For Youth By Youth Toolkit

Health care decisions directly affect Canadian youth and their lived experience can inform changes to health policies. Youth engagement can inform public policies at varying levels, with health being near the top of the list of importance. Organizations must know how to use youth and their expertise properly to influence policies within the healthcare system that directly affect them in order to enact change country wide.

Traditionally, youth engagement is tokenistic whereby youth’s input and ideas have little or no influence on the work that’s being done. Youth are not empowered to make decisions that affect them, but rather recruited to participate in superficial ways. 

The Young Canadians Roundtable on Health (YCRH) is seeking partnership with youth organizations across Canada, where we can utilize the experiences of youth within those communities to create a By Youth, For Youth Toolkit with them that addresses their concerns. Alongside our equity team, we will seek to identify specific youth that may be excluded/marginalized in the healthcare and education systems. The goal of this project is to assess and recommend where to direct specific support to underfunded areas of health, education and wellbeing where youth require additional care. We hope to suggest specific modifications and resources that are necessary for vulnerable youth populations.

Through this project, our goal is to facilitate youth engagement across Canada by minimizing the gap that exists between youth and broader organizations. With this, we hope to foster healthy connections and positive relationships between community based organizations and local youth to provide a platform where youth have a seat at the table. Youth are not only future leaders, but current leaders who can make change right now that will affect both today and tomorrow. If we can help amplify the voices of youth leaders, it will help youth to have a seat at decision making tables. These toolkits would enable decision makers to more easily seek the advice of youth in the decisions that directly and indirectly affect them.  

If you are interested in collaborating, supporting this project, or have any questions, please email ssmith@sandboxproject.ca by January 30th, 2022.