Purpose
The purpose of this panel was to highlight the voices, experiences, and expertise of young people and family members involved in the field of youth mental health and substance use services.
Theme
The Role of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Youth and Family Engagement Practice and Service Delivery.
Moderator
MaryAnn Notarianni - Director of Special Projects and Operations, Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health
Panelists
Reshma Shiwcharran - Youth Provincial Advisory Council Member, Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario
Josianne Fernandez - Youth Advisor at the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health
Melody Recollet - Youth Mental Health Advocate
Michele Sparling - Family Advisory Committee Member, Frayme
Key Learnings
- The lived/living experience of struggling with mental health and/or substance use difficulties often intersects with other types of lived/living experiences. This intersection is often significant for individuals who are part of marginalized communities. Agencies should aim to understand youth in a holistic manner and become aware of how the state of their mental health and/or substance use influences other aspects of their life, and vice-versa.
- Although the youth mental health and substance use sector is getting better at engaging with youth and family members, there is a lack of diversity in the experiences and voices that are heard and amplified. Unfortunately, this is resulting in the disproportionate distribution of opportunities to influence system transformation. It is important for agencies to increase their capacity for creating safe spaces for individuals of diverse experiences. For example, when engaging with newcomer, immigrant, and refugee youth, agencies can create a safer space by making translators available, or by making space for individuals to define what mental health means in their own context.
- When engaging with youth and family members of diverse backgrounds and experiences, agencies may be inadvertently placing pressures and burdens on these individuals to represent an entire demographic or population. Agencies must aim to eliminate this burden by actively reducing the impacts of implicit bias on engagement practices and the quality of care offered to youth.
- Allyship is essential to advancing the culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion. No matter the role that an individual holds in the youth mental health and substance use sector, they have an active responsibility to be an ally. Allies should aim to lift others through advocacy, by sharing growth and engagement opportunities, and by always being willing to listen, support, and self-reflect.
Quotes
“Who’s not at the table and how do we get them here, because solutions can’t happen without them” - Michele Sparling