Member Liz
MemberForum Replies Created
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Planned Parenthood Toronto, with the support of Toronto Urban Health Fund, is seeking volunteers for a Youth Advisory Committee that will help to develop, shape and deliver a new drop-in program for other young men and masculine youth. This volunteer opportunity is open to all young men and masculine identified youth between the ages of 16-26 who are interested in exploring sexual health, relationships, masculinity, and developing digital media skills.
Deadline: October 25, 2020
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Yesterday, as part of our In Conversation series on Reimagining Youth Work in a COVID-19 Era, the team from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Ottawa shared some of their evaluation strategies, as well as some of the initial lessons learned from surveys with youth participants and staff members. The recording of this conversation is now up on our Knowledge Hub!
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This YouthREX factsheet identifies six signs of risky or harmful cannabis use. I’m curious to hear if others have found these helpful in their work. How else can we support youth in evaluating their use?
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Funding opportunity! The Home Depot Canada Foundation has launched its Community Impact Grant Program. Grants are up to $10K and provide support to charities that need repairs/renovations to continue offering services to youth during these challenging times.
Deadline: December 14th. Click here for more info!
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As the lockdown continues to lift, and young people go back to school this fall, some may be experiencing “return anxiety”. How are you supporting youth who may be struggling with feelings of stress and anxiety at this time? This resource offers a few helpful tips.
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So cool, thanks for sharing!
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I think this guide might be helpful for youth workers and caregivers. It addresses common claims about cannabis (“It is commonly claimed…”) and provides a summary of the current scientific evidence (“But research suggests…”). It’s an accessible resource that takes a harm reduction approach.
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How can youth and youth-serving organizations build their critical literacy about the claims and counterclaims about cannabis?
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What are the challenges facing youth with the legalization of cannabis?
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Some youth self-medicate with cannabis and others find cannabis preferable to medical options. What can support them to recognize when cannabis use is more harmful than helpful?
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One of the things that stood out to me is that it is illegal to have ‘open’ cannabis in a vehicle (i.e., the same logic as ‘open container’ liquor laws). If you’re transporting cannabis and it’s not in the trunk, it must be sealed AND in its original packaging. I found this especially interesting considering dried cannabis cannot be readily consumed… I’m curious how many people (not just youth) are aware of this particular law.
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I think this factsheet we developed as part of our collection on Cannabis Use is really helpful because it outlines what youth and youth workers need to know about cannabis legalization, including the law that you point out, @katarina : 8 Things to Know About Cannabis Legalization and Youth in Ontario
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Check out this learning opportunity with Dr. Jean Rhodes on Youth Mentoring in the 21st Century. Date: September 14th, 2020 at 11 AM (EST). Register online here.
P.S. there are lots of resources on YouthREX’s knowledge hub on youth mentorship!
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Yes! Sometimes we can be listening to reply rather than listening to understand.
I’ve been thinking about resilience since our conversation yesterday. In our work, we talk about strategies to foster resilience in young people, and strength-based approaches will support us in focusing on, and amplifying, capacities to respond to and to overcome ‘hardship’. But I also appreciate what Deji cautioned about recognizing someone, for example, as “strong,” so that we don’t inadvertently erase (or, as Deji described, go “deaf” to) the ways in which that person has had to respond to injustice in order to survive and the oppressive forces they experience in their daily life and across their story.
What are your strategies for fostering resilience in critical, collaborative, and supportive ways, and during this challenging time?
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That’s a deep question, Kathe…thank you for asking: “What are your strategies for fostering resilience in critical,
collaborative, and supportive ways, and during this challenging time?”. COVID has pushed me to rethink my ideas of what “productivity” means…… I have loosened the expectations I have of myself of what I needed to wrap up this Summer and then extended this to this Fall. I realized that I needed to first release myself from my preconceived ideas around productivity to be able to extend this grace to others. I am going to keep this thought in mind in my virtual classrooms with social work students this Fall. Working and learning from home in a pandemic when lives are on the line is not just working and learning from home. COVID has sharpened my understanding of why collaborative work is so important! I miss the gatherings of our youth sector colleagues that YouthREX facilitates …..I desperately miss the sense of community that breaking bread together usually created…
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I really enjoyed the conversation today! https://youthrex.com/webinar/the-relentless-pursuit-of-better-youth-outcomes-towards-mental-wellness-in-conversation-with-dr-oyedeji-ayonrinde
One thing I took away from the conversation series was to Listen and to leave space to Learn from the people we support about how we can be more helpful. What works for some, may not work for others, and what worked yesterday might not be the most helpful intervention for today.
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Well said, Cyril! Yes, we must listen and learn. But even more importantly, we must get comfortable with uncertainty. I love this quote by Bertrand
Russel: “In all affairs, it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a
question mark on the things you have long taken for granted”.
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Are you looking for resources to support your work with youth during this time, or do you have resources to share?
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How can we support mental wellness for young people and/or youth workers during this global pandemic?
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Some of the tools here might be useful.
How are you all capturing the impacts of your programming changes in a context that is constantly shifting?
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YouthREX developed this Evidence Brief in response to a specific question asked of us by a youth program in Mississauga, but some of the practices may be useful and applicable to a variety of mentorship programs!
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YouthREX’s In Conversation series on Reimagining Youth Work in a COVID-19 Era is returning in September!
Join us on September 2nd with Youth Opportunities Unlimited; learn how their team is continuing to provide services and mentorship opportunities, and how their social enterprise businesses have been impacted by the pandemic.
Join us on September 17th with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Ottawa; learn how their team transitioned to virtual programming, and how their virtual site will be integrated into their programs after re-opening.
Register online and receive a link to join us on Zoom, or watch us on Facebook Live!
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How has your program been changing the way you work in response to the pandemic? How have you responded to the challenges and opportunities that have come up during this process?
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The Prime Minister is accepting applications for the next cohort of Youth Council Members. Canadian youth, permanent residents, and protected persons aged 16-24 years can apply. This is an opportunity to discuss issues that matter to youth, their peers, their community, and their country. There may also be opportunities to engage with local and national organizations, meet with policy-makers and decision-makers like Cabinet Ministers, and attend public events.
Deadline: August 17, 2020
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How are you evaluating/measuring the impact of the changes you’ve had to implement to respond to the demands of working during the pandemic?
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What are some best practices that you’ve discovered to effectively engage and mentor youth online? How have you responded to the unique Challenges and Opportunities that have emerged?
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Please share work (and volunteer) opportunities for the Ontario Youth Sector.
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Share upcoming events that are relevant to the Ontario Youth Sector.
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I’m just seeing this post and wanted to thank you for sharing, Amanda!
