Youth and Family Engagement

Youth Engagement

Youth engagement is about empowering young people as valuable partners in child and youth mental health to address and make decisions that affect them personally or that they believe to be important. Evidence shows that when young people have a voice and active role in treatment and service planning, access to mental health services is enhanced, agencies are able to be more responsive to community needs, community development is bolstered and young people are encouraged to be more civic-minded. Through engagement, young people experience positive changes, develop better critical thinking skills, teamwork and leadership skills.

For more information and resources on youth engagement, please visit the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health's website and resource hub: https://www.cymh.ca/en/projects/youth-engagement.aspx

Family Engagement

Family engagement is an ongoing process that includes families as active decision makers and equal partners in service delivery at individual, organizational and system levels. Evidence suggests that when families have a voice and active role in treatment and service planning at the system level, agencies and communities are able to be more responsive to the needs of children, young people and families. Embedding family voice into system initiatives not only increases community awareness and helps reduce stigma around child and youth mental health, engagement also improves infrastructure and services, all of which makes the system itself more sustainable.

For more information and resources on youth engagement, please visit the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health's website and resource hub: https://www.cymh.ca/en/projects/family-engagement.aspx