Learning Institute Shareback 2023

Frayme’s 2023 Learning Institute Digital Shareback

GREAT BIG STORIES: CREATING CHANGE, TOGETHER

Overview

Frayme’s 2023 Learning Institute Digital Shareback - Great Big Stories: Creating Change, Together

Frayme’s fourth annual Learning Institute took place as a hybrid event from February 22-23, 2023, in Vancouver, BC. #Frayme2023 brought together national and international partners across diverse disciplines, backgrounds, and experiences to facilitate reflection and information sharing. Most importantly, the Learning Institute was an opportunity to come together to amplify system transformation through integrated youth services and care for youth.

This year, we asked participants to showcase their stories of partnership, collaboration and knowledge sharing to improve the Canadian YMHSU system. The Learning Institute provided a platform to share stories about initiatives that are leveraging data, indicators and standards to increase inclusivity, diversity and equity through meaningful engagement. Through this theme, our network amplified how their relationships and partnerships have led to system transformation and effective, evidence-based services for youth and their families.

About Frayme

Frayme, hosted at the Institute of Mental Health Research, is a national platform designed to advance youth mental health and substance use practice and make a significant impact on youth well-being in Canada and around the world. 

Comprising a network of over 400+ partner organizations including youth, caregivers and advocates with lived expertise, clinicians, researchers, policy makers and service providers, Frayme works to fill critical knowledge gaps via the triangulation of research, practice and lived expertise. By bringing best evidence and knowledge generated by lived and living experience, scientific, research and service provision expertise together, Frayme works with its partners to inform quality improvement in system design and implementation.

Hosts

Once again, #Frayme2023 would not have been possible without the critical support of our co-hosts, moderators, volunteers and partners who came together to lend their time, voices and expertise to the event. Frayme is grateful for all our youth, caregiver and advocate volunteers for guiding our participants through the two days of our Learning Institute:

Co-Hosts:

Dan Nixon
Dan is currently an Engagement Specialist at Foundry. He is a passionate advocate, community creator and facilitator. He believes in the power of community and connection to help solve the biggest problems. Dan is especially interested in the connection between movement, nature and mental health. You can find Dan in the forest, eating or swimming when he isn't tackling the problems facing our healthcare system.

Una Wright
Una Wright is the Founder of YouthSpeak Performance Charity, an organization inspired by personal experience within her own family related to mental health including the loss of two children. YouthSpeak provides leadership training to youth with personal experience related to mental health, bullying, racism and substance use to provide youth-led interactive assemblies and workshops for primary grades to post-secondary, parents, educators and other caring adults throughout the GTA and southern Ontario. Since its inception 20 years ago, YouthSpeak has reached over 350,000 with messages of hope, inclusivity, empathy and resilience.
 
Una’s passion and drive to support caring adults who care for youth also inspired her Self-Care Workshops as she has made it her personal mission to give a message of self-empowerment and to embrace their own story through coping strategies and a positive mindset. 

Youth & Caregiver Moderators:

Co-Moderator Lauren Iuliani
Lauren Iuliani is a youth mental health advocate from Toronto, Canada. For the past several years, she has worked across initiatives pertaining to youth mental health, substance use, and homelessness within Canada and globally. Outside of her mental health endeavours, she works full time in the sustainable investing sector and holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario. Additionally, she volunteers in the international development and food justice sectors. In her spare time, Lauren enjoys cooking, tap dancing, and reading.

Co-Moderator Raymond Jordan Johnson-Brown
Raymond Johnson-Brown (they/them), Indigenous Wellness Coordinator. Guided by their lived experience in foster care and breaking the cycle of generations of mental health/addictions, Raymond strives to encourage conversations that centre collective wellness. Moving from the current model of doing for communities, Raymond pushes organizations to co-create with communities and actively apply two-eyed seeing to move forward in a good way. Raymond is currently in their fourth year of the Bachelors of Indigenous Social Work Program at Laurentian University.

Co-Moderator Stacie Smith
Stacie (she/her) completed an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology from Dalhousie University in 2020 and a professional degree in Education from the University of New Brunswick in 2022. She works at Partners for Youth as the Youth Mental Health Project Coordinator in Fredericton, NB. Recently, she was a 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 Co-Executive Director of the Young Canadians Roundtable on Health, the founder of the Mental Health Student Support Network, a Groundbreaker with Frayme, and co-lead of the Mental Health International Youth Advisory Committee (G1G). She is passionate about school food, food insecurity, youth mental health, and youth engagement.

Co-Moderator Jill Stringer
Jill Stringer (She/her) is a PhD Student living in Ontario researching student-athlete mental health. She holds a master's degree in Public Health with several years of experience working in the public health sector and with national non-profits. As a self-proclaimed life-long learner, Jill is driven to advocate for positive health system change that acknowledges and integrates lived expertise and other diverse forms of knowledge. She is most passionate about multidimensional health promotion through an understanding of programs, processes, and policies at the intersection of psychological, physical, and social wellbeing.

Co-Moderator Anne Marie Portelli
Anne Marie Portelli (she/her) graduated from the University of Guelph with a major in Child, Youth and Family and recently began her Master of Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier University. Her lived and living expertise are a huge 'why' in terms of why she is passionate about mental health and wellness - and creating a mental health and substance use system where youth can access the supports they need when they need it. There is so much stigma preventing youth from accessing support - and finding that support is difficult to begin with. Anne Marie is a Frayme Groundbreaker (and previous KMb fellow!), is a youth mentor within CMHA’s YouthTALK program, and is most importantly, grateful to share this space with all of you!

Plenaries

Opening remarks:

Plenary Session 1: How to Build Collaboration Across Intersecting and Complex Issues 

with Raymond Jordan Johnson-Brown, Anneke Olvera, Michelle Parkouda, Amanee Elchehimi, Dr. Alexander Caudarella

Description: If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.” This African Proverb reflects that greater and deeper impact is achieved together. We work across intersecting disciplines dealing with complex issues in the youth mental health and substance use sector. As such, we cannot achieve impact alone. Real system transformation requires collaboration, partnership and a willingness to work towards greater outcomes for all. Our opening plenary showcased how innovators in the youth mental health and substance use space have been able to successfully integrate collaborative practices to achieve more, together. Watch it below: 

Graphic Recording:

Video:

Plenary Session 2: Storytelling for Impact & System Transformation

with Pratik Nair, Hasina Samji & Kennice Wong (CHART Lab), Paul Kershaw (GenSqueeze), Danya Fast & Mazal Jensen (University of Calgary), Psych2Go

Description: We use stories as a way to understand the world, ourselves and each other. We seek patterns in complexity and develop narratives from what we hear, say and see. These narratives are weaved into stories that create our worldview. The systems that we have built are filled with stories of effort, failures, innovation and resilience. By sharing stories with purpose, we can all achieve impact far beyond what we can do alone. By truly listening to stories, we can improve our understanding of what the needs of the systems are. In this plenary we heard five examples of transformative storytelling in youth mental health and substance use. We hope hearing the power in these stories will inspire you to share your own. Watch it below: 

Graphic Recording:

 

Video:

Recordings of Live Streamed Sessions

During #Frayme2023, concurrent session block C workshops were all recorded and live streamed. To view recorded workshops, please consult the program below and select the workshop you’d like to view by clicking on it. You will then be brought to a new page where you can view the recording:

Day 1 February 22

Day 2 February 23

CONCURRENT SESSION BLOCK 1C

Presentation 1: Empathy and Compassion in the presence of Personal Discomfort: Applying a trauma-informed lens to dismantling substance use stigma

Presentation 2: Working with caregivers in your community: Adapt the “The Unofficial Survival Guide to parenting a young person with a substance use disorder”

CONCURRENT SESSION BLOCK 2C

Presentation 1: Erase the Shame: A Conversation around South Asian Youth Mental Health

Presentation 2: Huddle IYS - Culture as Intervention: The Role of a Backbone Team & Partners in Supporting Indigenous Programming

CONCURRENT SESSION BLOCK 3C

Presentation 1: The Story of Impact: Designing and Implementing a Youth-Centered Impact Measurement Strategy

Presentation 2: Collaboration from Coast, to Coast, to Coast: Partnership and Investment within the Sector

CONCURRENT SESSION BLOCK 4C

Presentation 1: Building a Provincial Africentric Youth Engagement Strategy: The Black Youth Advisory Panel

Presentation 2: Journey towards Organizational Anti-Racism

CONCURRENT SESSION BLOCK 5C

Presentation 1: The Magic of Community Design

Presentation 2: Co-Designing Youth Hubs – Myles Ahead!

CONCURRENT SESSION BLOCK 6C

Presentation 1: How Can You(th) be Successful in Transitioning to Adult Care: Youth identified skills needed for patient navigator interventions.

Presentation 2: Mapping Youth & Natural Support Networks: Leveraging New Methods for Person-Centered Service Planning & Delivery

CONCURRENT SESSION BLOCK 7C

Presentation 1: Nothing For Us Without Us: Developing solutions with and for Equity Deserving Populations

Presentation 2: “From data to delivery”: Building Blocks for Enhancing Health Equity in Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Services.

CONCURRENT SESSION BLOCK 8C

One Hour Workshop: Frayme's Knowledge Mobilization Fellowship Showcase

 

CONCURRENT SESSION BLOCK 1C

Presentation 1: Empathy and Compassion in the presence of Personal Discomfort: Applying a trauma-informed lens to dismantling substance use stigma
Starlings Community INC
Speakers: Agnes Chen

Substance use stigma continues to be a well-known barrier to individuals accessing support and has been coined a public health issue by leaders across Canada. Despite efforts to decrease stigma, however, families experiencing substance use challenges continue to experience discrimination and isolation. This workshop will explore how we can dismantle substance use stigma by applying a trauma informed lens to relationships as service providers, community members, and families with lived experience.


Presentation 2: Working with caregivers in your community: Adapt the “The Unofficial Survival Guide to parenting a young person with a substance use disorder”
Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA)
Speakers: Christina Katan, Chealsea De Moor

Attend this workshop for practical tools to tailor a caregiver handbook to your community! To support parents of young people impacted by substance use, a group of parents from Victoria, BC, codesigned a local handbook with Foundry Central Office, Foundry Victoria and CCSA. Launched in 2021, “Parents like us: The Unofficial Survival Guide to parenting a young person with a substance use disorder” caught the attention of communities across Canada, including Sault Ste. Marie, the first community to adapt Parents Like Us. Recognizing that not all communities have the resources to build a caregiver handbook from scratch, CCSA developed a toolkit to adapt Parents Like Us. Guided by family engagement best practices, the toolkit is a culmination of CCSA’s experiences working on the original handbook and supporting Sault Ste Marie’s adaptation. Our workshop will guide attendees through the adaptation process and offer tools, resources, and considerations for successful community adaptation.


 

CONCURRENT SESSION BLOCK 2C

Presentation 1: Erase the Shame: A Conversation around South Asian Youth Mental Health
Foundry BC and University of British Columbia
Speakers: Avneet Dhillon

Mental Health is a highly stigmatized and suppressed topic in the South Asian community. This can lead to discrimination against those who experience it (Multani 2017), acting as a significant barrier to health seeking, diagnosis and treatment – further deepening the social marginalization surrounding mental health in the South Asian community. With an increasing population of South Asian Youth in Canada, it is important that the diverse voices and unique experiences of the population are heard. Through storytelling, youth can contribute towards de-stigmatization of mental health within their community. Health professionals and services can recognize these experiences and further tailor their services to specific cultural nuances and understandings.


Presentation 2: Huddle IYS - Culture as Intervention: The Role of a Backbone Team & Partners in Supporting Indigenous Programming
Huddle
Speakers: Dana Connolly

Clinical innovation, the co-design of integrated service models and core services, is essential to the successful scaling and implementation of the pan-Canadian IYS model. Huddle is Manitoba's IYS initiative. This workshop – led by representatives of the Huddle initiative’s Clinical Innovation Working Group, the Transformation-Focused Huddle Backbone Team, and partners will present on work to date in supporting Indigenous programming as a core service and culture as intervention for Huddle sites. Examples of this in action at a site level will be highlighted alongside the rationale for including Indigenous programming as foundational. Manitoba is viewed on a national scale as a leader in Indigenous ways of knowing and healing. We believe this presentation will solidify that view and will assist initiatives across the country in their own efforts for Indigenous Truth and Reconciliation.


 

CONCURRENT SESSION BLOCK 3C

Presentation 1: The Story of Impact: Designing and Implementing a Youth-Centered Impact Measurement Strategy
Choices for Youth
Speakers: Jen Crowe

Choices for Youth (CFY) provides wrap-around services through on-site clinical supports, housing services, family and natural supports and employment and education supports. Every day, we see the impact of supporting youth with their housing, employment, and family stability on positive health outcomes, but we didn’t have the data to prove it.

Over the past two years, we have worked with youth to develop and implement a new data system and a core intake process that centre their self-defined goals and help them monitor progress towards them. Additionally, we have built out a longitudinal data collection process which demonstrates that after 18 months of engagement, we are able to increase housing stability by 60% while decreasing emergency healthcare service use by 91% (as just one example). We are eager to share our key learnings with other agencies to support others who are interested in taking a similar approach to data collection.


Presentation 2: Collaboration from Coast, to Coast, to Coast: Partnership and Investment within the Sector
Frayme
Speakers: Shauna MacEachern

An increased focus on and funder investment in research activities in the youth mental health and substance use (YMHSU) sector in Canada is a welcome step toward optimizations to a highly inefficient system. However, without the necessary oversight, inadvertent redundancies of efforts and investment is common. Furthered by fragmented funding of intermediary organizations with mandates to serve and transform at a system level, the YMHSU sector is compromised in its ability to project a cohesive future state of service. Frayme was created as a federally-funded organization with a mandate to reduce duplication through knowledge mobilization in the Canadian youth mental health and substance use sector. Focusing on youth mental health and substance use (YMHSU) care, specifically integrated youth mental health and substance use (iYMHSU) services, Frayme is a meta-network that connects networks and organizations working in youth services systems to accelerate the implementation of quality iYMHSU services. In the Canadian context, Frayme and its partners are already informing the rapid adoption of iYMHSU services. Frayme acts as a resource for health leaders with an interest in promoting integration between YMHSU services, leading-edge knowledge, and connections to other partners working to advance the field.


 

CONCURRENT SESSION BLOCK 4C

Presentation 1: Building a Provincial Africentric Youth Engagement Strategy: The Black Youth Advisory Panel
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)
Speakers: Mahalia Dixon, Mardi Daley, Kevin Haynes

Black youth continue to face systemic and community barriers when accessing mental health and substance use (MHSU) services. While there is ongoing movement to incorporate youth with lived/living experience into MHSU services and research, these efforts seldom center Black youth and their communities. SAPACCY is a MHSU program for Black youth ages 12-29. Formed in 1994 as a community-based response to MHSU challenges for Black youth and their families, it is now situated out of CAMH. In 2021, SAPACCY received funding for a provincial expansion and it was quickly understood that the engagement of Black youth was essential to its ongoing success. SAPACCY’s Black Youth Advisory Panel (BYAP) was formed in 2022 to amplify the voices and experiences of Black youth and advise on the ongoing expansion. Our session will focus on the adaptations, recruitment and initial successes of the SAPACCY/BYAP collaboration and youth engagement strategy.


Presentation 2: Journey towards Organizational Anti-Racism
Foundry BC
Speakers: Alicia Enreli, Simone Maasen, Sukhdeep Jassar

As a provincial network of Integrated Youth Services in BC, Foundry is addressing systemic barriers, such as racism, colonization and oppression. Youth and family wellness is impacted by racism in multiple ways including, access to care, feelings of worth, and implicit and explicit biases of care systems. Foundry is committed to changing the organizational culture in health care to realize better outcomes and safer experiences for Indigenous, Black and People of Colour (IBPOC) who access Foundry services, both virtually and in physical spaces. SInce 2020, Foundry has led a working group with youth and representatives from leadership across the network. This working group co-created an intentional antiracist organizational assessment tool with external consultants to pilot at the backbone organization and with two centres in the network. The assessment acts as a catalyst for change that expands anti-racist practice beyond the usual educational or quantitative practices.


 

CONCURRENT SESSION BLOCK 5C

Presentation 1: The Magic of Community Design
Youth Hubs Alberta and CMHA AB
Speakers: Katie Louttit

It's hard to determine who said it first but the wisdom remains 'the people closest to the problem are the closest to the solution'. This presentation will highlight the impact that giving the power back to community can have. Requiring a significant shift in approach and mindset, trusting community with the design of their integrated youth services has been a hallmark of the Youth Hubs Alberta initiative. We have witnessed the power of honoring the knowledge in the place and culture of community and how those influences can create something that while still provincially aligned, are beyond what could have been imagined from the outside.


Presentation 2: Journey towards Organizational Anti-Racism
Foundry BC
Speakers: Alicia Enreli, Simone Maasen, Sukhdeep Jassar

As a provincial network of Integrated Youth Services in BC, Foundry is addressing systemic barriers, such as racism, colonization and oppression. Youth and family wellness is impacted by racism in multiple ways including, access to care, feelings of worth, and implicit and explicit biases of care systems. Foundry is committed to changing the organizational culture in health care to realize better outcomes and safer experiences for Indigenous, Black and People of Colour (IBPOC) who access Foundry services, both virtually and in physical spaces. SInce 2020, Foundry has led a working group with youth and representatives from leadership across the network. This working group co-created an intentional antiracist organizational assessment tool with external consultants to pilot at the backbone organization and with two centres in the network. The assessment acts as a catalyst for change that expands anti-racist practice beyond the usual educational or quantitative practices.


 

CONCURRENT SESSION BLOCK 6C

Presentation 1: How Can You(th) be Successful in Transitioning to Adult Care: Youth identified skills needed for patient navigator interventions.
University of Calgary and Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute
Speakers: Megan Patton, Zoya Punjwani

The transition from pediatric to adult care can be challenging for youth with chronic health conditions and can contribute to a range of adverse health outcomes. The Transition Navigator Trial (TNT) is a randomized control trial, in which half of participants receive a patient navigator, whose goal is to assist with this transition. 48 youth/caregivers were interviewed at baseline. Participants were asked about their perspectives on the upcoming transition and how working with the navigator may assist with the transfer to adult-oriented services. It has been highlighted in the literature that health knowledge, selfadvocacy, and self-management skills promote a successful transition, however, a gap exists in what youth prioritize as those skills have been collected through other stakeholders. The findings of the qualitative arm of TNT demonstrate that youth emphasize their need and desire for assistance with skill development.


Presentation 2: Mapping Youth & Natural Support Networks: Leveraging New Methods for Person-Centered Service Planning & Delivery
HelpSeeker
Speakers: Alina Turner

As systems planners/service providers, our primary interest is ensuring the needs of vulnerable communities are met. Effectively harnessing community resources & external partners is essential - but it’s no easy task. Doing so requires in-depth knowledge of youth networks and family systems, and an understanding of the strengths and assets available in relation to the formal social safety net. Recent technology advancements provide new methods for mapping support structures, offering powerful insights into what services are needed and where, while connecting people with resources. We'll explore the possibilities offered by these innovative approaches and examine ways to use them to foster stronger natural supports for youth.


 

CONCURRENT SESSION BLOCK 7C

Presentation 1: Nothing For Us Without Us: Developing solutions with and for Equity Deserving Populations
Kids Help Phone
Speakers: Alisa Simon, Deanna Dunham, Andréanne Deschamps

Equity matters for mental health. Yet, young people from equity deserving groups, including, Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and Métis), Black and Newcomer, often face disparities in access and quality of care. Using storytelling, data, and practical examples, Kids Help Phone will share how we have worked in partnership with equity deserving groups toward ensuring youth from these groups have equal and equitable access to our e-mental health supports. Through this presentation, KHP will provide an overview of how, as an ally organization, we established Advisory Councils and conduct ongoing community engagement across Canada with Indigenous, Black and Newcomer communities. We will also highlight how this engagement led to the development of distinct actions plans with concrete deliverables and measurements. Finally, we will detail how this approach has fundamentally changed the way we work at KHP and led to new strategy, programs and specific, culturally informed services.


Presentation 2: “From data to delivery”: Building Blocks for Enhancing Health Equity in Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Services.
Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario
Speakers: Patreka Roach. Mary Hanna, Kathryn Sadowski

The overarching goal of the Youth Wellness Hubs of Ontario (YWHO) model is to improve access and service standards for young people through an integrated approach to youth mental health and substance use services. YWHO’s values aim to ensure access, equity, and inclusion for diverse youth age 12 to 25. Through the collection and analysis of socio-demographic data, we can identify disparities in access, quality of care, experiences and outcomes for different groups of youth. To support with using this data in a meaningful way, we will explore enhancing hub supports through the implementation of a multi-year Health Equity Service Blueprint. The Blueprint uses the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), Achieving Health Equity: A Guide for Health Care Organizations, a five-component framework, which builds upon training, quality improvement and knowledge mobilization to move evidence to action. Data trends will be used to develop concrete actions to improve programs and services.


 

CONCURRENT SESSION BLOCK 8C

One Hour Workshop: Frayme's Knowledge Mobilization Fellowship Showcase
Frayme
Speakers: Kristy Allen

It is critical to include persons with lived expertise (PWLE) as partners in the design, planning, implementation, and evaluation of mental health and substance use services and supports. At Frayme, we ground our approach to engagement in capacity building and allyship. To this end, Frayme developed and implemented a Knowledge Mobilization Fellowship (KMb) program. This program aimed to support youth, caregivers, and advocates from our Groundbreakers network in building a fundamental understanding of knowledge mobilization as a concept and in practice


Media Highlights

Photo Gallery

What's next

BECOME A FRAYME NETWORK MEMBER!

The value of the Frayme network is in the diverse array of service providers, researchers, policymakers, and individuals with lived experience from across Canada sharing knowledge and collaborating to create change in the youth mental health and substance use system. We are happy to help facilitate connections with others in the network as well as share youth initiatives or insights from projects that would benefit the system at large. Please take a moment and formally join the network to feature your organization and projects on the Frayme website and Frayme monthly newsletter, OnPoint. 

You can also contact our Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement Lead, Alana Salsberg, to learn more about our network and partnership opportunities.

JOIN GROUNDBREAKERS, FRAYME’S LIVED EXPERTISE NETWORK! 

Groundbreakers are experts in their communities, their causes, and their own life experiences. Most of all, they’re experts at being themselves. At Frayme, we think that kind of expertise is just as valuable as that of a researcher or mental healthcare professional. That’s why we have created Canada’s premier leadership network for those who want to contribute to knowledge mobilization and system transformation in the Youth Mental Health and Substance Use sector. Groundbreakers will have the opportunity to inform mental health projects across the country, participate in various learning and granting activities, and share their unique knowledge with Frayme’s unparalleled network of over 400 partner organizations. It’s time to be heard.

Register here

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST

If you haven’t already, sign up to our monthly newsletter now to keep up-to-date on all things Frayme related, including new knowledge mobilization products, webinars, events and other opportunities to collaborate with those working within the youth mental health and substance use sector.

GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK

Please help us ensure that Frayme can continue to deliver events that will meet the needs of people working within the youth mental health system such as yourself by completing the Frayme Learning Institute post-event evaluation. It takes less than 5 minutes and your feedback is critical!

official_sponsors.png

Subscribe to Frayme
Stay up-to-date with Frayme and network opportunities through our newsletter, OnPoint. 

Join our Network
Network partners work alongside Frayme or other network partners in order to transform youth mental health and substance use services in Canada. Access the evidence, resources and tools you need to take action.