Including the voice of young people is essential to the work we do at the McCain Centre.
The Youth Engagement Initiative team comprises several Youth Engagement Facilitators and a Youth Engagement Coordinator and is based in the McCain Centre. Facilitators bring their perspective as youth with lived experience into research and program activities related to youth mental health and substance use.
The Engagement team’s goal is to increase meaningful collaboration between youth stakeholders and professionals by providing the youth voice at all levels of projects and organizations. The facilitators also engage in conversations with other youth with lived experience in order to provide more diverse perspectives, including co-leading the activities of the National Youth Action Council (NYAC).
For more information about the Youth Engagement Initiative, please email the Youth Engagement Coordinator at mccain.youth@camh.ca.
NYAC brings together a national community of young people, including those with lived experience, who are advocates for young people experiencing mental illness and substance use challenges. NYAC increases youth engagement in program and research activities, in the development of youth-friendly resources, and in consultations within mental health and substance use services and systems.
Together with NYAC, we are creating a system of care to address mental health and substance use concerns that can be easily accessed, navigated and shaped by Canadian youth of all backgrounds and identities. We are creating a country free of the stigma surrounding mental illness and substance use—one that embraces open dialogue about youth mental wellness.