Presenters and slide deck
Renee Nossal, Engagement Coordinator, Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health
Josianne Fernandez, Youth Advisor, Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health
Key learnings
- Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO) has ten hubs across the province of Ontario dedicated to providing “the right kind of services, at the right time, by the right provider, in the right place”. Youth engagement in all planning and implementation is one of 13 core components of the YWHO model.
- YWHO’s Provincial Youth Advisory Council includes two young people from each hub community. Each member has experience accessing or trying to access mental health services, is comfortable representing their community, and is part of their local YWHO Youth Advisory Council.
- To date, the Provincial Council has helped to inform: the design and content of the YWHO newsletter, methods for accessing services at hubs, the definition of “quality” services according to YWHO, YWHO branding, and the way in which young people accessing care at hubs can provide feedback on their service experience.
Lessons Learned and Recommendations
- Relationship building and recruitment of the right people for an advisory group takes time.
- Identify and work to reduce barriers to participation. This can looking differently depending on each youth, so it’s important to ask young people if there are barriers to their participation.
- It’s important when working within youth engagement and the youth mental health sector to strive towards co-creating various pieces of projects, while also recognize that co-creation takes time.
Contact Email of Presenters
Renee Nossal – rnossal@cheo.on.ca
Josianne Fernandez – jfernandez@cheo.on.ca