Kids and young adults these days are facing an uphill climb with every step. Peer pressure, family drama, consumerism, addictions, stress from intense schoolwork loads, demands from first jobs – it adds up to a powerful lot. Worse still, many families and their children struggle to find an appropriate, dependable and safe environment in which to address these problems, without having putting life on hold and subsequently making things worse. 

Enter Integrated Youth Services (IYS), designed specifically to help address a wider array of issues that could otherwise detract from enjoying everyday life. When the world around us is increasingly noisier and opinionated, sometimes putting it on mute and finding someone to genuinely listen is what it takes to make improvements on ourselves. Let’s explore how these services work in further detail.

Just What are Integrated Youth Services, Anyway?

To be clear, Integrated Youth Services refer to a set of guiding principles, not necessarily a physical service itself. However, in most cases, service providers implement a “one-stop-shop” approach and combine multiple treatment and care solutions under one roof. 

It sounds a little complicated, but let’s clarify further. Existing solutions such as addictions counselling, therapists and social services utilize the IYS principles to better connect with one another and create a more cohesive plan of care for children in need, making it easier to make tangible progress by keeping everyone on the same page. This is possible through a number of technical innovations, operating standards, crisis management guidelines, operating in a shared environment such as a community centre, and more.

Customization and Continuity of Services

Depending where you live, Integrated Youth Services may be available in a variety of formats, with subservices perhaps even available to tailor to your child’s specific needs. For instance, local community centres may establish a suite of services under one roof that share the same fundamental operating standards, or local professionals may revisit their processes to better cater to today’s youths based on modern studies and recent trends. In short, working together is critical to making progress in the fields of mental healthcare and addictions treatment. These fundamentals also enable local services to improve at continuing the care and treatment plan even after the child enters adulthood, as far as into their mid-twenties if needed. The overall aim is to leave nobody behind so they can lead better lives and better contribute to society, reducing the risk of negative reactivity or the development of harmful habits.

Some Examples of Integrated Youth Services

• Peer guidance and tutoring

• Addictions treatment and counselling

• Mental health counselling and education

• Workshops to foster important life skills

• Networking events to meet and interact with other youths

• After-school clubs and gatherings

• Youth hubs and learning environments

• Social services and at-risk youth assistance

• Crisis contact and/or drop-in centres 

• Financial planning and savings advice

• Training, employment planning, subsidized housing, and more

The Power of Listening

Regardless of which Integrated Youth Service your child needs, one benefit they all share is that they’ll have an open, supportive and safe environment in which to discuss what is troubling them with a dedicated expert. This also means easier access to resources such as educational materials, specialized training, contact details, self-care tips, and more, and it’s all made possible by creating a foundation built on listening rather than speaking. There are enough voices in the world in that sense; your child deserves theirs to be heard loud and clear. This is the power of community engagement, enabling local experts to work together while taking genuine concerns seriously, subsequently informing further advisory and treatment. 

Eliminating Barriers to Access

Erasing the stigma, eliminating mental health literacy, and removing limitations on established care pathways are critical to protecting children, especially when schools and primary healthcare facilities cannot handle the demand on their own. Integrated Youth Services enable for improved risk assessment while alleviating this burden on first-contact care providers, freeing up some breathing room so they can further assist even more members of the community. This also prevents local frameworks from failing transitionally aged youth, making for a particularly effective suicide prevention strategy. Since three times the youth die from self-harm than cancer, this is an alarming risk that demands such a personalized, individually focused solution. Ensuring consistent access to proper, unbiased, and un-bloated care as quickly and conveniently as possible is the best way we can collectively make a difference. 

Even saving one life makes the implementation of Integrated Youth Services worth it, and such strategies have already spared thousands from a difficult road while helping them rebuild and reshape their lives. This is a vision shared by Frayme: getting youth and young adults connected to the right services at the right time, no matter where they live or how complicated their situation is. By working together and mobilizing available knowledge, we can erase the stigma and the pain for many.