+ youth-adult partnerships building youth-adult partnerships to enhance services for youth
TRANSCRIPT
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Youth-Adult PartnershipsBuilding Youth-Adult Partnerships to Enhance Services for Youth
+YSIG Team
Gloria Chaim
Associate Director, Child, Youth & Family Services, CAMH
Head, Community Engagement and Partnerships, Margaret & Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth & Family Mental Health
Olivia Heffernan, Peer Facilitator Hired December 2013
Joanna Henderson
Clinician Scientist, Child, Youth & Family Services, CAMH
Director, Margaret & Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth & Family Mental Health
Tyson Herzog Peer Facilitator Hired December 2013
Susan Dickens
Program Manager, Youth System Innovation Group
Child, Youth & Family Services, CAMH
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Youth System Innovation GroupA research team that leads national and provincial projects relating to youth substance abuse, mental health and concurrent disorders.
What is YSIG?
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Youth-Adult Partnership (YAP): Overview• Definition• Principles/Models• Application
+YAP Working Definition
A relationship between adults and youth that focuses on joint work, common values, shared power and collective issues.
+Equal partners with different areas of expertise
+Principles of Youth-Adult Partnership* Authentic decision-making
“Youth should actively participate at the centre of collective decision-making rather than at its margins”
Community connectedness Increases community engagement, instills social values,
fosters relationships, and provides networking opportunities
Natural mentorship “Empower without abdicating, support without taking over,
encourage without preaching”
Reciprocal activity Each individual is a teacher and a student
*Zeldin, S., Christens, B.D., and Powers, J.L. (2012). The Psychology and Practice of Youth-Adult Partnership: Bridging Generations for Youth Development and Community Change. AM J Community Psychol, 51, 385-397
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Typology of Youth Participation and Empowerment (TYPE) PyramidN. Wong, M. Zimmerman & E. Parker (2010)
Shared Control
Empo
wer
men
t
Empow
erment
Adult Control Youth Control
Vessel
Symbolic
Pluralistic
Independent
Autonomous
+Application of YAP with YSIG
Paid, full-time staff with lived experience in newly created positions Collaborate at different levels within organization Continual engagement and consultation with a diverse
group of youth (through NYAC)
Job tasks/responsibilities continue to evolve
Creation of nationwide youth committee (National Youth Advisory Committee - NYAC) through YAP Different form of YAP Structure promotes diverse youth perspectives and best
practice
+NYAC - National Youth Advisory Committee
Work on their own projects
Play an advisory role for projects within and outside of CAMH
Membership – anyone between 12 and 24
Different ways to be involved e.g. via teleconference, webconference, private phone calls,
emails, facebook working groups, twitter chats, shared document drives and dropboxes
+Where does NYAC fit?
+YSIG’s Model
+YSIG’s Challenges and Solutions
1. Funding
2. Different skill sets & ways of thinking
3. Making space
4. Making time
+1. Funding
Creating new part-time or full-time positions isn’t cheap
YSIG’s solutions: Strongly advocate and provide evidence of potential
benefits to agency Flexibility
Temporary, casual employment Work different days during the week when most needed
+2. Different experiences and ways of thinking
How do we deal with different and sometimes conflicting points of view?
YSIG’s solutions: Try our best to embrace and nurture these differing
perspectives Explanations (answering the “why” questions) and
teachable moments are imperative Create NYAC to give more youth perspective
+3. Making Space
Where does YAP fit in the agency?
How can we make best use of these relationships?
YSIG Solutions Be flexible – find ways to make the position fit the person Capitalize on each person’s strengths and interests Allow learning by doing Be upfront about the variety of tasks that they may do
+4. Making Time
How will we make the time to teach/learn new skills?
YSIG’s solutions: Making time to answer questions and provide feedback
e.g. a bi-weekly YSIG team meeting Having an open line of communication where all parties feel
comfortable asking for clarification
+Small Group Discussion
On yellow sticky note write:
What are you doing? Currently, what does YAP look like at your
agency?
On pink sticky note write:
What would you like to do? In an ideal world, what would YAP look like at
your agency?
+Why is this important?
Teaches new professional skills Presentations Organization Networking
Provides youth with mentors & connectivity to organization
Develop more confidence in skill set, greater self-esteem
Meaningful contributions
Allows for easy access to youth perspectives
Learn new skills (e.g. social media)
Staying in touch with young people being served A constant reminder of what
we are all here for
Mentor leaders of tomorrow
Different perspectives lead to innovative ideas and initiatives – beneficial to organization
Youth Benefits Adult Benefits
+Does our approach work?
Qualitative & Anecdotal Evidence Capacity-building workshops (YSSR) – high
satisfaction rates among participants Average score of 4.57 out of a possible 5 on
facilitator satisfaction (4 = satisfied, 5 = very satisfied)
Training feedback included: “Peer facilitators were great!”, Most helpful part of workshop: Youth voices/input
Many requests for collaboration and input/feedback Within and outside of CAMH
Our observations
+Does our approach work?
We are reaching and engaging many youth
NYAC Results (established Jan 2014) 126 official NYAC members 594 Twitter followers, 306 Facebook page ‘likes’ Thousands of people engaged (clicks, likes, comments,
shares) through websites and social media (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, websites & blogs)
+Does our approach work?
NYAC Results (cont’d)
• 1 youth-created anti-stigma campaign #Selfree
• 1 Bell Let’s Talk Day campaign #ITalkBecause
• 1 promotional video• NYAC members currently
working on new projects including a checklist for youth wanting MH services, and a collaboration with Workman Arts and Rendezvous with Madness
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETiKQZTLAzY
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YACDS Orientation Facilitators (CAMH) BPSO Trauma-Informed Care (CAMH) ‘My Thoughtspot’ mobile app (CAMH) YSIG Projects: YSSR & NYSP (CAMH) CAMH Blog Toronto Central LHIN TAYMHA focus group
facilitators DOCH 2 Project – Mental Wellness project at C.R.
Marchant Middle School Workshop facilitators for Wellness Week (Dufferin-
Peel Catholic School Board) Principal Knowledge Users to YouthCan 2020 –
TRAM Proposal
Peer Facilitator Collaborations
+NYAC Collaborations
Advisory group to OSSU Impact Grant proposal (PI: Dr. Peter Szatmari)
Advisory to TEACH’s youth-focused tobacco cessation training
Advisory to ‘Breathe’ Mobile App (U of Alberta)
Advisory to YouthCan 2020 – TRAM Proposal
Advisory to “Towards Evidence-Informed Integration of Internet-based Child and Adolescent Mental Health Interventions into Family Health Teams: A Knowledge Synthesis” (out of McMaster University)
Advisory to “A Systematic Review of the Quality and Implementability of Practice Guidelines in Child and Youth Mental Health” (out of McMaster University)
Participants in the Ontario Child Health Survey 2014’s Youth Council
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Is it worth it?
+Group Discussion
What practical steps will I take to increase YAP at my agency?Write it on a index card as a reminder
and commitment to action
+Take Home Messages/Ideas
Believe in and capitalize on unique skills of any new, young staff members
Allow the individual to customize aspects of their jobs (if possible) based on their strengths and interests
Be creative and flexible when trying to incorporate YAP in your organization
Keep the big picture in mind – benefits to youth, adult, organization/agency, and mental health field
+Questions/Comments?
+Thank You!
Gloria ChaimAssociate Director, Child, Youth & Family Services, CAMHHead, Community Engagement and Partnerships, Margaret & Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth & Family Mental [email protected]
Joanna HendersonClinician Scientist, Child, Youth & Family Services, CAMHDirector, Margaret & Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth & Family Mental [email protected]
Olivia HeffernanPeer Facilitator, [email protected]
Tyson HerzogPeer Facilitator, [email protected]