International Youth Day: How the Crisis Centre empowers youth with hope and resilience

Contributors: Berkay Derman, Sam Newbery

Young people across Canada are smart, caring, and already know a lot about their own minds. At the same time, we know they are facing unprecedented challenges which are impacting their mental health: this has been borne out through recent surveys and is evidenced by the Government of Canada’s creation of the Youth Mental Health Fund, currently in the consultation phase.

With the topic of mental health firmly on the table this International Youth Day, we are proud that we are already doing the work of fostering resilience, hope and thoughtfulness in our next generation. 

At the Crisis Centre of BC, we offer two training programs specifically for youth in grades 6-12: Self-Care for Mental Health, which is an in-classroom, 90 minute workshop, and MindFlip: Brain Science Tools for Everyday Living, which is an online, self-paced course that is completely free to access. A new workshop for youth is also underway, to be piloted in the upcoming school year starting in Fall 2024. Several of our training programs, including safeTALK and Skilfully Responding to Distress, are also suitable for participants aged 15 and older. See our Programs for Youth page for the full list.

In the last school year, our youth training programs reached over 16,000 young people across BC and Canada. 

Our in-person workshop, Self-Care for Mental Health, is facilitated by skilled and dedicated Youth Educator Volunteers, who in the last year alone contributed over 2,800 hours of their time to delivering the workshop to classrooms across the Lower Mainland. They speak authentically, often from their own lived experience, with the aim of breaking down stigma and bringing mental health out into the open so that everyone feels they have support when they need it.

We know these facilitators made a real impact: one Self-Care for Mental Health participant reflected that the course was “very applicable to my life; it was something that I could really think about realistically implementing into my life.” Another found it comforting to learn that they were not alone in dealing with their problems, and the course helped them feel that there are solutions available. Another participant commented that they would love to see the training embedded into the school curriculum, adding: “It gave me ideas as to what could benefit my mental health. I will definitely remember this lesson.”

Our online training program, MindFlip: Brain Science Tools for Everyday Living, is completely free to access, and is suitable for young people to take either independently, or in a group setting. The self-directed modules introduce concepts of brain science and explain how it informs practical tools that can be used for effective self-regulation. A group of young students were integral in the development of the MindFlip modules, including the look and feel of the visuals.

Students have told us that they found the course compelling, and believe it will help others like them who struggle with a negative mindset to “flip” to a better one. Support workers also reflected that the course is well made, and that the youth perspective shines through and really adds value to the content of the course. “The videos are done really well and everything was explained in a way that everyone can understand. The guided practices at the end of each session are really helpful.”

We need your help

Feedback about our youth programs is consistently positive, making a real impact on the hearts and minds of the young people who experience them. Our hope is that we can continue to expand our reach and train up new Youth Educator Volunteers to teach coping skills and resiliency to young people across the province. Our volunteers are mental health advocates, role models, and above all, people with lived experience. By modeling openness about mental health, we want to ensure every young person feels empowered to ask for support when they need it, and never feels alone in their struggle. 

But we can’t do this without your help. We rely on donations to maintain and grow our programs. Your donation will help us expand our vital programming, train new Youth Educators, and provide youth with empowering, life-sustaining and hope-inspiring resources to take forward into their lives. Learn more about becoming a donor or make a one-time donation and help us create hope for even more young people.