Europe with a specialization in Recovery and Peer Support initiatives. He currently co-chairs the International Peer Leadership Network whose goal is to increase the leadership capacity and collective power of Peer Supporters globally. Callum worked for the Canadian Mental Health Association in Calgary for 7 years where he created, at its time, the largest cross-organisation workforce of peer supporters in Canada. This change led to significant shifts in how mental health was supported by service providers. He has most recently led the creation of a first-of-its kind ‘innovation accelerator’ for Social Workers, to rapidly scale projects that improve the lives of children and families. Callum has extensive experience of leading service change and describes himself as being obsessed with using community lived experience, data, and innovation to improve outcomes for organizations delivering health and social services.
Roula Markoulakis, PhD is a Scientist at the Sunnybrook Research Institute, with a focus on assisting youth with mental health and addiction concerns and their families in accessing needed services and care. With the Family Navigation Project (FNP), she has begun a research program that explores the Navigation model as applied to youth with mental health and/or addictions issues and their families. She believes strongly in youth- and family-oriented research, so that findings can be driven by and mobilized back into the community.
Liisa Kuuter, MSc, MFT, RP, is the Program Manager at the FNP. Liisa has been in mental health leadership roles for over 20 years and has considerable experience leading mental health teams in community-based organizations. She has experience working with cross-sectional leaders including hospital, community support services, and mental health and addiction services for program planning, development, and strategy. Liisa has worked as a Clinical Manager/ Director of Service and System Coordinator at various community-based mental health services, and as a Clinical Manager of Mental Health Services with the Petawawa Military Family Resource Centre, supporting military families. She hopes to integrate these many perspectives in her work in order to become a knowledge broker regarding the service integration needs of youth with mental health and addictions issues and their families.
Sugy Kodeeswaran, MHSc, is the Executive Director of the FNP. With a Master of Health Science degree in Health Administration and 13 years of management experience, she has held a variety of leadership roles in the health research and innovation sector. Her previous experience includes management roles at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and Ontario Genomics, where she was responsible for creating collaborative relationships with industry, government, and academic researchers, which enables her to stimulate partnerships with community mental health agencies for ongoing knowledge exchange and to utilize results from research and clinical feedback to support transformation of the mental health and addiction system.
Seren Friskie is Provincial Youth Engagement & Indigenous Wellness Coordinator at Foundry. Seren has brought her passion for youth health and wellness to various organizations and research projects, including CMHA-BC & National, SARAVYC (Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Center), iMPACTS: Collaborations to address sexual violence on campuses, The McCreary Center Society, We Matter, Frayme and now Foundry. Seren is working to bring more equitable, youth friendly, accessible and innovative services to support youth and families in communities across Canada. She credits her own lived experience with mental illness, as well as her family’s experience, in fuelling her passion for building the capacity, resilience, and literacy of people who have loved ones experiencing difficulties with their mental health. When she’s not studying or working Seren is organizing in her community, exploring all that the Coast Salish land has to gift us, or spending time with her family and friends.
Dr. Chantalle Clarkin is a Registered Nurse and qualitative researcher with a passion for participatory arts-based approaches and cinematic storytelling for health. She has a Doctorate in Education, and a specialization in non-fiction media and documentary filmmaking. She is Project Scientist in Virtual Mental Health and Outreach at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and the Associate Director of HeART Lab (healthequityart.com), a health humanities research lab that brings together patients, caregivers, community members, healthcare providers, and artists through collaborative co-design. Her research interests include community-based intergenerational storytelling, adolescent mental health, resilience, and arts-based research for community engagement and social activism.
Cathy has over 30 years of experience working in social services and child welfare. Cathy has worked at the Ottawa Children's Aid Society, Head Start Association of Ottawa-Carleton, Children's Integration Support Services, Algonquin College Early Childhood Education Department, The Children's Bridge Adoption Agency and currently as Executive Director at the Child and Youth Permanency Council of Canada. Cathy and her husband are the proud parents of Justin and Cam Lin who both joined their family through adoption and are now young adults. Cathy is a strong advocate for children and youth living in and from the child welfare system, first families, permanency for kinship caregivers, customary caregivers, legal guardians and adoptive families.
Jessica was adopted at six years old. She spoke in the House of Commons for the first time at age 12 and has not slowed down since. She has won numerous community awards for advocacy and volunteerism, and has created safe spaces across Canada for youth in care to support each other. She is working towards a future where no child has to feel alone in the child welfare system.
Dr. Allison Crawford is a Psychiatrist, Clinician Scientist, Director of Virtual Mental Health and Outreach, and co-chair of ECHO Ontario and ECHO Ontario Mental Health at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. She is also the Chief Medical Officer of the Canadian Suicide Prevention Strategy. Allison is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Allison is specialized in the areas of suicide prevention, developmental trauma, Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Narrative Exposure Therapy, and arts-based participatory research methods. As the founding director of HeART Lab (Health equity Art, Research, and Technology Lab), Allison is passionate about the inclusion of lived experience in health research and motivated by the power of storytelling to create engagement, community, and change. She has worked with the Adoption Council of Canada, co-leading grants that support the engagement of youth in digital storytelling and advocacy.
Princess has worked as an advocate since first taking part in a youth panel about the importance of permanency. By speaking out and connecting with other youth in and from care, she has learned about the widespread issues and challenges within the system at large. She now writes a blog to share her experiences and insights, with the hope that readers will feel less alone. This motivates Princess to keep writing and shining light on the child welfare system.
Kaygan has been advocating for years. He has a simple idea to improve the child welfare system: make communication more efficient. He wants to make sure that no youth has to wait for someone to answer an email for help. He hopes that no child will feel neglected by the system meant to protect them.
R became a youth collaborator with the Children’s Aid Society at the age of 15, consulting and volunteering to share youth voice. She has continued to advocate for children and youth throughout her life and is currently a youth support worker. She works to improve the system, with the hope of breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty and trauma.
Brigitte aged out of the child welfare system without permanence. She communicates her experiences through poetry and prose, putting words to the more difficult events of her youth. She wants every youth to remember they have a voice. And, perhaps most of all, to remember that they are capable of transcending even the most difficult of circumstances.
No one should age out of care into homelessness or the other many adverse outcomes that accompany unsupported youth transitions. Sustained post-majority support is an issue Susan is advocating for in British Columbia. Once she found her calling as an advocate, she could never go back. She continues to mobilize and engage youth in decision-making, with the hope that no one will have to endure the system she endured. She is now a campaign organizer for a group called Fostering Change.
Zo was 15 when she gave her first public speech. She spoke at her foster mother’s retirement party, sharing how adoption changed her life for the better. She started to share her experiences and make change long before the inclusion youth voice was commonplace. For the last decade, Zo has been building community and advocating for change. While governmental and policy changes are slow-moving, she refuses to give up. She is currently a social worker and program coordinator.
Lily Le (she/her) is a Registered Provisional Psychologist with a PhD in Counselling Psychology who has worked with youth and young adults from a client-centered, anti-oppressive, and feminist lens. In addition to helping clients grow and change at an individual level, Lily is driven to transform mental health care at a systems level. Her passion for research, innovation, and youth engagement has led her to her current position as a Practice Lead for the e-Mental Health for Youth and Young Adults in Alberta Project.
Emilie Bassi (she/her) is the Senior Qualitative Analyst for the e-Mental Health for Youth and Young Adults in Alberta project at the University of Calgary. She holds a Master of Science in Rural Sociology from the University of Alberta. Emilie is passionate about qualitative research methods, making research approachable for youth, and sharing the human story behind research findings.
Leanne Stamp (she/her) is a Practice Lead and Qualitative Research Coordinator for the e-Mental Health (eMH) for Youth and Young Adults in Alberta project. Leanne is passionate about facilitating the connection, trust, and growth required to create new possibilities within the complex world of health and social care. She is fascinated by the potential for digital technologies and data to support the transformation of our health care systems and sees the eMH project as an opportunity to harness the power of relationships united by purpose to innovate and move the dial on youth mental illness and death by suicide. Leanne believes that together we can transform our mental health care system into one that is highly effective and supports young people to achieve their full potential in life, both now and for generations to come.
Hayley (she/her) is a queer, two spirit mixed race person currently living in Gitche Namewikwedong (Owen Sound) on Saugeen territory. She carries roots from Bootaagani-mnis as a Wiisaakodewikwe/Penetang HB, while also carrying ancestry from England and Germany. She spends a lot of her time being critical of the Canadian colonial state, and supporting land reclamation whenever she can. She can also be found watching ridiculous TV shows, drinking maple syrup, and learning how to reconnect with the land.
Yolanda Delmonte (she/her) is a Peer Support Worker in the RBC Pathway to Peers Program. She has an undergraduate degree in Sociology & Criminology, as well as a Social Service Worker Diploma. Working from her own lived experience, she provides support to young people and promotes safety, empowerment, and connection.
Jordyn Ethier (she/they) is a part-time Peer Support Worker in the RBC Pathway to Peers Program. Jordyn is in her second year of the Community Worker program at George Brown College. Her biggest passions include mental health, LGBTQ+ rights, and anti-oppression.
Bella Shulman (she/her) is a part-time Peer Support Worker in the RBC Pathway to Peers Program. Bella is studying Sexual Diversity at the University of Toronto and is in her final year. She is passionate about equity, inclusivity, and anti-oppression frameworks.
Christine Bradshaw (she/her) is a Social Worker at Mount Sinai Hospital’s Emergency Department and Manager of the RBC Pathway to Peers Program. Christine has been involved in the creation and implementation of the Pathway to Peers program and is motivated to make a difference in the lives of young adult patients.
If I could use one word to describe myself it would be resilient. Growing up I was always an anxious child who struggled with living for herself and not for others. I spent the majority of my life being a perfectionist, and due to that, I was not able to handle the stress that came with the high expectations I made for myself. My feelings of incompetence led me to develop an eating disorder and resort to unhealthy coping mechanisms. It took a lot for me to see that I was the biggest obstacle in my path to recovery.
It was not until I’ve reached my lowest point for me to actively work towards recovery and choose to live for myself. Through my path to recovery, I discovered that I had a passion for helping others who faced similar adversities as me and providing support for children and youth which led me to become a Youth Facilitator today. I hope to continue to draw upon my own experiences to help others feel less alone in their journey.
Ask for help in the areas in which you need to change. Once you get the help you need, put your hand out and try to help others. For a very long time, everything in my life was difficult. Dealing with depression and anxiety had me turning to any possible external source to try to cure my feelings of not being good enough. No matter if it was food, social media/entertainment, or other negative coping skills. I was an over-consumer because it helped me forget about how I felt; that was until I decided to finally get help for my underlying issues of low self-esteem.
Today, I reach out for help in communities of people that do their best to help, along with therapy. Beyond that, I do my best to try and help people in whichever way that I can; this alone has made me feel a part of a world I felt like I never fit in.
Jerrica Little (she/her) received her PhD in Public Health & Health Systems at the University of Waterloo in 2021, where she specialized in analysis of mental health systems for emerging adults. She also acted as the lead researcher on UW's Committee on Student Mental Health, which implemented 36 institutional recommendations between 2018-2021. Jerrica is now a post-doctoral fellow under CIHR’s Health System Impact Fellowship program, working jointly with Jack.org and UWaterloo to support youth-led public mental health initiatives. Nothing is more inspiring to her than seeing the hard work and dedication of young people in building healthy and happy communities!
Devon (she/they) is a Settler/Mohawk living in Niagara. She is a compassionate, approachable, resilient, and empowering diplomat. A great advocate for youth who struggle with mental health and addiction like she did. She has been sober now for 7 months. She uses her voice to help those voices that aren’t being heard, one way by being part of the Provincial Indigenous Youth and Family Advisory Circle. She is creative and enjoys all types of arts, but has a passion for beading. She just started a business on Instagram selling beaded earrings back in November.
I’m really passionate about bridging the gap between youth mental health research and youth engagement. One of the big milestones I hope to achieve in my career is to normalize lived experience within research teams. Currently, that has brought me to my position as a research assistant at CAMH in association with SickKids that involves lived expertise as an asset, and I hope to maintain this perspective as I pursue my master’s education in clinical psychology next year.
I am a postdoctoral fellow with the Cundill Centre for Child and Youth Depression at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. My research focuses on strengthening the quality, consistency, and youth-centeredness of outcome measurement for youth anxiety and depression, in clinical trials and measurement based care. I obtained my PhD in Psychology from University College London, and hold an MSc in Sociology from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences. I have been involved in the development of several core outcome sets, including as research fellow with the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) and as a co-investigator of the IN-ROADS initiative at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
I’m a mental health researcher and methodologist who leads the TORCH (Toronto Outcomes Research in Child Health) Initiative, which is a patient-centred programme of research at the Hospital for Sick Children dedicated to advancing the science of outcome selection, measurement, and reporting in clinical research. I’m also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and a Cundill Scholar with the Cundill Centre for Child and Youth Depression, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
Samantha Jack is an Indigenous woman from the Johnson family on her patrilineal side from Nuu-Chah-Nulth and the Jack family on her matrilineal side from Yale First Nations. Samantha is a fourth-year Political Science student and outspoken activist. She is a rising youth leader with commitments in facilitation, community engagement, Indigenous youth empowerment, and Indigenous advocacy. Speaking of decolonization efforts, reconciliation, and resilience, Samantha encourages the creation of safe and brave places to shift from a place of unknowing to comprehensive compassion and connection.
EmmaLiese Thomsen is a Youth Advocate currently working with the University of Calgary to implement an e-mental health digital platform, aiming to streamline and enhance the quality of care for young people seeking mental health services in Canada. With the perspective of lived experience, past and present, EmmaLiese is able to provide input and feedback on project decisions to better suit the needs of youth. Her interests include youth advocacy, community, and family!
Hello! I'm a recent Patient and Community Engagement Research (PaCER) program grad, with a focus on e-mental health tools and youth engagement with them. I have experience on 3 different health advisory councils across the country and as a patient, I havea passion for mental health and ease of access to treatment.
Julien transitioned to the mental health field two years ago, having formerly worked in Alberta’s oilfield since he was 16. Experiencing his own mental health challenges and navigating the complex system to access resources led him to recognize that he wanted to focus his energy on supporting others and promoting mental wellness Julien understands the frustrations of searching for resources and being met with dead-ends, misdiagnosis, or unsuccessful treatments. Due to this, Julien is very intentional in his work - using his story and experiences to connect with others and improve communication and accessibility in accessing resources. He is part of an Alberta Health Services supported Addictions and Mental Health Youth Advisory Council, where he collaborates with mental health organizations. As a member and volunteer at Imagine Citizen’s network (an organization devoted to enhancing health services for Albertan’s) he is working on creating an online forum for individuals to connect and discuss mental health. He also works as a research assistant at the University of Calgary in an e-mental health project, and on a mental health promotion committee. Julien is studying at York University, pursuing the cognitive neuropsychology stream. Encouraged by his warm reception into this community, Julien is motivated to complete a PhD in clinical psychology in the future.
I joined the youth council to be a part of something big and give my opinion on how to better help this generation's youth and shape our society for the betterment of all youth. Aire Ouverte represents a desire to change the fate of so many youths that are working/are in health services, to help them be at ease with themselves and know that they have a support system there. The next generation will deal with the system of our predecessors. Values and views of our health system change with each passing day therefore it is best to understand what is flawed and find ways for improvement than to suffer.
Dr. Peter Cornish is the founder of Stepped Care 2.0 methodology and current president of Stepped Care Solutions (SCS). He has provided mental health system consultation and on-site implementation training to over 250 organizations across North and South America. In addition to his role at SCS, Peter is an Honorary Research Professor at Memorial University, and the Director of Counseling and Psychological Services at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also a principal investigator for a CIHR transitions-in-care 4-year research grant aimed at digitizing and evaluating SC2.0 in three Canadian provinces.
Maddi Mathon (she/her) is a queer and disabled peer supporter and mad activist who is the founder-director of Mutual Minds Peer Support, a peer support initiative planning to launch in the winter/spring of 2022. Her work centres the civil rights and community-based origins of peer support and mad pride, and she considers access to liberating, non-coercive, and people-centred supports to be a crucial social justice issue. Maddi has special interest in trauma-informed care and crisis/suicide support, as well as a passion for body positivity and autonomy and justice in health care. She is grateful to be supported by an amazing community of friends, family, and pets.
Dennis earned a Doctorate in Global Studies from the University of Saint Joseph (Macao), a Master of Arts in International Development from Saint Mary’s University (Halifax) and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with an Option in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Waterloo (Waterloo). His doctoral research focussed on children’s rights during emergencies, namely the right to protection and the right to participation. He explored the ways children actively participate in their own protection during emergencies in Pacific Island countries with field research in Fiji and Tonga. In his Master’s thesis he used a children’s rights framework to analyze the reintegration of child soldiers in Mozambique, Sierra Leone and northern Uganda.
Dennis is a seasoned project manager and policy analyst. He has worked in civil society and government organizations in Canada, and abroad. His professional experience includes work in experiential education, youth engagement, programming for children and youth with learning disabilities and youth in conflict with the law, consulting on project design and evaluation, training and capacity building, academic instruction, and team management.
David Chernin is the finance and administration officer at Wisdom2Action and works out of K’Jipuktuk (Halifax). He has studied Business Administration at Nova Scotia Community College and has experience working in the retail and tourism industry in downtown Halifax.
Josel Angelica Gerardo is a MA Candidate in Political Science at the University of Toronto with research interests in intersectionality of gender, sexuality, race and ethnicity in politics, an alumni of the Politics program at X (Ryerson) University and a current staff member at the Faculty of Arts Dean’s Office. As a young scholar, she was involved in multiple research projects including the Dimensions Pilot Program and the Young Workers Rights Hub. Josel is a queer Filipina immigrant, and recipient of the University-wide Dennis Mock Student Leadership Award, Marion Creery Award, and Women Champions of Diversity Award after 3+ years in student government and leadership.
Dr. Andrea Prajerova (she/her) is a white queer immigrant feminist, and the Evaluations and Grants Supervisor in the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity. Dr. Prajerova received her PhD from the Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies at the University of Ottawa (2018) and her MA in Humanities at Charles University in Prague (2012). Her expertise comprises multidisciplinary interests, including applied intersectional research methodologies, gender-based violence, and critical health and reproductive justice issues. With a passion for an evidence-based approach to governance, she is also the Director of the Board with a couple of other non-profits. Dr. Prajerova is a humble guest to the Algonquin territory where she continues to learn how best to care for each other in (un)easy times.
Hi everyone! I’m Rachel Sparling (They/Them). I’m currently completing my Master’s in Social Justice and Community Engagement and have a Bachelor’s in Community Development. Over the years I’ve been lucky to have worked in a variety of areas in community work, though most often in mental health, 2SLGBTQ+ youth programming, and environmental work. Facilitation is my passion and I’ve been fortunate enough to have been facilitating community conversations, consultations, and programs, for the past six years. When I’m not studying and working you can find me camping or hiking in the woods, cycling around town, at a protest, inside knitting, or debating Marvel movie theories a little too intensely!
Jen Turner is the Manager of Research and Public Policy for BGC Canada (formerly Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada). BGC Canada provides safe, supportive places where children and youth can experience new opportunities, overcome barriers, build positive relationships, and develop confidence and skills for life. Jen leads BGC Canada's mental health and child poverty policy engagement strategies, which aim to make positive federal and provincial/territorial policy changes and investment in these two critical areas.
Jen has six years of non-profit experience in public policy, research, government relations, evaluation, and community engagement. Jen is about creating system level change in support of marginalized communities.
Hello! My name is Jackie and I am in my final year of the nursing honors program at the University of Alberta. I am passionate about public health, child health and research. I have learned immensely from being supervised under Dr. Hilario as part of my honors program and her research in mental health has been influential in guiding my future career. In my free time, I like to read, learn about cultures through travel and stay active.
Hello, my name is Jarlo, and I am in my final year of the after-degree nursing honors program at the University of Alberta. I have a previous degree in biological sciences with a minor in psychology. I chose to go into my current program because I am interested in the healthcare field, public health, and research. Collaborating on our research project has allowed me to learn new skills, develop my professional skills, and will help guide my future career. In my free time, I like to try new foods, workout, and play sports.
As Manager of Strategic Initiatives at Choices for Youth, Jen works with communities in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) in the areas of community development, impact measurement, public policy, and systems change. For the past two years, Jen has been leading work to develop an Integrated Youth Services (IYS) network across NL, building from the existing IYS site in St. John’s, NL, and working with 65+ community partners to build a model that meets the provincial and regional needs of youth in our province. Jen leads a team that is responsible for impact measurement, research, and public policy for Choices for Youth and the IYS network.Jen’s background is in the areas of youth engagement, public policy, and community development. Prior to coming to Choices for Youth, Jen led student leadership development efforts at Memorial University, including conferences, fellowship programs, and courses. Jen is on the Board of Directors of the YWCA NL and is Past Chair of Happy City St. John’s. Jen holds a Masters in Public Administration from Western University.
Dr. Carla Hilario is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Alberta. Her program of research focuses on health equity and mental health promotion with diverse youth.
Charles-Albert a étudié en science politique à l’Université de Montréal. En ayant réussi à faire publier de nombreux textes dans les grands médias québécois, il contribue à sensibiliser à la maladie mentale et travaille activement à réduire la stigmatisation. Il a siégé sur le comité scientifique du Plan d'action en santé mentale 2020-2025 et a témoigné en commission parlementaire sur l'aide médicale à mourir. Il est actuellement pair-aidant et patient-partenaire au sein du CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal et au CHUM.
Elizabeth Guevara est ergothérapeute et occupe des fonctions de coordination clinique dans le cadre de l'implantation d'Aire ouverte (réseau de services intégrés jeunesse) au CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal.
Una Wright brings a wealth of experience related to mental health within her family. She is the Founder / Executive Director of YouthSpeak Performance Charity (www.youthspeak.ca) that was inspired by her lived experience. Built on a B.A. in Social Development Studies, a certificate in Social Work, Una is trained in a number of modalities related to mental health, neurobiology, trauma and equity. She includes researched-backed coping tools and learning components in all of her work to supports positive mental health and overall well-being.
Jennifer Wilkie is a leader in health system transformation. She has more than a decade of experience and is passionate about building relationships to support integration and improvement within and across organizations. Jennifer is an empathetic and energetic leader. She loves working with people to challenge and investigate new and innovative ways to approach complex problems. She is a connector of ideas and people, constantly thinking about how to collaborate and improve the systems around her. Prior to co-founding BoardWalk Group, Jennifer was the Director of Continuous Improvement at Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). In that role, she was responsible for the implementation of Integrated Care Pathways, Measurement-Based Care, and leading strategies to support CAMH in becoming a Learning Health System.
Jennifer has spent a considerable part of her career leading ground up transformation within the community health sector. She worked as a freelance consultant leading the implementation of a Rapid Access Addiction Medicine Clinics and evaluating the need for First Response Mental Health Crisis services in Peel. She has also held the roles such as Director of Technology and Shared Services at Reconnect Community Health Services and Community Care Implementation Lead as part of the Ministry of Health, along with many others.
In 2019, she completed her masters in Health Administration from the University of Toronto Institute for Health Policy and Management and her Certified Health Executive (CHE) from the Canadian College of Health Leaders (CCHL).
A 2020 graduate of the Community Justice Service Worker program at Loyalist College, Julia currently works at the John Howard Society of Belleville as a Youth Peer Mentor. Julia uses her lived experiences in combination with community support training to connect with and understand youth. Julia wants to assist youth to eliminate delays and barriers as they find the pathways to their goals, and help them feel empowered and confident in themselves and their skills.
A former Crown ward, Liam is a Youth Peer Mentor with the John Howard Society of Belleville who began his journey as a youth advocate wanting to make improvements to the systems he grew up in. Liam had a troubled high school experience, and found it mentally challenging to keep himself in school. He also has many peers who have struggled through their employment journeys. Liam’s goal is to help youth who, like himself, had many negative experiences in the child welfare system. Together along with the rest of the Youth Peer Mentor Team, he hopes to make a difference. Liam is currently attending Georgian College’s 1 year electrical pre-apprenticeship program, and is looking to take a firefighting program in the fall of 2022.
Liz is the Community Connector at the John Howard Society's Youth Wellness Hub assisting barriered youth 16 - 29 year old to take steps on their employment pathway. Liz specializes in working with Cross-Over Youth (those dually involved with a CAS and the youth criminal justice system). Having worked for a decade in child welfare, Liz facilitates collaboration across legal & social service sectors to remove roadblocks and develop new employment routes for youth with Adverse Childhood Experiences.
As the Executive Director of the John Howard Society of Belleville and District for the last 17 years, Debbie brings over 40 years of social services experience to our staff team. A tireless advocate for justice-involved youth in our community, Debbie has worked to create meaningful connections with community partners and helped establish the Belleville Youth Centre in 2017 to ensure youth have a place to thrive and feel supported. Debbie continues to lead our team in seeking new ways to engage youth with Adverse Childhood Experiences and ensure they have the tools they need in order to succeed in the workplace.
Jennifer has been with the John Howard Society since 2016 working in both adult and youth services. Prior to JHS, she worked in developmental services, child welfare, addictions and mental health. Jennifer is working in the Employment Pathways program as a Job Coach for EP youth as well as exploring and developing Entreprenurial options for training and employment within JHS.
Nirupa Varatharasan provides evaluation support for the Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario initiative in the Provincial System Support Program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
Deb Chiodo is the Director of Data Management and Evaluation for Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Assistant Professor at Western University. Her research focuses on understanding the implementation, evaluation, and sustainability of evidence-based mental health and addiction interventions in real-world settings.
Kelli Dilworth is the Interim Manager of Engagement and Standards at the Knowledge Institute. Kelli oversees the youth and family engagement program including the Knowledge Institute’s youth and family advisory councils. Additionally, Kelli oversees the coaching of quality standards for the child and youth mental health sector.
Patricia is a youth advisor at the Knowledge Institute on Child and Youth Mental Health and Addictions. Patricia coordinates the Knowledge Institute’s youth advisory council while supporting Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario and participating in the quality standard for youth engagement. Outside of the Knowledge Institute, Patricia has experience engaging with youth in a variety of recreational and professional environments.
Olivia is a PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary and the research coordinator on this current project. Her research is focused on using collaborative and participatory methods to engage youth in research. Some of her work explores how youth understand risk and safety in online relationships. Other research focuses include participatory research to explore Indigenous youths’ sexual health and wellbeing needs to support programming in this area, and service providers knowledge and capacity to work in the area of child sexual abuse imagery and exploitation online. Olivia has worked primarily with children and youth in frontline and clinical positions in mental health and social services and completed her MSW at the University of Calgary.
Laura Shiels graduated with a BA in Communication Studies and Women’s Studies from the University of Calgary in 2012. Since then, Laura has been working within the field of sexuality and public health. She has spent several years delivering relationships and sexual health education to youth in grades 5-12. Laura identifies as queer and has worked with LGBTQ2S+ youth and their families during the coming out process to increase family acceptance and support LGBTQ2S+ mental health. This work inspired Laura to return to the University of Calgary in 2020 to pursue her Masters in Social Work.
Dr. Angelique Jenney, is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Social Work, and the Wood’s Homes Research Chair in Children’s Mental Health at the University of Calgary. Wood’s Homes is a multi- service, non-profit children’s mental health centre based in Calgary. The Wood’s Homes Research Chair was established in order to build a knowledge base that will improve mental health in children and youth and to bridge community-based practice with academia. Dr. Jenney has over 25 years of experience in intervention and prevention services within the children’s mental health, child protection and violence against women sectors. Dr. Jenney’s research and program development has been devoted to understanding and responding to the impact of exposure to violence/trauma on children; including family-based interventions for childhood trauma; child protection responses to intimate partner violence cases; the experience of mothering in the context of violence/trauma; the role of childhood exposure to violence on children in out of home care environments and reflective approaches to teaching and training social work students. She regularly promotes knowledge translation and exchange through relevant publications, speaking engagements, community-based workshops, and conference presentations.
Fiona is the national Program Manager for the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s HEADSTRONG youth leadership initiative. HEADSTRONG inspires young people to become leaders in their own schools and communities, challenging stigma and sharing hope. Fiona has worked in frontline non-profit and community mental health for the past 15+ years, with the MHCC, Foothills School Division, the Schizophrenia Society of Alberta and No Limits (UK). She has a lifetime of familial and personal experience with mental illness, and it’s that experience that motivates her every day to change the way people think about mental health. Fiona is mom to one daughter and two dogs.
Laura Mullaly has been working in the health and mental health sector for over 8 years with roles focusing on health promotion, community engagement, project management and stakeholder relations. Since joining the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) in 2016, Laura has worked on projects focusing on recovery-oriented practice, early childhood mental health, chronic disease, psychological health and safety and the mental health of older adults. Laura holds a Masters of Public Health from the University of Alberta and a Bachelors of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences from the University of Ottawa. Laura is passionate about health equity and mobilizing change in the health and mental health system.
Dr. Karen Tee, Associate Executive Director, Foundry, British Columbia, Canada: Karen is a Clinical Psychologist passionate about early intervention in youth and young adult mental health. She brings over 20 years of direct service and program development and management experience in youth mental health. At Foundry, she is responsible for providing clinical leadership and overseeing service implementation, and in collaboration with Foundry Network clinical leaders, has been leading the development and implementation of Foundry’s Integrated Stepped Care Model.
AnnMarie is Executive Director of Stepped Care Solutions and a Research Fellow at Memorial University working on the CIHR Pragmatic Trial- Digitizing Stepped Mental Health Care. AnnMarie holds a PhD in Experimental Psychology, a Masters in Social Work and is a registered social worker in the province of NL.
Jai Shah is a psychiatrist and researcher interested in the early phases of psychotic illness (including at-risk populations), early intervention, and the design and delivery of mental health services for youth. He is an Assistant Professor in McGill’s Department of Psychiatry, a Full Researcher at the Douglas Hospital Research Center, and is supported by an FRQS Clinician-Scientist Award.Jai is also a Principal Investigator with ACCESS Open Minds, a pan-Canadian network dedicated to developing, implementing and evaluating a transformation of youth mental health services for youth aged 11-25.
Shaleen Jones has been an advocate, organizer, educator, and all-round rabble rouser in the field of eating disorders for over twenty years, holding leadership positions with community organizations such as the BC Eating Disorders Association, Laing House, Peer Support Canada, and CMHA National. Having overcome an eating disorder, she is passionate about recovery, the transformative power of peer support, and creating sustainable, systematic changes across the sector. Shaleen was one of the first people trained to provide peer support for those with eating disorders in Canada, and earned her Peer Support Certification from Peer Support Canada in 2015. Shaleen was recognized with an Inspiring Lives Award from the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia, and served on the Mental Health Advisory Council to the Federal Minister of Health. She is an active member of the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s Hallway Group, Quality Mental Health Care Network, and the E-Mental Health Collaborative. She is a founding member of Canada’s Body Peace Collaborative.
As the Executive Director for Eating Disorders NS Shaleen works to ensure that no-one in Nova Scotia has to face an eating disorder alone. She lives in Halifax with her son and their very loud cat.
Hello! My name is Nicole (she/her). I am 25-years-old, a queer Latina, and currently living in Toronto, Ontario with my two beautiful pugs! I like to spend my time reading, watching scary movies, and volunteering. I struggled with disordered eating for many years, and it wasn’t until I found the right support and connected with those with lived experience that I discovered new ways of thriving. It was almost like I was meeting myself again – both a terrifying and beautiful experience and continues to be. I try to remember that being hard on myself isn’t my default and that it takes time to cultivate trust, kindness, and meaning, and connection can really be a catalyst to all of it. I am looking forward to meeting you where you are at in your own journey, to hear about your own unique challenges, to celebrate every success, and/or to just simply be there.
Dr. Soyeon Kim (she/her) is a Research Scientist at Waypoint and Assistant Clinical Professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University. Dr. Kim's research to date has culminated in 13 published and two under peer-review papers. She has contributed to evidence that has a direct impact on new policies, practices, and programs to reduce mental health problems in youth. Dr. Kim's expertise in quantitative research is highly relevant to this project, and she has applied various analytic methodologies in her interdisciplinary research (e.g., structural equation modelling, multilevel modelling, longitudinal data analysis, and moderation/mediation analysis).
Ms. Shavon Stafford is currently pursuing a career in clinical psychology with a focus on the forensic population. She has also been contributing as a youth lead for a research project working with Dr. Kim at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care. She is a recent graduate of Carleton University. While attending Carleton, she achieved a BSc Honours with high distinction in Psychology. Currently, she is studying Addictions and Mental Health at Algonquin College to further advance her knowledge, skills, and passion for mental health care.
Holly Archer is a communications and fund development specialist with nearly 10 years of experience in the mental health and addiction sector. Holly has supported the Waypoint Research Institute and programs across Waypoint to acquire funding, establish partnerships, communicate with media outlets and the general public, host educational events, and develop and implement knowledge translation strategies. Holly has a Master of Arts degree in Public Administration from the University of Ottawa and a dual degree in English Literature and Theatre from Queen’s University. Holly is a founding member of the Our Health Series, a televised program providing health information and education, and is currently training to become a Mindfulness Facilitator.
Jeannine is a Registered Dietitian with the College of Dietitians of Ontario and the Careteam/e-platform project manager at Body Brave. Prior to starting her academic studies to become a Dietitian, Jeannine was employed as a professional fashion model, an experience which ultimately motivated her to pursue a career in dietetics. While Jeannine enjoyed many aspects of her modelling career, her professional success within the fashion industry was conditionally tied to the size of her body, and the only way she knew how to meet these requirements was through an eating disorder. When her modelling agency gave her the option to lose her coveted agency contract or lose weight, Jeannine decided to leave the fashion industry altogether. Through this experience, Jeannine gained a new perspective on the impact of media influence on the general public and the dangers associated with encouraging restrictive body image ideals. When she decided to go back to school, Jeannine was drawn to nutrition and dietetic sciences as she was motivated to help others discover the freedom and love that accompany nurturing relationships with food and one’s body.
Today, Jeannine is passionate about the prevention and treatment of eating disorders and hopes to use her knowledge and skills acquired from her dietetic training to increase public awareness and understanding of mental health and nourishing relationships with food.
Karen Trollope-Kumar is a family physician with over 30 years of clinical experience. In addition to her medical qualifications, she holds a PhD in medical anthropology. She is an Associate Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at McMaster University, and has been involved in medical education for many years, teaching medical students in her clinical practice, and later serving as Co-Director of the Professional Competencies program at McMaster.
She’s also been involved with continuing medical education forfamily physicians at a national level. Major changes occurred in her life when her daughter Sonia became ill with an eating disorder. Karen realized then how many gaps exist in education, research and treatment of eating disorders. Sonia recovered from her illness after an arduous struggle.
Karen and Sonia founded Body Brave in 2017, a non-profit corporation based in Hamilton aimed at providing support and advocacy for people with eating disorders. A second focus of Body Brave is to develop an e-platform that could serve as a hub for training and education about eating disorders. In Karen’s role as Program Director at Body Brave, she hopes to use her background and skills both to develop programming as well as to promote the e-platform.
Adrienne completed a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Family Studies at the University of British Columbia and a Master’s of Social Work in Macro Practice at Boston University. Adrienne’s research interests are centered around understanding processes to overcome barriers to authentically including youth voice in organizations and communities. In her work at the Family Navigation Project at Sunnybrook Adrienne is partnering with stakeholders to develop and implement a youth engagement strategy. Outside of her professional interests, Adrienne is strong advocate for Indigenous rights and enjoys hiking and being outdoors.
Hannah Laird is a certified youth mental health speaker who has a passion for advocating mental health rights. Hannah works at the Newcomer Centre of Peel, counselling parents and their children as they settle in Canada. Hannah also completes research with Sunnybrook Hospital’s Family Navigation Project, a program designed to help families navigate our current mental health and addiction services. As a Youth Engagement Partner, Hannah helps advance knowledge, support, and resources with mental health and addiction issues to better meet the needs of youth and their families. The mental health landscape in Canada includes all communities, so Hannah strongly believes in working collectively towards keeping it an inclusive matter.
Renira Narrandes is a Knowledge Translation Specialist at the Cundill Centre for Child and Youth Depression at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Her role is to find ways to help shorten the time it takes for research to have an impact on clinical practice. This involves developing tools and working with the people who will use them, including service providers, young people, and family members. To learn more, watch Renira's video: What is knowledge translation? Spoken word poem. Renira holds a Master of Public Health (Health Promotion) from the University of Toronto (2015), as well as a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (2011) and a Master of Arts & Journalism (2008) from the University of Western Ontario.
Dr. Stephanie Ameis is the Associate Director of the Cundill Centre for Child and Youth Depression and a Clinician Scientist in the Brain Health Imaging Centre, The Margaret and Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth & Family Mental Health and the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute at CAMH. She collaborates closely with the Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention, the Kimel Family Translational Imaging-Genetics Laboratory and the Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre at CAMH.
Dr. Ameis is a child and youth psychiatrist at CAMH and is appointed to the Child and Youth Mental Health Collaborative at CAMH, the University of Toronto and SickKids. She is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Peter Szatmari is Director of the Cundill Centre for Child and Youth Depression at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
Dr. Szatmari’s investigative interests fall broadly into areas of psychiatric and genetic epidemiology, specifically: 1) longitudinal studies of children with autism spectrum disorders and the factors associated with good outcome; and 2) the genetic etiology of autism including studying families with rare copy number variants and studies of infant siblings. Another area of interest is the developmental course of child and adolescent psychopathology including depression, eating disorders, oppositional behaviours and anxiety disorders, with a particular area of concern being measurement issues and sampling by family unit rather than by individuals.
Feodor Poukhovski-Sheremetyev is a third-year medical student at the University of Ottawa and has held various leadership positions with ACCESS Open Minds for six years. Throughout his post-secondary career, he has advised youth mental healthcare policy and service design at the local, provincial, and national levels. Focusing on how factors outside the clinic affect youth, his advocacy has led him to examine the macrosocial determinants of mental health through interdisciplinary research in psychiatry and social theory.
Zoya Punjwani is a PhD student in Epidemiology at the University of Calgary. Across her diverse health research experiences, her passion is rooted in knowledge translation and bridging the gaps between benchside, bedside and community medicine. Her doctoral research will focus on assessing transition (pediatric to adult health care) readiness in youth with chronic health conditions.
Aidan Scott is the Co-Founder and CEO of Speakbox, a Therapeutic Support Platform, improving the delivery of mental health care across North America. After experiencing mental illness in his own life and seeing first hand the barriers preventing millions from accessing care, Aidan recognized that to be effective, patients and care providers need to function as one harmonious team.
Before Speakbox, Aidan has worked tirelessly over the past ten years influencing policy and programs to improve access to mental health care using digital technology.
Outside of work, Aidan enjoys running the Seawall near his home in Vancouver, BC.
Naomi is the Senior Operating Officer at PolicyWise. Naomi has over 15 years’ experience working in the field of addiction and mental health. This work has ranged across the continuum from front line practice to prevention, policy and research. More recently Naomi has worked extensively with diverse, multi-sectoral stakeholders to generate evidence for child, family and community well-being. Naomi is committed to mobilizing knowledge in order to promote evidence-informed policy and practice. Naomi oversees a team who apply a structured project management approach to research, evaluation and data analytic projects to ensure quality results are delivered. Naomi has a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, a Masters of Business Administration and is currently completing her Doctorate of Business Administration. When not working, Naomi and her family can be found out enjoying the mountains.
Val Salt is a Senior Research & Policy Associate at PolicyWise for Children & Families. Val has a Master of Arts in Sociology from the University of Calgary and over 10 years’ experience in the non-profit sector in positions ranging from frontline to program coordination and evaluation. Val’s research over the past five years has centered around the development, implementation, and evaluation of integrated youth mental health services in Alberta. Outside of work, Val can be found curled up with a good book or spending time outdoors.
Nadine Taylor is a Research & Policy Associate at PolicyWise for Children & Families. She has a Master of Public Health with a specialization in Health Promotion from the University of Alberta. Over the past few years, Nadine has worked on several research and evaluation projects related to child, youth, and family mental health and wellbeing including youth peer support for mental health, trauma-informed approaches in youth justice settings, and community-led mental health promotion in rural and remote areas.
Rosemary Perry is a Research Coordinator at the Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Her current role and responsibilities include the coordination of several research projects related to child and adolescent mental health, emerging adults, and youth peer support.
Manya Singh is a Research Coordinator at the Calgary Eating Disorder Program and the Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She currently coordinates several projects related to child and adolescent mental health and eating disorders, peer support, and transitions in care.
Sarah (she/her) has a background in social work, and most of her career has been with LGBTQ communities and in the mental health and disability sectors. She is passionate about program evaluation and knowledge mobilization, working at Stella’s Place as the Evaluation Coordinator to improve evidence-based programming.
Dr. Ashley Ward (she/they) completed her PhD in Psychological Science at X University. As the Research & Evaluation Manager at Stella’s Place, they infuse lived experiences with evidence-based approaches into their research, evaluation, and program development work.
Nader Alasvand (he/they) is the Access Manager for Stella’s Place. Having completed his MSW at York University, Nader has a social work background and has worked closely with Peer Support Workers in his career. He is leading the development of the peer ambassador team and programming at Stella’s Place.
Madelyn is a 23-year-old mental health and substance use activist and researcher. She is a recent biochemistry graduate from the University of British Columbia. She is currently a research assistant at Foundry working on various mental health and substance use studies.
Krista is an occupational therapist who has worked in the field of mental health for over a decade. In 2020, she completed her doctorate exploring the relationship between mental health and physical activity at the University of British Columbia. She is currently the Mental Health Lead at Infinity Health, and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow working with Dr. Skye Barbic and the community organization Foundry, researching the use of Wellness and physical activity programs in the community for youth with mental health and substance use disorders.
My name is Cheryl and I am the Youth Services Supervisor for the Town of Stony Plain Community and Social Development Department. I manage the day to day operations of the Stony Plain Youth Centre where the youth of our community are welcome to participate in programs and activities. It has been a pleasure to spend time with youth and provide a safe and caring space for them to be in the after school hours. In my spare time I enjoy spending time with family and friends.
Gabby is a youth council member from Saint John, New Brunswick. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of New Brunswick and is a current Bachelor of Social Work student at St. Thomas University. Her passion is advocating for the improvement of mental health services in her province. In her free time, she enjoys volunteering with various mental health non-profits such as Camp Kerry Society and Take This.
Hello, my name is Romeo, I'm 29 years old. I am a single father to a 6 year old princess and I love helping people. I am a member of the ACCESS National Youth Council. I was previously active with ACCESS RIPAJ before and during a part of COVID-19. I was also implicated in creating video games dealing with the stigma of mental health. I am heavily involved in the fitness world as I do online and personal training. I would like to continue to still be involved to help and show youth that anything is possible as long as you try.
Connie dedicates herself to empowering young people to take their health and well-being into their own hands. Through community engagement and evaluation practices, she works to improve access to programs, tools and resources needed to help young people make decisions most beneficial for them. Her background includes work in program evaluation, and social service delivery. She recently joined the Foundry team as an Evaluation Specialist. She helps to implement evaluation methods that result in meaningful, useful insights for Foundry Centres across the province. Prior to obtaining a Masters in Public Health, Connie used strength-based approaches to coached youth volunteers at the Calgary Distress Centre to emotionally and psychologically support young people accessing services. Through ongoing family and youth engagement and reciprocal learning, her aim is to contribute to equitable, resilient policies that support access to health and social services, and which give everyone an opportunity to thrive.
Research professional at the Interdisciplinary Research Chair in Mental health of Children & Young people
Renée Nossal (she/her) has worked in health promotion and community-based mental health for the past 15 years. She is currently a Knowledge Broker with the Knowledge Institute and works with a variety of communities across the province to integrate youth and family voices in the design and delivery of mental health services and system planning.
Teresa is a Youth Peer Evaluator on the Wellness Project with Foundry Central Office for the past year. She is currently located in Coast Salish territory living in Vancouver.
My name is Christopher and I’ve been a Youth Peer Evaluator on the Wellness Project for almost a year now. I’m currently located in WESANC territory and I’m attending the University of Victoria, doing a double major in Creative Writing and Philosophy.
Brooke is a Research and Evaluation Associate on Vancouver Island. Prior to that she worked as a Youth Peer Evaluator on the Wellness Project with Foundry Central Office. She acknowledges her place of work is on Coast Salish Territories, specifically of the Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples.
Whitney is a cell and developmental biologist. She is the program manager for a child and adolescent mental health research program in Calgary, Mental Health Research 4 Kids.
Gerald Jordan, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Fellow at McGill University the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health, and the Strategies for Patient Oriented Research National Training Entity. He is committed to social justice and motivated to shift the overwhelmingly pessimistic narrative of research on, and care for mental health and substance use problems towards a greater recognition and understanding of the potential for recovery, particularly among youth, who are just beginning to chart important life trajectories (e.g., in work, school, relationships, etc.) and for whom hope is critically important.
Gerald’s program of research examines the ways people transform their lives and communities after experiencing a mental health challenge, and how such transformations are shaped by community-based mental health services and citizenship-based inequities. He is currently funded by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Strategies for Patient Oriented Research award to examine how youth who experience madness, distress and extreme states define and experience citizenship
Jessica Kemp is a Research Analyst in the Digital Mental Health Research Lab at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Jessica recently graduated from the Master of Health Informatics Program at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) at the University of Toronto. She hopes to focus her career on improving the accessibility of supports for mental health while improving Canadian's experiences with mental healthcare.
Iman is a research analyst with the Digital Mental Health Research Lab at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. She is a graduate of the Master of Health Informatics (MHI) program at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on the intersection of population mental health, digital health, and health equity.
A 25+ year award-winning creative professional and business leader, Israel Diaz started his career as Designer and steadily moved up the ranks to Chief Creative Officer to lead some of the most renowned and awarded Advertising Agencies in the world. Throughout his career, Israel has contributed to the business success of some of the world’s most iconic organizations and brands, and he is a recipient of the coveted D&AD Black Pencil for Digital – the first ever Black Pencil win for Canada.
In 2017, Israel Diaz launched his Strategic and Creative firm, Sunday+Night. During the 2020 pandemic, Diaz adapted the Magnum Opus - a proprietary Strategic tool developed by Sunday+Night for their clients – to focus on individual development. Multiple iterations later and the support of young visionaries, experts, and educators, the MEmap was finalized, and the Inside>Out Initiative was created with a mission to “MEpower” youth from the Inside>Out.
Intrigued by Human Behaviour, Heidi Philip began her career 30+ years ago at a multinational advertising & communications company. Over the years, she held a variety of national and global leadership roles and she has worked in almost every category (including setting up a yoga business in Brazil and Canada!), but most dear to her heart were the projects that enabled her to help people live a better life.
Heidi’s not-for-profit and social innovation portfolio includes CAMH, ConnexOntario, and ParticipACTION to name a few. In 2014 she was a core member of the Always #likeagirl team, which resulted in unprecedented global social impact in female empowerment and recognition from the United Nations. Heidi has a deep understanding of psychoanalysis and other wellness modalities, and co-founded the Inside>Out Initiative to integrate science, business and philosophy into a simple framework accessible to youth. When youth succeed, we all succeed.
Michaela Lynn is passionate about improving the experiences of youth, family and caregivers when accessing care and the support they need when faced with either or both addiction and mental health concerns. Michaela is a strong advocate for youth voices to be involved from start to finish when discussing the future of delivery of care and services. Michaela has lived experience as a family member, whom unfortunately lost her sister to substance use in 2019. She represents a family perspective.
Kayly Vig is a youth with lived and living experience with opioid use and mental health concerns, she is passionate about the involvement and engagement of youth and familial perspective to initiatives and project design.
Amanda has a Master of Science in Population and Public Health and brings 5 years of experience with qualitative and quantitative research projects. Her past experience includes using systems science and network techniques to promote the healthy development of young children, specifically around social and emotional vulnerability. She is currently working across various research projects to better understand program/service impacts on health, social, and employment outcomes for vulnerable youth and adult populations. She is passionate about supporting the health and well-being of individuals across the life trajectory, from the early years through adolescence and adulthood.
Cassia attended the University of British Columbia for her Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Oncology. She brings 3 years of experience in research and 2 years of experience in project management and research trial coordination. Her current projects are centred around working with and integrating youth into research that aims to better understand the care needs of youth, how they differ based on demographic, clinical, and community factors, and to understand and evaluate service innovations required to align the diverse needs and priorities of these populations.
Anna-Joy brings 4 years of experience in health research and is particularly interested in qualitative work. After completing a Master of Public Health at Simon Fraser University, she shifted her focus from global maternal and infant health to youth mental health in Canada. She is excited to actively engage youth in research projects that amplify their voices and advocate for their needs. Currently, her work focuses on understanding the implementation process of a program that supports youth with mental health challenges in their pursuit of competitive education, employment, and training opportunities.
Aakriti Pandit is a fourth-year nursing student at the University of Alberta. She is passionate about mental health promotion, youth and adolescent health, and health equity. She has been working as a research student with Dr. Carla Hilario since 2020 on projects related to youth mental health. Outside of research and school, Aakriti is the acting president of the Alzheimer’s Student’s Association at the University of Alberta and an executive member of Boxed Blessings, a not-for-profit student group that curates care packages with supplies that inner-city Edmontonians need.
Katherine Hay (she/her/hers) has worked in the mental health and substance use services field since 1997. Educated with a master’s degree in occupational therapy, Katherine has been a tireless advocate for recovery oriented, person centered care, that focuses on the whole person and the environments in which they want to live, work and play. Katherine’s experiences include inpatient, outpatient and community-based care for adults and during the last 7 years, with the emerging adult population (16-25 years old). During her career, Katherine has developed a special interest in the role that employment holds in one’s recovery process, how to match service delivery to individuals’ strengths and resources to promote success, operationalizing customer service expectations within health care environments, measurement based care processes, and cultural humility and a commitment to ongoing learning. Katherine has over 10 years of leadership experience, including the last 4 years in a Program Manager role with Alberta Health Services overseeing a portfolio of emerging adult programs and services. With a keen interest in system transformation and contributing to solutions that can meaningfully impact the health and wellness of young people in Alberta, Katherine joined Kickstand, the Alberta Integrated Youth Services Initiative, and is committed to seeing the implementation of a provincial strategy to create recognizable, predictable and easily accessible spaces, co-created with young people for young people, where a wide range of developmentally specific services and programs are available for a young person and their family to find the help they need.
Rachal Pattison is a mental health clinician & research manager at Kickstand, in Edmonton, AB. They are a registered occupational therapist, specialising in mental health, and they worked with incarcerated persons for 6 years before returning to school for graduate studies. They recently completed a Master’s degree from the University of British Columbia, doing research in the area of gender identity and mental health in young people. When Rachal is not working on establishing an integrated youth service model in Alberta, they can be found reading fantasy novels, eating nachos and catering to the whims of their co-dependent cat.
Dr. Jennifer Couturier is a Senior Clinician Scientist, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, and the Medical Co-Director of the Pediatric Eating Disorders program at McMaster Children’s Hospital. She is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University. Dr. Couturier has devoted her career to the study of eating disorders in children and adolescents, where her research primarily focuses on improving pediatric health services for eating disorders.
Danielle Pellegrini is a Research Coordinator in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University, overseeing several research projects related to pediatric eating disorders. She is a Master of Public Health graduate from Queen's University. Danielle's professional interests include improving the equity and equality of health care systems and services, specifically for youth and families.
Maria Nicula is a Master’s student in the Health Research Methodology program at McMaster University. She is currently leading and assisting with projects that explore or pilot interventions aimed at improving the care received by pediatric eating disorder patients and their families.
Laura Grennan is a graduate student in the Master of Science in Psychotherapy program at McMaster University, and works as a Research Assistant in pediatric eating disorders. She is an advocate for improved mental health services and greater mental health awareness.
Daniella San Martin-Feeney is a Research Coordinator with the Stollery Cardiac Outcomes and Research Evaluation (SCORE) team in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta. In this role she supports multiple research studies related to transition from pediatric to adult care.
Lily works alongside Indigenous communities across the country to promote Indigenous children and youths' wellness. She has completed degrees in both Biologie biomédicale and Health Promotion at Laurentian University. As a natural leader and an active volunteer in her community, she has developed many strong connections and partnerships. Lily holds several years of experience in education and communication, developing and implementing plans for Indigenous populations across the North.
From Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, Gerrilynn works at the Naandwechige-Gamig Wikwemikong Health Centre as the Associate Director. Previously, Gerrilynn worked in policy at the First Nations Health Authority in Vancouver, BC, and in research at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's Institute of Indigenous Peoples' Health in Saskatoon, SK. She attended Western University where she obtained her undergraduate degree in Health Sciences, and her Master of Public Health degree.
In her free time, Gerrilynn enjoys spending time with her family, running, hiking, playing hockey and reading.
As Evaluation Lead at Jack.org, Tammy (she/her) works with the evaluation team to better understand the effectiveness of Jack.org’s programs—what’s working, what isn’t, and what needs changing. She also communicates those findings to provide insights to Jack.org youth, staff, and donors so that everyone can know what youth in Canada are saying about their mental health. Tammy completed her MA in clinical psychology at the University of Waterloo and her PhD in cognitive psychology (studying memory and attention) at McMaster University.
Jenny Li (they/them) is an honours undergraduate student at St. Francis Xavier University and a lifelong mental health advocate. Their intersecting identities, such as that of a non-binary, racialized, and Mad individual, influence their understanding of wellness. Jenny is a leader within Jack.org, Kickstand (http://mykickstand.ca/), and their own not-for-profit, Free Your Mind Mental Health Society (http://freeyourmindinitiative.com/). Jenny hopes that their honours degree in Sociology will help them better understand the factors driving youth mental health across Canada. After all, Jenny is most content when they are out in the field, creating systems change, and inspiring other youth to raise their voices.
Joey is completing his MSW practicum at Kickstand, and has 6 years experience as a social worker within the field of youth mental health including program development, group facilitation and individual supports.
Jennifer Wilkie has more than a decade of experience in health system transformation and is passionate about building relationships to support integration and improvement within and across organizations. In 2021, Jennifer joined Health Standards Organization as Faculty to support across a number of initiatives.
Jennifer is an empathetic and energetic leader. She loves working with people to challenge and investigate new and innovative ways to approach complex problems. She is a connector of ideas and people, constantly thinking about how to collaborate and improve the systems around her.
In 2021 Jennifer Wilkie and business partner Kasia Bruski founded BoardWalk Group. BoardWalk Group provides consulting services to help healthcare organizations discover opportunities, design solutions and deliver a better future.
Prior to BoardWalk Group, Jennifer was the Director of Continuous Improvement at Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). In that role, she was responsible for the implementation of Integrated Care Pathways, Measurement-Based Care, and leading strategies to support CAMH in becoming a Learning Health System.
Jennifer has spent a considerable part of her career leading ground up transformation within the community health sector. She worked as a freelance consultant leading the implementation of a Rapid Access Addiction Medicine Clinics and evaluating the need for First Response Mental Health Crisis services in Peel. She has also held the roles such as Director of Technology and Shared Services at Reconnect Community Health Services and Community Care Implementation Lead as part of the Ministry of Health, along with many others.
In 2019, she completed her Masters in Health Administration from the University of Toronto Institute for Health Policy and Management and her Certified Health Executive (CHE) from the Canadian College of Health Leaders (CCHL).
In her current role as Project Officer at Choices for Youth (CFY), Hannah has been leading work with the Health Standards Organization’s (HSO) for the Improving Integrated Care for Youth (IICY) Initiative, which aims to sustainably improve the integration of community-based mental health and addiction services for youth. At the same time, Hannah and the CFY team have been leading and collaborating with community partners across NL to develop a provincial Integrated Youth Services (IYS) network, which involves the development of four new IYS sites across the province. Hannah has supported this provincial expansion work by finding meaningful ways to engage provincial partners in the IICY Initiative and promote knowledge translation.
Hannah’s passion for working with community-based organizations led her to become the volunteer Choir Director for the Stella’s Circle Inclusion Choir, a non-audition community choir for adults who face barriers to fully participating in their community. Through this work, Hannah spearheaded research at Memorial University on the importance of community programming in building social connections. As a former Research Assistant at the Children and Youth in Alternate Care (CAYAC) Clinic – a medical home for children and youth in alternate care arrangements – Hannah also brings with her experience in pediatric research.
Sara Saeedi is a clinical supervisor at Chilliwack Youth Health Centre in Chilliwack, BC and a doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at Adler University (Vancouver Campus). She values connection and believes that the therapeutic relationship is the main instigator of healing and draws heavily on Adlerian theories. She has experience working with a diverse range of people across the lifespan - from older adults with cognitive impairments to children who have experienced trauma.
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Partenaire de Cadre (inscription hâtive : du 15 décembre au 31 janvier)
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10 - 11:30am: Opening Plenary
Knowledge Mobilization Powered by Lived Expertise - Learnings from Frayme’s KMb Fellowship
with Ervis Musa, Braeden Levac, Anne Marie Portelli, Angela Xie, Hajar Seiyad, Lauren Iuliani, Katelyn Greer, Yvonne Pelling, Mikaela Basile, Zee Goerzen
Our opening plenary will showcase Frayme’s first 10 Knowledge Mobilization Fellows. Throughout three months, 10 Fellows have undergone an intensive knowledge mobilization fellowship to learn and co- create knowledge products to inform the youth mental health and substance use sector, using the power of their lived expertise to fuel the design, development and implementation of their work. Coined the “K Stars”, these brilliant Fellows will open #Frayme2022 with their lived and living expertise at the forefront of their learnings. Hear firsthand from youth & caregiver advocates across Canada about how to meaningfully combine lived expertise, knowledge mobilization and evidence. Spanning topics from Virtual Care Solutions to Integrated Youth Services and Newcomer Youth, the content and learnings shared will be as diverse as our Fellows themselves.
10 - 11:30am: Unstructured Networking/MYM Workshop: Part 3
11:30am - 12:30pm
Presentation 1: MoreGoodDays: an e-mental health program, co-created by young people and designed to bridge the mental health treatment gap in Alberta
Presentation 2: e-Mental Health for Youth and Young Adults in Alberta
Presentation 1: The Best We Have To Offer: A Look Into the Review into Youth Mental Health Services in New Brunswick
Presentation 2: Lessons Learned from The Grove: A Developmental Evaluation Capturing the Growth of a Grassroots Initiative in Wellington County & Guelph
Presentation 1: Principles in action: youth-centric services in the context of SC2.0
Presentation 2: Meeting the mental health service needs of young people with and without a mental health diagnosis during COVID-19
11:30am - 12:30pm
Presentation 1: Implementation and evaluation of a youth engagement strategy at the Family Navigation Project
Presentation 2: Self-Care for Caring Adults
Presentation 1: Live demonstration of an interactive online tool to help front-line clinicians understand best practices, including measurement-based care, to support youth as they manage their depression
Presentation 2: Changes in psychological distress and substance use concerns in young people accessing Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario sites for mental health services
Presentation 1: HEADSTRONG - personal resilience and community hope through youth action
Presentation 2: Preventative Mental Health Support for Youth during the Pandemic and Beyond: How can we help each other?
12:30pm - 1pm: Break | Exhibitor Booth Viewing | Extracurricular Activity 1
Movement for Everybody
Nicole Du Guay, Founder of Holistic Synergy Coaching, shares her personal experience and journey with movement through yoga, along with her expertise from over 15 years as an adaptive Yoga Practitioner and Teacher. Hoping to empower others to feel strong and comfortable in their body, Nicole will share tips, tools and movement techniques she uses herself and with her adaptive yoga clients, which will enable you to create a strength and flexibility of the body and mind, along with overall whole-body wellbeing. In this session you will increase awareness of Adaptive Movement Techniques and how to apply it in your life (plus how it relates to mental & physical health), foster an understanding of functional movements and begin to develop a plan for implementing these easily into your routine, learn how AMT can address the 4 components of physical fitness and identify 4 easy habits to adopt that can be worked into your day
12:30pm - 1pm: Break | Exhibitor Booth Viewing | Extracurricular Activity 3
Gathering our Medicine
Marla Klyne Kolomaya is a certified counselor and parent consultant offering support services for families who may be struggling with making sense of often perplexing behaviours commonly seen in children and adolescents, including those with mental health diagnoses. Marla works closely with Denise Findlay, founder of Gathering Our Medicine, a program that offers a framework for transforming the way we perceive and respond to human development, with a specific focus on helping centre community and kinship within their own cultural ways of knowing and being. Marla invites you along to explore what it means to prioritize the relational ways of a family and culture, pointing towards the natural flourishing of Indigenous youths’ emotional health when the ways in which families care for one another are re- centered and honoured.
1pm - 2pm
Presentation 1: Operationalizing Young Adult Engagement in Research: Insights from the READY2Exit Study
Presentation 2: Listening to You(th): Authentic Partnership with Youth and Families in Mental Health Research
Presentation 1: Recovery Cafés: Radical Accessibility After Hours
Presentation 2: Understanding Youth Mental Health from Lived Experience
Presentation 1:Cannabis and Mental Health: Turning over a new leaf on cannabis education
Presentation 2: SPECTRUM Trans and Gender Diverse Mental Health, Wellness and Suicide Prevention Toolkit
1pm - 2pm
Presentation 1: Beyond the ER: Mental Health Experiences related to Health Crises of Youth with Chronic Health Conditions
Presentation 2: Creating Hope: Using co-design for engaging youth in the development of a peer support model for suicide prevention
Presentation 1: Results of the BeanBagChat (BBC) Evaluation Project
Presentation 2: Peer Support Across the Continuum of Youth Mental Health Services
Presentation 1: Adapting youth engagement to new realities: the value of online spaces and peer support in times of change.
Presentation 2: So you want to become a Youth Peer Mentor? A course developed by Youth Peer Mentors for Youth Peer Mentors
2pm - 3pm
Presentation 1: Creating and Evaluating a Young Adult Substance Use Program (YA-SUP)
Presentation 2: Gathering information to best meet youth needs: What is the right amount?
Presentation 1: By, For, and With Youth: Transforming the Delivery of Training Programs
Presentation 2: Indigenous Resurgence: An “All my Relations” partnership on systems transformation
Presentation 1: Supporting young adults with mental health and substance use in the emergency department from the perspective of peer support workers.
Presentation 2: What works within peer support for young people coping with complex mental health and substance use issues: A participatory-realist evaluation
2pm - 3pm
Presentation 1: The Service Seeking Profiles of Youth Accessing a Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario Site
Presentation 2: Youth, family and caregiver, and service provider perspectives of a stepped care model to provide mental health and substance use supports
Presentation 1: Integrating the voices of youth in clinical training approaches
Presentation 2: ED2Foundry: Enhancing the transition from the emergency department to community services for young people with mental health and substance use disorders
Presentation 1: Engaging in Mental Health First Aid Collective Advocacy: A Brainstorm Session
Presentation 2: Gender-based violence and 2SLGBTQ+ youth: The SAFER Project.
3pm - 3:30pm: Break | Exhibitor Booth Viewing | Extracurricular Activity 2
A Body-Positive Break
In a world where so many of our lunch breaks and phone calls with friends can be filled with conversations of weightloss and dieting, join us for a short body-positive mental reset. Participants will have a chance to check in with their mind and body from a body positive/body neutral and eating disorder informed approach, and learn a bit about how these approaches can be used in their day to day lives! Erin Huston - Erin Huston (she/her) is a community educator and the Training & Education Coordinator with Body Brave, national charity dedicated to helping people recover from disordered eating and eating disorders through treatment and support. In her work Erin uses her education and lived experience to engage both professionals and public communities in conversation about eating disorders and diet culture using a feminist and anti-oppressive lens. Erin Huston has a Masters in Social Justice and Community Engagement at Wilfrid Laurier University.
3pm - 3:30pm: Break | Exhibitor Booth Viewing | Extracurricular Activity 4
Art of the Doodle
Noah MacLeod is a visual artist living in the Okanagan in British Columbia. His work is diverse, but mainly focus on painting/illustrating characters, and digital design. He owns and operates a communal art studio and gallery space in Vernon BC that is a hub for the young creative community in the area. His focus has always been on the promotion of art creation as a healthy part of every day life, and using it as a way to help positively grow. Noah will guide the group through the art of doodling. This session will focus on commitment free and fun creation, in a relaxed environment. Doodling is all about the flow of the drawing and Noah will share some of his perspectives on how to best harness this!
3:30pm - 4:30pm
Presentation 1: Exploring the Beauty of Life In Psychosis (BLIP): Insights From a Peer-Led, Arts-Based Group
Presentation 2: #Youthincare to #Youthincharge: Youth-Led Documentary Filmmaking for Social and Policy Change in the Canadian Child Welfare System
Presentation 1: The Campus Assessment Tool: A Youth Led Participatory Research Project
Presentation 2: Healthcare Equity and Anti-Racism for Youth: The Future Starts with Us
Presentation 1: Stigmas impact on children who have a parent with a substance use disorder
Presentation 2: The needs of transitional-aged youth and their families when seeking, accessing, and transitioning through mental health and/or addictions care
3:30pm - 4:30pm
Presentation 1: Lived Expertise as Evidence – Bridging the Gap through Knowledge Equity
Presentation 2: Implementing Integrated Care for Youth: Rejecting traditional Project Management for Adaptive Learning
Presentation 1: Celebrating the Evolution of Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario
Presentation 2: Starting from scratch: Insights from eight years of the ACCESS Open Minds Youth Council
Presentation 1: Rethinking the Eating Disorder Recovery Journey
Presentation 2: Building Peer Supports for those with Eating Disorders
4:30pm - 6:30pm: Unstructured Networking/MYM Workshop: Part 2
4:30pm - 6:30pm: Closing Plenary
Creating The Future State: micro-to-macro, local-to-international
with Maddi Mathon (Mutual Minds Peer Support), Peter Cornish (Stepped Care Solutions), Callum Ross (Habitus Collective)
In our closing plenary, we will hear from three organizations trailblazing the path to an exemplary youth mental health system. Maddi Mathon of Mutual Minds Peer Support, Peter Cornish of Stepped Care Solutions, and Callum Ross of Habitus Collective span the micro-to-macro gamut - each working to create an effective and equitable system from the local level up to the international. In this plenary, each panelist will discuss their organization, guiding philosophies and will highlight how they are working to create a better youth mental health and substance use system. You will also hear about the importance of collaboration and how we need to work together to create the idealized system. We all have an important role to play in bettering the system and we hope this plenary ignites the changemaker within!
We know it can be hard to cope with everything that “growing up” throws at you, we’ve been there. This is why Kickstand launched MoreGoodDays, an innovative program designed to alleviate these struggles. MoreGoodDays is a daily dose of inspiration and support delivered to users’ phones via text message. It is an evidence-based, evidence-generating tool proven to be helpful in developing healthy coping skills and resiliency. We presented phase 1 of our MoreGoodDays program last year and this year, we would love to tell you all about phase 2! In this phase, we had 40 young people from across Alberta write their own messages of support and with this, generated an entire year’s worth of messages. This presentation will focus on this process of co-creation and on the incredible benefits of such a process. MoreGoodDays is a small but important first step to help young people have more good days.
From 2013 to 2019, the rate at which youth and young adults visited the Emergency Department for suicidal behaviour in Alberta rose 25%. This implementation science research project aims to streamline and enhance the quality of care for young people seeking mental health services by piloting an e-mental health digital platform. InnoWell is designed to empower youth to personalize their care and access resources, apps and e-tools that reflect their mental health needs and prioritize care options they wish to address with their clinician. Informed by a decade of Australian research, stakeholder feedback, clinical committee guidance, and the lived experiences of youth and young adults, this project is being implemented in 10 communities across Alberta. As mental health issues continue to rise, it is vital to bring together youth voices, embrace innovative and accessible approaches, and research these processes to work towards a more efficient and integrated mental health system.
The NB Office of the Child, Youth and Seniors’ Advocate released its final report on youth suicide prevention and mental health services, entitled The Best We Have To Offer in September. This report stems from the minister of health’s request for an independent review following the death of 16-year-old Lexi Daken from the Fredericton region. This symposium will detail the process of the review and how the youth perspective helped inform the process throughout. We will touch on the recommendations made to the province and provide an update on the progress made towards implementing these recommendations. It will also allow other provinces/organizations to see the impact it can make on their own youth mental health services.
In 2018, service providers in Wellington County and Guelph, Ontario came together as the Integrated Youth Services Network, now The Grove, to address the need for a more effective health and social service system for youth, specifically rural and transitional-aged youth. The early evolution of The Grove was captured in a developmental evaluation conducted by the Homewood Research Institute (HRI). With an Evaluation Subcommittee that included representation from youth and families, HRI co-designed evaluation planning tools and used the Health Equity Impact Assessment Tool to identify potential health impacts. Evaluation activities also included a demographic survey and in-depth interviews with service providers, youth, and family members to understand how The Grove works, facilitators and barriers to implementation, and the early experiences of youth and families accessing programs and services. The resulting lessons learned from The Grove will be valuable to anyone looking to start a youth hub in their community.
Youth deserve support for their mental health when and how they are most comfortable to receive it. Stepped Care 2.0© (SC2.0) is a principle based, transformative framework for organizing mental health and addiction services into a flexible system of care with open access to a range of resources and services. The model reduces barriers and stigma and focuses on the strengths of youth, their support systems, families, and communities. SC2.0 provides a variety of care options as one approach won’t work for everyone. By prioritizing choice and readiness and providing information about the options available to them, young people can try resources and services that appeal to them and discover what is most helpful for their immediate questions and concerns. This presentation will include an overview of SC2.0 and experiences with implementation in a youth-oriented context.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been marked changes to the delivery of mental health (MH) care for young people with a shift to virtual or digital services. Knowing how young people’s MH has been affected, and what services they are using, is important for improving service delivery during and post-pandemic. Additionally, understanding the differences between those with or without a MH diagnosis can inform service delivery further. Based on a survey conducted during Wave 2, we describe the MH impact and service use of 1373 young people in Ontario. Our findings suggest that the MH and help-seeking behaviours of young people differ between those with and without a diagnosis in several ways, including whether, and what type, of help they sought. Our findings suggest next steps for improving the awareness and use of provider-based and/or digital interventions to meet young people’s MH needs and preferences.
Up to 57% of adolescents with chronic health conditions experience mental health issues, the presence of which contributes to more pain, longer hospitalizations and poorer quality of life. Adolescents with co-occurring health and mental health issues, therefore, may experience additional challenges as they transition from pediatric to adult services. Research is needed to better understand the experiences and needs of adolescents with physical and mental health issues exiting the pediatric system. The READY2Exit Study aims to address this need using a patient-oriented, mixed methods design. This research is being conducted in partnership with 5 young adult research partners (YARP) with lived experience in the health and mental health systems across Canada. In this presentation, researchers and YARP members will share their strategies for collaborating on READY2Exit, specific examples of how the YARP shaped the research, and lessons learned about the process of engagement in the READY2Exit Study.
Youth mental health research is surely moving in the right direction by recognizing youth and family engagement as valuable and necessary, but discussions around the methods of authentic engagement are still in their infancy. Based on learnings from CAMH’s McCain Centre and SickKids’ IN-ROADS (“International Network for Research Outcomes in Adolescent Depression Studies”) research project, our diverse team will walk you through what authentic partnership looks like. This interactive workshop will be relevant to researchers and youth & family advocates alike; researchers will learn tangible strategies (“the dos and don’ts”) to authentically engage partners with applied examples of our research team’s experiences, and youth & family advocates will learn how to recognize and advocate for meaningful collaboration. Audience members can take part in interactive components of this workshop, including identifying themes of authentic engagement in examples from our team to practice recognizing them in real-world research.
Researchers and young adult research partners will share strategies, skills and tools for collaborating in a mixed methods doctoral project to arm participants with knowledge about applying these principles to practice. We will share specific examples of how the young adult research partners are contributing to the research, reflections from our first year of partnering, and lessons learned about the process of engagement.
Trained Youth Facilitators provide an interactive session for participants to better understand how they can support youth. The session includes youth sharing their personal stories and facilitating a brief discussion/Q&A.
Participants will gain:
In this presentation, a member of the Youth Action Committee for the Schizophrenia Society of Canada’s Cannabis and Psychosis project will share new cannabis and mental health resources created by and for youth, and tools for those who support youth.
Wisdom2Action and SPECTRUM Waterloo partnered together to create a toolkit to address the gap in knowledge and resources on addressing trans mental health, wellness, and suicide prevention within the Waterloo region and beyond. This toolkit aims to mend this gap by providing concrete tools and resources that, while grounded in a Waterloo context, can be useful for trans and gender diverse individuals, their friends and family, and service providers working with the trans and gender diverse community across Canada. The toolkit was developed through engagement with members of the trans and gender diverse community within Waterloo Region, and a review of local, academic, and other key literature sources related to mental health promotion, suicide prevention and trans health and well-being. With this symposium, we hope to educate attendees on trans mental health, wellness, and suicide prevention, as well as to further the positive impact of our work.
The Young Adult Substance Use Program (YA-SUP) in Hamilton, Ontario is a 3-year pilot program focused on creating and evaluating an evidence-based tailored outpatient substance use program for young adults (17-25 years of age). YA-SUP was created by combining research, clinical recommendations and practice, and the voices of young people. Patients complete surveys 5 times throughout the program and this data is concurrently used to provide feedback to clinicians (to focus assessments), patients (to support collaborative decision making), and leadership (to guide internal program evaluation) while contributing to research (formal program evaluation). We recently received a grant from Frayme to focus on how our patients define quality of life, how their quality of life has changed, and whether or not our current measure of quality of life is capturing these key components. Frayme's Learning Institute coincides with the 1-year anniversary of our launch and midway through our Frayme grant.
At YWHO, sites offer Youth Wellness Teams (e.g., mental health, physical health, substance use) and Community and Social Support (e.g., education, employment, housing) services, as well as Skills and Well-Being (SWB) Services. SWB services include in-person and virtual unstructured/unscheduled drop-in activities, as well as more structured/scheduled cultural and engaging leisure activities and workshops/presentations for youth. Youth have reported enjoying these opportunities, and data has shown they are a well-received pathway for youth who may decide they then want wellness or community and social support services. Currently, only names are collected from youth for SWB activities and they are not registered “clients.” Is this sufficient to permit fulsome interactions during SWB activities, a seamless transition should youth then want mental/physical health or social support services, and/or to address potential crisis situations? We want to hear from youth, families, and others regarding what their views are as to the appropriate amount of information to collect across services (and frequencies) to meet youth needs.
This symposium aims to inspire youth and adult allies alike to imagine a better future for the creation and delivery of training programs in Integrated Youth Services (IYS). We would like to highlight the unique Youth Support Program (YSP) at The Grove - Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario in Wellington County and Guelph, Ontario. This visionary program has created both work and volunteer opportunities for youth to become leaders in their community and support their fellow peers. The training for the delivery of this program was created in response to a recognized community need and includes an ongoing collaboration with students from the University of Guelph, Ontario. In sharing this initiative created by, for and with youth, we aim to mobilize others to adapt this framework into their home organizations, as a precursor to the well-established Peer Support model.
An ideal system for youth includes “all my relations”. Indigenous peoples from the Coast Salish and Nlaka’pamux territories share traditional teachings on this concept and its implications for systemic transformation. We approach this work from a holistic, interconnected, balanced perspective that aligns with Indigenous Storywork Principles (Archibald, 2008), collective ethics (Reynolds, 2021), and co-creates next steps by the inclusion of a two eyed seeing (Marshall, 2017) framework. Our systems are deeply embedded in colonial epistemologies and require decolonization efforts to elevate voices of the oppressed. We bring with us lived experience of adversity, resilience, allyship and welcome dialogue on systems change, mental health and substance use, and its relationship with areas such as: United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, In-Plain Sight report (Turpel-Lafond, 2020), and the ongoing recovery of remains of Indigenous children.
The RBC Pathway to Peers program is a novel service offered to young adults presenting to an urban hospital emergency department (ED) with mental health and substance use. The idea was to compliment the care provided by hospital staff, and further support young patients that were increasingly coming into the ED. Created prior to the pandemic, and rolled out during a pandemic, it has been well received by both patients and staff, in supporting young adults reaching out for help. We will discuss how to integrate peers in the ED, how to support them in a complex and possibly triggering environment, all while staying true to peer support values. Other infrastructure that has been identified as being vital to the sustainability of the program will also be discussed. Such as interprofessional collaboration to diminish role blur and ensure safety for both patients and the peers with onsite access to clinical supervision, opportunities for debriefing, community of practice meetings with a supervisor rooted in the lived experience perspective and well defined role expectations. We will share from the perspective of the peer support worker, how we successfully implemented this novel program and discuss some of the challenges and successes faced along the way, as well as areas for growth and expansion opportunities.
Peer support services follow the practice of involving "peers" or individuals who share key lived experiences with clients to promote positive outcomes. Although there is an expanding body of literature focused on youth peer support in mental health services, there continues to be a need to better understand what works for whom, why and in what circumstances. This presentation describes a hybrid realist and participatory evaluation designed to examine LOFT peer support services for transitional aged youth (TAY) with complex mental health and substance use challenges. These findings are an important foundation to bringing evidence-based practices to peer support, and the TAY peer program is an exemplar having been running for more than 5 years with more peers being hired every year.
This virtual symposium will discuss learnings from Foundry Virtual's Beauty of Life In Psychosis (BLIP) art group, a multi-cohort program which was hosted in collaboration with EPI BC and the Consumer Initiative Fund - and which was proposed, developed, managed, and facilitated by youth with lived/living experience. The group provided a safe, supportive space for youth to express themselves without judgment, to connect with a community, and to create art about their experiences. We found that the environment encouraged rich discussion and engagement, with each cohort working together to identify a theme to focus on as a group for a final project and exhibition. The themes participants chose were "transformation," "normalcy," and "societal expectations," respectively. We are now working with a local arts organization to pursue further opportunities for BLIP artists. We believe that this model of a collaborative, low-barrier, non-clinical social space for youth who self-identify as experiencing psychosis or unusual perceptions can inspire future directions in mental health. This virtual symposium will encourage participants to "dream bigger" about what meaningful engagement with lived experience can look like, as well as highlighting the importance of community participation and affirmation (in this case, within an arts community). Finally, we will discuss the value of exploratory spaces where youth can discuss the personal meaning of their experiences.
In 2021, researchers, filmmakers, community providers, and youth from the Canadian Child Welfare System partnered to build on previous work and co-create a youth-led documentary: For Those Who Come Next. This film transforms the outputs from two community-based research projects into a cohesive shared story with the aim of raising awareness and promoting critical dialogue about concepts such as thriving, and the mental health experiences of youth in and from the child welfare system. In this highly personal point-of-view documentary short, the past and present converge through digital stories, interviews, and reflections on meaningful moments, to reveal experiences that are too often rendered invisible or carried beneath the surface of public and policy discourse. In this symposium, we discuss both the process and the product of youth-partnered filmmaking for advocacy by highlighting how film can inform policy change and systems reform by moving beyond empathy to inspire action.
Jack.org is a national charity that works with young people to identify and dismantle barriers to positive mental health and youth help-seeking across Canada. In 2018, Jack.org created the Campus Assessment Tool (CAT), a participatory research project for post-secondary mental health advocates, which provides a framework, tools, and mentorship to help students identify different services and systems on their campus and engage with decision-makers at their institutions in mental health promotion work. Over the past three years, 25 post-secondary schools across Canada have participated in the CAT, with ten more planned to undertake the CAT in 2021-22. This symposium will go over the methodologies that inform the CAT, along with the key findings from the 2020-21 iterations of the tool. The findings indicate that the majority of students face mental health struggle(s) in their time at university, yet less than half of students know what mental health services are offered on their campus, and even fewer students feel comfortable accessing services. This symposium will outline the factors that cause students to struggle with their mental health, and the barriers that prevent students from accessing help. The policies, protocols, resources and services that exist (and don't exist) to serve, protect and promote student mental health will also be outlined. Lastly, Jack.org and the student researchers will identify steps that faculty and institutional decision-makers can take to better serve, protect and promote student mental health.
With the use of personal narratives and research, emphasizing the experiences of Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities of diverse genders, the workshop will illustrate how to create safety and change towards equity within the current healthcare system. As two youth facilitators, we hope to educate individuals on the disparities present within the healthcare system, for racialized individuals of all ages and genders. We hope to use our personal and professional experiences, research, and future innovations to facilitate a desperately needed conversation to develop methods to address the concerns and build a framework for greater safety in the healthcare system for diverse youth. We will outline the various ways that individuals can support creating safety within the current system during this workshop. Participants will join us in collaborating and brainstorming ways to support a future where everyone's culture and identity are honoured, and health and culture are viewed as intertwined.
Approximately 1/6 Canadian children are exposed to the stress and stigma of parent's substance use disorder, and many parents do not have access to adequate supports that could enable healthier substance use and parenting practices. These experiences put these children at double the risk for mental illness, suicide, and addiction itself. Despite these statistics and our increased knowledge of the connection between childhood stress and risk for addiction, these children are often left navigating their challenging experiences on their own within a system that often retraumatizes them. To mitigate the risk of stress and trauma in children and prevent the intergenerational cycle of substance use disorders, we must understand the deeply rooted ways in which stigma prevents children from healing. This symposium will highlight the current gap in research and in services to families impacted by parental addiction.
Learning objectives:
Transitional-aged youth (TAY) with mental health and/or addictions (MHA) concerns and their families experience significant challenges finding, accessing, and transitioning through MHA care. In order to effectively navigate MHA care for TAY and their families, their experiences in the MHA system must be better understood. We conducted interviews and focus groups with over 60 TAY with MHA concerns, caregivers of TAY with MHA concerns, and TAY service providers to learn about their perspectives on TAY needs when accessing care and how navigation services can support TAY and their families. Identified themes included: pathways to care, appropriate and comprehensive care, continuity of care, informed care, youth involvement, family involvement, and navigation supporting TAY and family care. These findings have implications for approaches to supporting youth in the crucial transitional-age time-period. Case examples from the Family Navigation Project will be shared to highlight these important considerations in navigating TAY MHA care. This work is generating evidence around the needs of TAY and their families when seeking, accessing, and transitioning through care; particularly in terms of how navigation services can support youth and families in the crucial transitional-age period. Understanding the needs of youth TAY with MHA concerns is generating important findings that inform navigation services while they are new and gaining momentum. Furthermore, this work is generating evidence with applicability for mental health and addiction services in general, and is lending to the broader evidence-base regarding the needs of TAY over the course of their MHA care.
At the Family Navigation Project (FNP), we conducted a study to develop a framework for youth engagement (YE) in mental health and/or addiction (MHA) navigation services and use this to design a YE strategy for the FNP. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with over 80 youth with MHA concerns (representing a range of ethnicities, genders, socioeconomic statuses, living situations, and education levels), caregivers of youth with MHA concerns, and service providers and decision-makers at youth MHA agencies, to learn about their perspectives regarding YE in navigation services. We identified themes of: youth-centered care; empowering youth; family considerations; sense of connection; continuity of care; enhancing knowledge of care options; considerations of equity, diversity, and inclusion; counteracting stigma; demonstrated organizational commitment to YE; and effective evaluation as crucial to YE in navigation services. We will share how these findings informed FNP’s YE strategy development and next steps in YE at FNP. This work is generating evidence with applicability for youth engagement in mental health and addiction services in general, and for researchers seeking to engage youth in studies focused on youth mental health and/or addiction services. We are evaluating many elements of the implementation of our YE strategy, including, but not limited to, navigator efficacy in engaging youth, numbers of youth referrals to FNP, youth satisfaction with FNP supports. Understanding the needs of youth with MHA concerns for improved engagement in navigation services provides a crucial opportunity to generate findings that inform these services while they are new and gaining momentum.
Una Wright, Founder, YouthSpeak Charity shares her personal story with challenges related to mental health within her family and the researched-backed coping tools she uses which have enabled her to maintain a strong spirit, positive mental health and overall well-being through very difficult life circumstances.
In this engaging, equity and trauma-informed workshop, participants will learn:
Nearly 8% of Canadian adolescents will have a major depressive disorder at some point in their lives. Timely treatment is crucial, but young people find it hard to access effective mental health care in Ontario. Many young people come knocking on the door of their primary care providers or community mental health clinicians—who may not feel equipped to effectively manage mental health concerns. This results in referrals to (and long wait times for) specialized physicians like paediatricians or psychiatrists. There’s an opportunity to build capacity for front-line clinicians to manage youth with depression using the best, evidence-based practices for assessing and treating the disorder. We built an online tool to do just that, and we worked with youth to ensure components, like our assessment simulation video, are youth-friendly.
Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO) is a network of 14, one-stop service hubs where young people ages 12 to 25 years have walk-in access to youth-centered, community-based mental health and wellness services informed by youth, family members and service providers. The hubs are provincially-consistent in core features and locally led and adapted to offer and connect to a range of evidence-based services—mental health care, substance use, primary care, education, employment, housing, peer support, family support and care navigation—in youth-friendly spaces. This presentation will report on the main clinical outcomes for young people who have presented to a YWHO site for mental health concerns. More specifically, this presentation will examine changes in psychological distress and substance use concerns for youth. Data regarding outcomes for young people using mental health and substance use services like YWHO are scarce; YWHO is committed to examining and reporting outcomes for young people using its services.
HEADSTRONG, a national program from the Mental Health Commission of Canada, is an evidence-based youth initiative championing mental wellness. HEADSTRONG inspires and equips youth aged 12 and up to Be Brave, Reach Out, and Speak Up for mental health, leading peers, schools, and families to a more compassionate, hopeful future through positive action. This workshop will introduce the audience to the successful, highly interactive Virtual HEADSTRONG program delivered live directly into classrooms across Canada. Central to this symposium, youth will share how participation in HEADSTRONG has impacted them and their community. Audiences will hear from high school students who have implemented HEADSTRONG clubs in their schools offering mental health promotion and anti-stigma activities they design and deliver themselves. Young adults from Groundbreakers who train to become HEADSTRONG emcees will share their experiences leading virtual summits, and what it means to a person with lived experience to be a key part of the summit team. The HEADSTRONG team offer an overview of the development of the virtual program and how community partnership allows every summit to feel like a safe space for diverse youth audiences. Consistent evaluation informs meaningful content and the ability to react swiftly to changing learning styles and emerging mental health concerns. A brief overview of HEADSTRONG's evaluation process will be shared with some key data on help-seeking and attitudinal change. Youth have the power to change minds, HEADSTRONG gathers that energy into a focused approach for young champions to recognize personal resilience and collectively transform their environment.
The project aims to develop, implement, and evaluate a preventative program to improve the mental health and well-being of youth. This project focuses on working in partnership with and supporting marginalized populations, including youth who are Indigenous, racialized, or from rural or low-income households. The project incorporates co-design models with diverse stakeholders (e.g., parents, teachers, clinicians, youth) to address power imbalances, barriers to care and create a culturally safe program. We partner with youth-serving organizations across a large region featuring remote, rural and underserved communities and build an innovative and equitable infrastructure. Specifically, we will provide technological equipment, educational materials and program manuals, and trained facilitators, enabling a sustainable and scalable preventative intervention program by and for youth.
Physical health crises resulting in an emergency room (ER) visit can have repercussions on emotional and mental health. Youth with chronic health conditions who are transitioning from pediatric to adult care are at increased risk for ER visits and hospitalizations. It is critical to understand the experiences of youth who require urgent care to better address their holistic needs, as this is a common scenario; 15% of youth in North America have chronic health conditions, and 90% of these youth will require transfer from pediatric to adult care services. The Transition Navigator Trial is a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of a patient navigator in providing personalized support during transition. We are analyzing notes taken by the navigator regarding critical events (i.e., events requiring urgent attention pertaining to participant’s medical condition, mental health and/or social determinants of health) to better understand the experiences of youth.
Participants of the session will gain insights on the increased risk of adverse health outcomes in this demographic and the repercussions of these health outcomes on mental health. The two main learning objectives of this session are:
Did you know that suicide is the second leading cause of death in youth? How about that rural youth have higher rates of suicide due to less accessibility to mental health services? Or that involving the community in mental health wellness can improve these rates? What about that youth are rarely engaged in creating programs that will service them? Our project engaged youth (15-24 years old) in co-design workshops following design-thinking stages to develop ideas around a peer support model for youth suicide prevention. This project has the potential to be implemented within a rural community and will serve a population that was involved in the development of the project. We hope that by engaging youth in the development and implementation of this project, the acceptability and effectiveness of the peer support program will be higher.
The literature has established some degree of support for the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of online peer support; however, few high quality studies exist. Another challenge is the over-saturation of commercially available mental health apps, which often lack empirical evidence, lack adherence to standards, and have inadequate or unclear data protection measures. BeanBagChat (BBC) is an online peer support app for iOS and Android. Using this app, participants can chat with a peer supporter from Stella’s Place about challenges they are facing, skills they want to understand better, mental health and wellness resources that may be supportive, and any recommendations for programming at Stella’s Place. The support offered is based on Peer Support values, including strengths-based recovery, empowerment, trauma-informed care, and anti-oppression. The BBC app was evaluated to examine program integrity, informing possible adaptations to the program and training materials, as well as measuring the program impact on participants.
Youth peer support is a critical new service with limited but promising evidence for supporting diverse young people with mental health concerns and problematic substance use. Approaches to youth peer support are varied and the mechanisms by which they produce improved outcomes are not consistently understood. A team of researchers from PolicyWise for Children & Families and the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary will share findings of a current Frayme-funded research project about youth peer support for mental health – specifically, ‘what works’, for whom, and under what circumstances. This work triangulates perspectives of youth with lived experience who receive and provide peer support, organizational leaders, and academics. We will share what we’ve learned about: the youth peer support landscape; challenges, facilitators, and barriers to service delivery; and practical implications for implementing and improving peer support services across integrated and non-integrated youth settings.
The Aire ouverte youth council is a place where youth find a space that makes them feel safe and comfortable. They can express themselves freely about their personal difficulties and share their insight on how to change the way in which care is provided to youth. They are offered a concrete way to reclaim power and a platform to de-stigmatize health challenges among themselves and in society at large. In other words, the youth council is a time to socialize and create bonds of solidarity that stand the test of the obstacles they have experienced in their past. Additionally, the youth council of our Aire ouverte is co-facilitated by a peer worker. We believe that the fact that this role is held by a person who has lived experience brings an increased richness to the experience of youth and to their engagement.
Learning objectives:
Albert Einstein said, "“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." Youth with lived experience in the child welfare system, with criminal records, and/or dealing with mental health challenges think differently about how to solve problems. Our Youth Peer Mentors (YPM) are often the best supports for other youth who have experienced adverse childhood experiences (ACE), because they understand where the youth are coming from. Our Youth Peer Mentors are now sharing what they know. With the support of adult allies, our youth peer mentors have developed an online course to support other youth who might want to become a Youth Peer Mentor. Participants in this workshop will receive access to this trauma-informed course to learn about our work, to provide feedback, and to help us understand how we can share the resource with others who could benefit.
Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO) is a network of 14, one-stop service hubs where young people ages 12 to 25 years have walk-in access to youth-centered, community-based mental health and wellness services informed by youth, family members and service providers. The hubs are provincially-consistent in core features and locally led and adapted to offer and connect to a range of evidence-based services—mental health care, substance use, primary care, education, employment, housing, peer support, family support and care navigation—in youth-friendly spaces. This presentation will share findings to better understand the demographic characteristics of YWHO youth, services accessed, service goals, interventions received, and youth mental health and substance use profiles
Many young people with mental health and/or substance use (MHSU) concerns do not have access to timely, appropriate, and/or effective services. Stepped care models (SCMs) have emerged as a guiding framework for care delivery. To better understand service users' perspectives on SCMs, Youth, family / caregivers, and service providers associated with Foundry (integrated youth services) participated in focus groups between December 2019 and February 2020. Components of SCM were highlighted as strengths or areas requiring improvement. Choice in care options and drop-in models of service delivery were generally considered to be positive, while perspectives on online counselling were mixed. Navigating the system with multiple providers, wait times , and inconsistent hours of operation were cited as challenges to receiving care. Clear and consistent communication related to the SCM, including what the full model entails and the role of family members and peers would improve implementation and acceptance of the model.
This presentation will share the learnings from an in-progress research project (funded by Frayme) to engage youth as co-researchers in a project looking at how to improve counsellor competencies when working with children who have been exposed to intimate partner violence (CEIPV). Youth co-researchers will be providing feedback on existing training as well as sharing their own lived expertise on what they believe makes youth-counsellor relationships successful. Youth co-researchers will be working with the research team to develop resources and knowledge translation strategies to best share the research results. The research team will speak to youth engagement strategies and provide a space for youth co-researchers to share the work they have done up to this point. Providing a space for youth co-researchers to speak to the work they are doing and sharing youth engagement strategies is essential in validating youth experiences and furthering youth engagement in research.
Despite a significant rise in emergency department (ED) visits by young Canadians (aged 12-24) with mental health and substance use (MHSU) concerns over a decade, there remains a profound disconnect between EDs and MHSU integrated youth services such as Foundry. The aim of our work was to better understand the experiences of young people presenting to the ED with MHSU concerns and how they are connected to community services afterwards. We conducted 26 semi-structured phone and in-person interviews with key stakeholders across various communities in British Columbia (BC), including youth, family members, and health providers. We conducted a thematic analysis. Our results yielded three main findings: (1) a need for better communication between youth and service providers, (2) assessments tailored for young people, and (3) youth-centred infrastructure (such as waiting rooms, and more staffing). Based on this, our team will develop an intervention to implement at 2 EDS in BC.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated Canada’s ongoing youth mental health crisis. Youth suicide attempt admissions have increased by 100% and interactions with Kids Help Phone’s online resources have more than doubled. Yet, staff that provide programs and services to youth don’t have the necessary training they need to support youth’s mental health and wellness. BGC Canada is exploring launching an advocacy campaign, aimed all levels of government, to increase the number of front-line staff trained in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA). MHFA will help staff increase their confidence interacting with individuals experiencing a mental health challenge and increase support provided to individuals in crisis.
In this workshop, we would like to hear from you to refine our advocacy ask, and discuss strategy, tactics, and approaches to collaborative and effective advocacy.
2SLGBTQ+ youth experience high rates of gender-based violence (GBV) and the resultant negative impact on their mental health. One study found that 74% of trans students have been verbally harassed because of their gender expression and 78% of trans students felt unsafe at school (Egale, 2017). The goal of the SAFER Project is to build the capacity of Canadian 2SLGBTQ+ and youth-service organizations to prevent and address GBV against 2SLGBTQ+ youth including public forms harassment. The project brings together 2SLGBTQ+ youth between the ages of 16 - 25 with lived experience in a Youth Advisory Council (YAC) and partner organizations from across Canada in a Partner Advisory Council (PAC). SAFER will provide training, hold regional and national events, and run a public education campaign. With this workshop, we hope to engage others in learning about the effects of GBV and how to prevent it in their own contexts.
Right now we know specific challenges exist in the youth mental health and substance use sector around the knowledge to practice gap, the current value attributed to certain knowledge and evidence over others and the limited engagement of lived experts in system and service design. Lived expertise is critical to a system that can meet the needs of youth and caregivers adequately. This session will focus on the work that Frayme has engaged in dismantling and re-establishing systems of service through knowledge equity and knowledge mobilization. Frayme is bringing best evidence and knowledge to those who are working in communities and networks to ensure better mental health and substance use outcomes for youth and caregivers. Frayme is unique in identifying lived expertise, scientific and research expertise and service provision expertise as all critical elements to developing knowledge that should inform system design and delivery.
Project implementation in integrated service delivery often assumes that complex issues can be solved with an available set of processes, expertise, or procedures. However, as we have seen time and time again in this field, technical solutions alone rarely work. In 2019, Health Standards Organization (HSO) supported by Health Canada and Frayme kicked off a national project titled the “Improving Integrated Care for Youth Initiative” (IICY). Through this work, they discovered the need to both teach adaptive change and live it through their implementation; adapting and pivoting the project based on real-time feedback. HSO’s work has highlighted the need to build in adaptive approaches to integrated youth services implementation across all levels of the health system.
Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO) is an initiative that aims to bring the right services to youth (and their families) at the right time and in the right place. This session brings the model of YWHO to life, from young people involved and engaged in YWHO’s provincial youth advisory committee. For those who are looking to know more about integrated youth services, this session will outline the core values and key components of the model, through the lens and voices of youth involved at the local and provincial level.
Over the past decade, it has become increasingly common to look to young people themselves in youth mental health research and service design. Part of a broader push towards stakeholder engagement in healthcare, the rise of youth and family-informed approaches to decision-making is leading to exciting new shifts in the traditional power relations of mental healthcare. These strides, however, did not come easily. Someone had to start from scratch. For the better part of a decade, this is what the ACCESS Open Minds National Youth Council has done. This presentation will examine the ground-breaking development of this Canada-wide advisory body renowned for its geographic diversity and early influence on national-scale research. Through the voices of the Council’s past and current members, a set of broad engagement principles will be presented – best practices in how youth and their allies can work together to build something radically new from scratch.
Learning objectives:
In this session, we’ll explore novel ways Body Brave, a small charitable organization, is helping youth affected by eating disorders (EDs),which have skyrocketed during the pandemic. Wait times for hospital treatment have grown to 2+ years. To address this crisis, Body Brave has worked with Careteam Technologies to customize their award-winning, AI-enabled, web platform to create a comprehensive online Recovery Support Program. Launched in March 2021, our program provides youth with rapid access to a personalized care plan, essential resources and low barrier support services. We’ve onboarded more than 1000 people into the Recovery Support Program, increasing our onboarding capacity by 500%, while reducing our wait times from 2+ weeks to within 24 hours. There has been a consistent program engagement rate of at least 80% and a 43% increase in registration completion. We now have the evidence, the partners and networks needed to expand this service across the province and then across Canada. Join us to explore how existing models of care can be quickly adapted during crisis situations, how technology can be leveraged in novel, low-barrier ways and how to rapidly problem-solve in a community health-care setting.
Eating disorders impact one in twelve people, yet resources and treatment are woefully inadequate and far too many people are unable to access support at all. Peer Support can help bridge the gap for those with mild to moderate eating disorders, support those while waiting for treatment, help people maintain recovery, and most of all, increase hope. Learn more about new research on Peer Support for this impacted by eating disorders and how this unique type of support can be accessed across Canada.
Learning objectives:
Elevating Youth Advocate Voices: Process, Initial Insights, and Lessons Learned
Tammy Rosner, Jenny Li
Jack.org
Learning About the Current State of Digital Mental Health Interventions for Canadian Youth
Jessica Kemp, Iman Kassam
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Development and Pilot Testing of a Community-Based Training for Peer Support Workers in Youth Mental Health
Hélène Corriveau
A system serving youth: an evidence-based approach to integrating employment and education services with health
and well-being
Amanda Kwan, Cassia Warren, Anna-Joy Ong
University of British Columbia
Where do I belong? A research project examining experiences of citizenship and community belonging among youth
with mental health challenges
Jordan G, Burke L, Bailey J, Kreidstein S, Iftikhar M, Plamondon L, Young C, Davidson L, Rowe M, Abdelbaki A,
Bellamy C, Iyer S
McGill University
COVID-19 and Mental Health: Perspectives from South Asian Teens
Aakriti Pandit, Carla Hilario
University of Alberta
Navigating the TRAC: The Development of a Meaningful and Inclusive Youth Advisory Council in Alberta
Zoya Punjwani, Brooke Allemang, Megan Patton, Daniella San Martin-Feeney
University of Calgary and Alberta Children’s Hospital
Many Youth and Emerging Adult Voices for Mental Health
Whitney Hindmarch, Gina Dimitroplous
University of Calgary
Empowering Local Services to Measure and Respond to Indigenous Youth’s Well-being
Lily Racine-Bouchard, Gerrilynn Manitowabi
ACHWM
Barriers and facilitators in implementing integrated youth services: Lessons Learned from YWHO
Nirupa Varatharasan
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Languishing to Thriving in Three Accessible Steps
Israel Diaz, Heidi Philip
Inside>Out Initiative
Wellness Programs for young people at Foundry: Key learnings from the evaluation team
Brooke MacNab, Christopher Sanford-Beck, Teresa Campbell, Krista Glowacki
Foundry BC
Coaching to the quality standard for youth engagement in child and youth mental health and addictions
Patricia Silva-Roy, Renee Nossal, Kelli Dilworth
Knowledge Institute on Child and Youth Mental Health and Addictions
Amplifying youth voice in research and evaluation: Reflections of the Wellness evaluation team at Foundry
Teresa Campbell, Christopher Sanford Beck, Brooke Macnab
Foundry BC
Introducing Kickstand Connect: launching a virtual integrated youth service
Katherine Hay, Rachal Pattison
Kickstand
Surviving and Thriving: The experience of young people during the COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia
Madelyn Whyte
Foundry BC
Implementing Virtual Parent-Led Peer Support Groups for Eating Disorders Across Canada
Jennifer Couturier, Danielle Pellegrini, Maria Nicula, Laura Grennan
McMaster Children’s Hospital, McMaster University
The Importance of Lived Experience in Co-Design Methodology
Michaela Lynn, Kayly Vig
Understanding Your Integration Journey: Overview and Lessons Learned from the HSO Integrated Care Assessment
Tool
Jennifer Wilkie,
Health Standards Organization
Tout le monde est invité à participer à l’Institut d’apprentissage de Cadre; toutefois, #Cadre2022 sera particulièrement profitable aux organismes et aux personnes qui jouent un rôle dans la prestation des services et dans les systèmes de santé mentale et de traitement de la toxicomanie chez les jeunes, notamment:
Trois types de présentations seront proposés lors de l’Institut d’apprentissage de 2022 : des symposiums virtuels, des ateliers virtuels et des présentations virtuelles d’affiches.
Symposiums virtuels (environ 20 minutes par présentation + 10 minutes pour les questions) : Lors des symposiums, un(e) ou plusieurs conférenciers et conférencières feront des présentations de nature didactique, axées sur le partage des enseignements tirés, des principaux points à retenir ou des apprentissages particuliers découlant d’un projet, d’une collaboration ou d’une initiative dans le domaine de la santé mentale et de la toxicomanie chez les jeunes. Après chaque présentation, du temps sera prévu pour les questions et les commentaires des participants et participantes.
Ateliers virtuels (environ 25 à 30 minutes par atelier) : Les ateliers virtuels offriront un espace interactif pour les conversations, les questions et le dialogue grâce à la participation du public. Cette formule vous conviendra parfaitement si vous souhaitez recevoir des commentaires sur votre projet, si vous cherchez à mobiliser les participants et participantes en tant que coprésentateurs et coprésentatrices ou si vous voulez faire surgir de nouvelles idées audacieuses.
Présentations virtuelles d’affiches : Les présentations virtuelles d’affiches seront l’occasion de mettre votre projet en valeur à l’aide d’affiches numériques. De plus, des mécanismes permettront aux participants et participantes d’interagir avec les auteurs et auteures et de poser des questions.
Toutes les présentations faites lors de l’Institut d’apprentissage de 2022 seront sous forme virtuelle. Veuillez consulter la liste ci-dessous pour vous assurer que votre soumission répond à tous les critères d’admissibilité :
Vous avez besoin d’aide pour préparer votre soumission? Cadre s’engage à garantir l’équité et l’accessibilité dans l’ensemble de son travail. C’est pourquoi, afin de nous assurer que toutes nos parties prenantes bénéficient du soutien dont elles ont besoin, nous proposerons un atelier visant à renforcer les capacités et à fournir des conseils et astuces utiles relativement à la présentation d’un projet ou à la rédaction d’un résumé pour les conférences. Veuillez vous inscrire à notre liste de diffusion pour connaître la date de cet atelier.
L'appel à résumés est maintenant terminé. Contactez-nous si vous avez des questions
Consultez cette page pour savoir ce qui s’est passé l’année dernière lors de la deuxième édition de l’Institut d’apprentissage et avoir un avant-goût de ce qui vous attend cette année.
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