Member Lauren
MemberForum Replies Created
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I think one simple thing that is often overlooked is to just listen! Black Youth know can articulate what they are needing on an individual level and community level and often we don’t take the time to listen to their voices and support them in leading from where they stand.
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<div>I believe that anti-Black racism is still an issue because the generations/people who participate in it were raised to think, “it isn’t my problem to fix” or “it doesn’t happen that often”. </div>
With social media these days, we all hear of stories such as George Floyd and Ralph Yarl, but many people think that these stories are just one-offs. It happens every day – in our schools, in our work places, in our social gatherings. Until we can spread awareness and shine the light on the cruel world that is anti-Black racism, I believe some people will always think it’s not prevalent.
Regarding the “it’s not my problem to fix” stance…you may not have been the first person to ever racialize a Black person – but are you going to allow yourself to be the next? We haven’t taken this view when it comes to reconciliation with the Indigenous population…so why are we taking it with the Black population? These are questions we need to ask ourselves in order to change our view on “fixing the problem”. They teach us in kindergarten that it doesn’t matter who makes the mess, it’s everyone’s responsibility to clean it up and in fact, the clean-up will happen faster if we all work together.
Unfortunately, I believe anti-Black racism will continue to exist until we ALL acknowledge what has happened and what is happening. We need to find a way to move forward all while keeping these things in mind and rewriting our future so it doesn’t become meshed in with the past.
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I feel like there are so many simple things that can be done individually and at an organization level to center Black youth wellbeing. I feel the most important thing to do though would be to listen. Through listening we can learn, we can grow, and we can empower the youth. We all feel more understood, and even capable, when people listen to us so that is the most important thing to do would be to listen to our Black youth.
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I think that to be pro-active in designing programs, we need to include Black youth in the conversation. Where many of our programs are Eurocentric, we need to give Black youth the chance to have their voices heard, and really listen to their experiences. We also need to include ABR training for all staff – and not just a one and done training. Our views change as we age and learn more, so the training needs to be reoccurring.
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Research helps guide us. It provides insight into a variety of topics – including the impact of racism. If we ignore the data research provides we are missing a big piece of the puzzle. We can’t truly realize the generational impact without the data – the world is so egocentric that people don’t want to think that actions of the past and present impact the present and future generations. We need to use the research, utilize it, and make changes for the better.
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I wonder if anti-Black racism persists in part due to lack of exposure for many people. For many, seeing any community outside of their own is often done through the eyes of stereotype and assumption. This happens because they don’t have anyone in their lives to show them their experiences, to talk to them about how it affects. them. With this comes lack of empathy. They don’t see anti-Black racism as an issue because it does not directly impact their lives. They don’t have Black friends who experience it and discuss the impacts. They aren’t witnessing their friends lose job opportunities, be met with suspicion, or be treated differently than them, because they don’t have friends who are Black. For many, the struggles Blacks experience on a daily basis are stories in the NewsFeed they read or movies they watch. It is a struggle that is at a distance, not in the forefront of their everyday life. When they aren’t experiencing it or being exposed to it in a meaningful way, their empathy for the struggle does not grow. Without empathy, they do not attempt to understand the Black experience. They do not take steps to identify ways in which they knowingly/ unknowingly continue anti-Black racism. They don’t see it as a large problem, because to them, it is not something they see or hear about directly. I wonder if we people were more exposed, brought face to face with the realities of anti-Black racism and its impacts, they may gain some empathy, and with that, a drive to change (in the very least) how they participate in anti-Black racism.
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I think that anti-Black racism is still an issue because people don’t like to upset the “status quo” – they don’t like the feeling of discomfort from acknowledging that things are not perfect, things are not as amazing as we like to think. I also think that geographical locations help keep anti-Black racism an issue. Having grown up in a rural, white community the topic of racism didn’t come up – we had no contact with individuals of different races (Black or otherwise). Looking at the same town now, where immigration has increased drastically and there are now more POC, it is challenging the white communities beliefs – specifically, their belief that they are not racist while still spouting off the same, often racist, comments that they learned in their youth. The social landscape is changing and it is upsetting the “status quo” which is leading to many individuals displaying behaviours you would never expect – based on historical learnings that do not represent the true experience. Sadly, racism will still exist until we all can acknowledge that the social, political, and historically landscape needs to be unlearned, and find a way to move forward while learning from the mistakes of the past.
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Anti-Black Racism is still a problem in Ontario largely due to the refusal to acknowledge the white/colonial systems still prevalent in our society. If our only decision is to become bystanders in these issues, nothing will be accomplished. We need to acknowledge our history, both good and bad, instead of being in denial. Media such as news outlets have not attributed to this cause either. We constantly have information shoved in our faces to try to distract us from real issues. This lack of coverage means that the proper voices are not being heard, and thus change will not be possible.
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Anti-Black Racism is still a problem in Ontario because we continue to struggle with unlearning and de-centring the white, colonial structures in place in our province, especially in education. This is a big task and not one that I think will be easy and quick; however, too many among us are ignoring it completely.
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Wonderful work here, I joined from west Africa Namibia , I proud and Happy about this Plartform
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From my past experiences, the database took time to build. The data such spreadsheet contain are accumulative. There was once I helped with updating the latest data, as well as counter-checking with the previous cohorts, such inventory provided a more comprehensive overview of the participants’ demographics. It also effectively reflected the change in participants’ backgrounds, learning preferences and intentions over time. I think that this kind of well-structured inventory increases information transparency, which is undoubtedly beneficial to the program development of the organization in the long run.
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We shared our March 2023 newsletter today, highlighting upcoming learning opportunities and resources to support your work with youth and families impacted by the criminal justice system. Check it out and be sure to share resources that you find particularly useful in your work!
💻🗓📚🤝
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Registration is now open for Changing the Way We See Youth in Conflict with the Law, an online workshop taking place on Wednesday, March 22nd, from 6PM to 8PM ET.
Join YouthREX to explore how youth workers can draw from a Critical Positive Youth Development framework to support youth in conflict with the law as partners and agents in their own change process, and to create a sense of mutual ownership.
We will discuss the importance of leadership and skill development, social awareness, social responsibility, and restorative practices. We will also identify strategies for engaging youth who are involuntary participants.
The workshop will be led by Laurel S. Springer, founder and principal consultant of Springboard, and Alisha Kara, Youth Centre Deputy Administrator of Programs at the Roy McMurtry Youth Centre.
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Airtable is an excellent tool for project management. I haven’t explored the chart options, but I bet it will be more of a 3D feel in connecting data than excel 2D.
I hadn’t explored pivot tables before this program, but this program introduced them to me. I still struggle to grasp how to use it primarily based on the type of data I keep.
Perhaps when I have more quantitative data that needs quick presentation in a digestible manner, I can use it. I can see the pros, mainly as discussed in the video.The cons could be that it doesn’t work for all types of data, i.e. quantitative, and it can be complex to get the desired diagram/presentation unless one can use third-party design software to get the desired outlook.
In the primary time, I will keep learning and practising.
At the moment, the Pivot table wouldn’t intimidate me anymore.
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I would say I am in the process of building one for my program. My program is unique and funded by the City of Toronto, so the portal we use captures the referral, assessments, questionnaires, program delivery, attendance, post-program survey etc.
However, we use some in-take forms to capture the data we later upload to the City’s database. I built an offline sheet to keep track of referrals, conversations, attendance and other critical qualitative data.
I find creating an inventory, even if it’s for those in my team helpful as it assists with knowledge management and effective followups.
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Building equity considerations into all aspects of program design, development, and evaluation is critical to improving our programming and our work with youth!
Our team recently developed and shared a resource on Best Practices for Planning & Facilitating Anti-Oppressive Focus Groups, summarizing each step of the planning and facilitation process and highlighting specific equity considerations.
You may also want to check out a series of guides developed by the W.K Kellogg Foundation on Doing Evaluation in Service of Racial Equity: Debunk Myths, Diagnose Biases and Systems, and Deepen Community Engagement.
What resources support your work to advance equity through program evaluation?
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ICYMI, I wanted to share a few resources that we’ve recently added to the Knowledge Hub; these resources explore barriers and facilitators to mental health for Black youth, as well as pathways to inclusion and support:
1) Factors that Impact How Black Youth Access the Mental Healthcare System in Ontario
This 2022 Pathways to Care report builds on the work of Fatimah Jackson‑Best (from Module 2 of Centering Black Youth Wellbeing) and Tiyondah Fante-Coleman to provide an overview of findings from focus groups to learn first-hand what the challenges are for Black youth attempting to access care. They also identify what Black youth, their communities, and service providers thought were the solutions to increasing access to care.
2) Factors That Contribute to the Mental Health of Black Youth
This YouthREX resource summarizes a 2022 community-based participatory action research project with Black youth in Alberta, Canada, and shares how the findings are critical to youth work practice.
3) TAKE 5: Black Youth Mental Health
This YouthREX Factsheet outlines five key messages shared by Mercy Shibemba, an award-winning youth activist from the UK, in her opening keynote for our Beyond Invisible: Black Youth Mental Health Teach-In in October 2022.
Remember, you can always see what’s new to the Knowledge Hub by visiting our Featured Collection, updated monthly! 💻📚🤓
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Our team just developed a resource specific to youth transitioning from pediatric mental health care to adult services and supports: Four Considerations to Support Youth Transitioning to Adult Mental Health Care
We hope this Factsheet will be useful to anyone supporting transitional-aged youth! ❤
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Hi everyone! Children First Canada is hosting a free two-day virtual summit for youth (from ages 12-18 across Canada), Youth Take Charge: Advocacy Incubator, on April 19th and 26th, from 11AM to 3PM ET. 💻📣✊
As adult allies of young people, we are on the frontlines and know the challenges young people in Canada face. One of the ways to support children and youth is to help them understand that they are not alone, and that collective action may help to reinforce a sense of belonging and hope. To work collectively, they also need the tools to amplify their voice. That is the ultimate goal of the Youth Take Charge: Advocacy Incubator.
The two-day event will feature incredible young keynote speakers, trainers, and facilitators, including Stephen Mensah of the Toronto Youth Cabinet. Sessions will be led by youth from partner organizations Jack.org, Leadnow.ca, and Amnesty International Canada, and will teach young people about strategy, the tools and tactics of making change, and how to communicate their message.
On Day 1, young people will work as teams to develop a campaign on an issue they care about (e.g., environment, poverty, racism). On Day 2, they will pitch their campaign to the other teams working on the same issue, and their peers will select the campaign to move forward.
Selected campaigns will then pitch to a panel of partner organizations that will select the campaign they will support after the event. All teams will be provided with a digital package of tools they can use if they want to continue to work on their campaigns after the event.
Young people can join as a team of 10, or, if they sign up individually, they will be grouped with others who are interested in the same issue.
Check it out and share with the young people in your networks!
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I definitely agree that the results should be presented through forms that youth gravitate towards. Some examples I have seen and used are short videos, graphic organizers, visuals and through storytelling as well if that is possible based on the results. I also believe (again depending on the content and results) having a hands on workshop could be beneficial to gain engagement and discuss critical components of the results would be beneficial.
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Data visualisation can be an engaging way to present findings. Infographics and interactive virtual visuals can be useful in communicating measured/gathered evidence of impact. Adding photos, videos, and personal connections to participants humanises the evaluation process, especially when the data/feedback is qualitative.
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We use a lot of visual graphics from Canva, Prezi and PowerPoint/Excel graphs to help numerical data be more digestable for our youth participants and external partners.
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Has anyone tried using pivot tables to analyze program data in spreadsheets? What are some pros and cons? (Using Spreadsheets in Program Evaluation Module 3 Discussion Topic)
Sonya Howard discussion post response:
Apart from this course, I haven’t actually had a chance or need to use pivot tables in order to analyze program data in spreadsheets. I keep meaning to teach myself how to do it using online resources, and this course is an excellent opportunity to try it.
I don’t really know the pros and cons of using pivot tables, beyond those mentioned in the lectures for the YouthREX course, Using Spreadsheets in Program Evaluation. One pro seems to be a quicker way of focusing in on and analyzing the data you may be most interested.
I am aware that there are some cloud-based tools, like Airtable, that may be perhaps more robust than a spreadsheet and that has some database-like functionality. From the minimal exposure I’ve had to Airtable, it seemed to take things perhaps a step further than pivot table, and allows the user to customize and program it even more. As robust as Airtable is, it does seem to take a lot of work and planning on the front end to develop the table exactly how you need. It also seems to involve a bit of a mental shift from 2-D spreadsheet to more of an almost 3-D view of connecting data across worksheets and databases (if that makes any sense.) It also costs money with an annual subscription (I believe) to set up and use (beyond perhaps a possible free smaller version; I’m not sure), but I think data can be imported up from Excel or Google Sheets into Airtable and exported back out again into a spreadsheet or possibly database format.
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I have seen some evaluators use Canva to develop clean, direct, and very engaging ways to present evaluation findings.
Eval Academy (run by Three Hive Consulting), for example, has a free pre-made Canva template for logic models available here: https://www.evalacademy.com/resources/canva-design-templates-for-creating-your-own-logic-model
They also have some tips for creating chart templates: https://www.evalacademy.com/articles/chart-templates-the-time-saver-you-should-be-using
They also have some data visualization tips (which are all very much along the same lines as those presented in the YouthREX course, Using Spreadsheets in Program Evaluation), plus links to additional data viz tools and websites at the bottom: https://www.evalacademy.com/articles/7-tips-for-better-data-visualizations
EvalAcademy has more free evaluation resources available on their website, https://www.evalacademy.com/resources-collection.
They also have a free monthly newsletter that anyone can sign up for where they share a roundup of evaluation tools, resources, events, and workshops, both domestically and internationally. The sign up is at the bottom of their website.
We All Count – Project for Data Equity also has free tools and resources on their website, as well as a newsletter: https://weallcount.com/tools/
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The individual delivery partners for the national Indigenous youth internship program I helped review do maintain an inventory, of sorts, of the program data it collects, to be able to report on their progress towards meeting expected results of the project management framework (PMF).
For each expected result (by ultimate outcome, intermediate outcome, and outputs), they list the indicators, baseline data (typically a quantitative number representing number and/or percentage related to that indicator), targets, data sources (interns, community members, participants in community activities supported by interns, program teams, overseas partners, programming team), and data collection methods (including things like interns final narrative report, end of project evaluation survey, pre- and post-internship self-assessment questionnaire, pre- and post-internship career assessment activity, project manager’s reports, interns’ reports, partners’ narrative and monthly reports, end of project survey and/or focus groups, internal reports, interns monthly and annual reports, overseas partners annual reports, and intern pre-departure and re-entry evaluations.)
Individual delivery partners may have more detailed data inventories they developed and use in-house to deliver and evaluate their own project delivery (for things like registration forms, training session evaluation forms completed by youth interns, work placement evaluation forms completed by youth interns, etc.) beyond this PMF that they report on and provide to their national funding department.
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*performance measurement framework (PMF)
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Data already collected
Rolled-up annual cohort data collected as part of national Indigenous youth internship program I helped review includes:
– total number of participants, status (number of early terminations, unemployed, student, employed)
– education or studies (high school, college, university completed, bachelor completed, masters/doctorate uncomplete, masters/doctorate completed)
– visible minorities (person with disability, women, other gender)
– early termination (number, reasons)
Individual program delivery partners collect additional data to be able to report on their progress towards meeting the expected results of the program’s project management framework. This data includes (non-exhaustive) items like youth-reported (male, female) improved skills in communication, critical thinking, teamwork, leadership, monitoring and evaluation, networking, and project management. Data collected also includes whether or not Indigenous youth interns have developed a career plan by the end of their internship.
Data could collect that not already
Based on the program review, additional data this program might consider collecting could be related to outcomes that Indigenous youth interns had identified as being most meaningful to them, which could include (non-exhaustive):
– Personal growth
– Spiritual growth
– Deep relationships with new groups of people (among participants, with mentors and Elders and/or with international co-participants)
– Self-confidence
– Stress management skills
– Capacity to leverage emotional growth into informed action
– Employment skills (e.g., planning, coordination, implementation of project, early childhood education, community mobilization
– Sense of self-direction in life and career and life aims
– Sense of self-agency and self-determination in moving through colonial impacts on their lives in relation to gender and social justice
– Awareness of self and family and community in context of shared Indigenous colonial experiences
– Motivation to contribute to community development back home
While many of these would typically be considered qualitative data, it might be possible to develop quantitative data measures for some items to ask youth interns pre and post if they have experienced any shifts in these items and if they could quantify how much, on a scale. This could be augmented by collecting qualitative data from the youth interns.
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This is a great question. Some strategies I have seen are;
Collapsing categories: If participant ethnicity is part of the data that is collected, perhaps, they can be collapsed into broader categories such as Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino.
Regarding sharing this type of data, visualization is a great concept to adapt. The use of a Pie chart, and Barchart can be used to showcase the represented categories.
I am curious to hear other methods and concepts.
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In My role as an engagement lead, I see the significance of partnership with our EDI Coordinator to ensure meaningful engagement is happening and cultural relevance is being considered in the work we do. Thank you!
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I see how important letting the client lead the way and be the expert on their life and experience is to ensuring good care is offered along with educating staff to be aware of how to listen, check biases and advocate for black youth and their families. I see this as a huge opportunity for our organization.
