1. Youth-Adult Partnerships
Icebreaker time!
Youth-Adult Partnerships
Building Youth-Adult Partnerships to Enhance Services for Youth

2. YSIG Team Olivia Heffernan, Peer Facilitator Hired December 2013
Gloria Chaim Associate Director, Child, Youth & Family Services, CAMH Head, Community Engagement and Partnerships, Margaret & Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth & Family Mental Health
Joanna Henderson Clinician Scientist, Child, Youth & Family Services, CAMH Director, Margaret & Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth & Family Mental Health
Susan Dickens
Program Manager, Youth System Innovation Group
Child, Youth & Family Services, CAMH
Olivia Heffernan,
Peer Facilitator
Hired December 2013
Tyson Herzog
Peer Facilitator
Hired December 2013

3. Youth System Innovation Group
What is YSIG?
Insert RAFT, NYSP, YSSR logos
Youth System Innovation Group
A research team that leads national and provincial projects relating to youth substance abuse, mental health and concurrent disorders.

4. Youth-Adult Partnership (YAP): Overview
Definition
Principles/Models
Application

5. YAP Working Definition
A relationship between adults and youth that focuses on joint work, common values, shared power and collective issues.

6. Equal partners with different areas of expertise

7. 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,

8. Typology of Youth Participation and Empowerment (TYPE) Pyramid
Shared Control
Empowerment
Pluralistic
Symbolic
Independent
Vessel
Autonomous
Adult Control
Youth Control
What are Youth-Adult Partnerships?
Relationships that encourage youth participation
Typology of Youth Participation and Empowerment (TYPE) Pyramid
N. Wong, M. Zimmerman & E. Parker (2010)

9. 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
Gloria
Why create these positions?
Challenges faced in creating positions
What did you hope to achieve?

10. 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, s, facebook working groups, twitter chats, shared document drives and dropboxes
Mentorship/Partnership – Liv/Tyson (older youth/young adults) mentoring younger youth

11. Where does NYAC fit?

12. YSIG’s Model Choice, Flexibility and Opportunity
Incorporates YAP and youth engagement
Peer facilitators use the principles behind YAP while working on projects with NYAC members (e.g. blog, media/promotion stuff)

13. YSIG’s Challenges and Solutions
Funding
Different skill sets & ways of thinking
Making space
Making time
We could just lead with our own opinions on this issue.

14. 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

15. 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
e.g. why do we have to go through public affairs; politics within the field; the sometime complicated and delicate organizational issues; honest and frank discussion about NYAC logo
e.g. Gloria – is there anything about our presence/influence that made you reconsider or actively try to change how things are normally done within YSIG or CAMH? (for example: talks with Robin Rowe)

16. 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
e.g. Knew that we needed youth influence. There were a few duties/responsibilities outlined prior (e.g. travel, advocacy, lived experience, youth engagement), but didn’t have a clear, specific plan. We continue to develop our plans together by capitalizing on each person’s strengths and interests.
e.g. space/time at workshops to talk about lived experience

17. 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

18. 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?
GETTING CREATIVE: It doesn’t have to exist within your agency.
YAPs could include interactions with clients, the community, volunteers, coworkers.
You could even reach out to already established youth groups.

19. Why is this important? Youth Benefits Adult Benefits
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
Contributing in a way that’s meaningful to us – because we’ve been allowed so much flexibility

20. 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
Gloria and Joanna – Did you see a difference? i.e. Peer facilitators were always available during the workshops to make youth participants feel welcome and comfortable in what otherwise could have been an intimidating, adult and "clinical-feeling" environment.

21. 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)

22. 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

24. Peer Facilitator Collaborations
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
Change to Internal vs External
Community Collaboration developed through NYAC involvement
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
PEGASYS
Workshop facilitators for Wellness Week (Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board)
Principal Knowledge Users to YouthCan 2020 – TRAM Proposal
YACDS Orientation Facilitators (CAMH)
BPSO Trauma-Informed Care (CAMH)
YSIG Projects: YSSR & NYSP

25. 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
FIX ME

26. Is it worth it?

27. 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

28. 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
Have young person lead development training based on their skills/talents
could be 20 min of a staff meetings
could be an conversation or phone call

29. Questions/Comments?

30. Thank You!
Gloria Chaim
Associate Director, Child, Youth & Family Services, CAMH
Head, Community Engagement and Partnerships, Margaret & Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth & Family Mental Health
Joanna Henderson
Clinician Scientist, Child, Youth & Family Services, CAMH
Director, Margaret & Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth & Family Mental Health
Olivia Heffernan
Peer Facilitator, CAMH
Tyson Herzog