Visits
Hello TNM friends,
Jay and I are really enjoying our visit to all of our TNM Groups across the province. Did you know we have more than 25 youth-led groups?! It has been such a wonderful experience hearing about all the amazing work our youth and adult allies are doing to destigmatize mental health in their communities.
Last week, we had the chance to connect with our TNM Group in Huron Perth with our partner agency Huron Perth Centre. It was so nice connecting and laughing with the youth and the incredible adult ally who supports the youth leaders.
We began our visit by hearing about the work the youth and adult ally have been doing and came to learn about the self-care kits they are creating to distribute in schools to encourage young people to prioritize self-care. The youth also have been very active on social media sharing resources and having Music Mondays where they share a song from their playlist. Check out their Instagram page here, and give them a follow!
Youth shared that they are looking forward to our annual leadership retreat, Disable the Label this summer and found the experience to be positive and uplifting even on Zoom! One youth even shared how Disable the Label has changed their life, and how they view the world.
After hearing about the work the youth are doing, youth shared some of the successes and challenges their community faces when accessing child and youth mental health services. Youth shared that though there are not enough resources for transitional aged youth, school teachers have limited knowledge on mental health concerns and there are long waitlists for services, they have found that there is a lot of support with schools and mental health advocacy groups in their community.
It is inspiring to hear youth share the importance of embedding youth voice in the child and youth mental health sector, which is needed more than ever now.
Thank you to the youth and adult allies for the warm welcome! Jay and I are looking forward to visiting everyone again in-person and watching an episode of Téléfrançais with you all 🙂
See you all soon on zoom,
Fizza Abbas, Network Coordinator
Visits
Hello TNM friends,
If you didn’t know, Jay and I have been visiting our TNM Groups across the province and learning about all the fantastic work our youth and adult allies are doing to bring change to their community!
Last week, we had the chance to connect with our TNM Group in Sault Ste. Marie with our partner agency Algoma Family Services. It was a unique experience that we’ve experienced once before, where we joined the meeting via Zoom while the TNM Group met in person!
It was such a blast connecting and laughing with the youth and adult allies, learning about some of Starbucks’ new secret menu items and hearing the experiences some of them have had visiting Toronto…. Where folks are not as social as the community in Sault Ste. Marie. I can attest to this as I remember when I visited our TNM Group in Sault Ste. Marie, back in 2020, everyone was very friendly!
After learning more about the community, youth shared all their work at their agency. The youth members have been conducting adult ally interviews and are sitting on a sub-committee with the agency’s board to ensure youth engagement and the youth voice is embedded in all processes. Youth also shared that they are planning to host an Expresso Café for Children’s Mental Health Week, an Open Mic night where their theme will be self-care.
After hearing about the work the youth are doing, the youth shared some of the challenges their community faces when accessing child and youth mental health services. They shared that it has been difficult for transitional-aged youth to understand how to access the adult mental health system and don’t know where to go next or how to navigate the system once they are in. Youth are falling through the cracks and don’t have many resources available. As one youth mentioned, Ontario is not a cookie-cutter. There are many barriers northern communities face when accessing services, such as transportation and cost of services. These barriers lead families to decide who will get a therapist appointment each month. Our child and youth mental health system must move from a state of crisis to one of quality.
It is empowering to know that the young people in our network are leaders of today and tomorrow, and it gives me hope that they are shifting the needle to make the child and youth mental health system a place for all.
Thank you to the youth and adult allies for the warm welcome! Jay and I are looking forward to revisiting everyone in person and trying all the Starbucks secret drink menus 🙂
See you all soon on zoom,
Fizza Abbas, Network Coordinator
Visits
Hello everyone,
Jay and I are still on our world, I mean province tour visiting all of our incredible TNM Groups!
Last week, we had the chance to connect with our TNM Group in Peterborough with our partner agency Peterborough Youth Services. Right off the bat, a couple of us began sharing our snack haul, an essential to any TNM Group gathering, of course. A snack corner is a must at all virtual meetings!
After many laughs, the youth shared that they are currently designing a mural for Peterborough Youth Services to create a more youth-friendly environment. The youth want to represent community members as “flower” people, representing both internal growth at the individual level and external growth at the community level. I was blown away by the youth and how thoughtful and intentional they were with their project.
After working on the project a bit, I asked everyone, what their ideal child and youth mental health system would look like? The youth jumped right in and began sharing that we need a diverse, equitable, accessible and person-centered approach where services cater to individual needs. One youth’s words resonated with me when they mentioned the transition between various therapists feels “audition-like” and robotic. Our meeting went over by 10 minutes, as the youth were very passionate about sharing their thoughts. We are definitely going to be coming back to hear more!
One of the funniest parts of the meeting, and one that I still can’t stop laughing about, is youth analyzing all of our zodiac signs and what it all means. I learned quite a bit!
Jay and I are looking forward to visiting all the youth again and can’t wait to meet them and see the jaw-dropping mural they’re working on in person!
See you all soon on zoom,
Fizza Abbas, Network Coordinator
Visits
I hope the network is ready for all the incredible TNM Group visits Jay, and I will be doing over the next few months… because we’re just getting started!
Last week we had a chance to visit our TNM Group in Thunder Bay with our partner agency, Children’s Centre Thunder Bay. This was a unique visit, as the adult allies and youth were able to meet in person, and we joined via Zoom!
We started the meeting with a check-in by sharing a rose, a positive highlight of our day or week, and a bud, an opportunity to share an idea we had or something we’re looking forward to or are exploring. We learned more about the adult allies and the youth and found one youth who had the same love for Hot Cheetos as me, which created an instant connection. Who doesn’t love Hot Cheetos, am I right?
The youth and adult allies began brainstorming ideas for their TNM Group and shared that they have been working on an Instagram page that they recently created. If you haven’t already, follow their TNM Group here. They have some exciting ideas and content coming soon!
The youth and adult allies also brainstormed what they would like to include in their upcoming self-care kit project, which will be handed out in their community. They came up with many great items to place in their kits, such as tea bags, stress balls, cooling masks, notepads for folks to journal and write down their thoughts, and chocolate! It’s always so great to hear how many of our TNM Groups have created self-care kits to give back to the community and encourage others to take care of themselves.
After some project planning, we shifted gears and heard from the TNM Group about some of the changes they would like to see within the Child and Youth Mental Health sector. We heard that many school guidance counsellors dismiss the mental health needs of students, and resources and access to quality care are limited. An adult ally shared that only one psychiatrist in Thunder Bay is currently accepting clients, leading to a crisis-oriented system. Jay and I really appreciated the youth and adult allies’ honesty and vulnerability. The system needs to move from crisis to quality.
Thank you to the wonderful adult allies and youth for welcoming us, even though we were on screen! Jay and I are looking forward to connecting with more of our TNM Groups across the province and learning about all the awesome work everyone is doing.
If you are a youth mental health advocate and want to be a part of a TNM Group, click here to find one near you!
See you all soon on zoom,
Fizza Abbas, Network Coordinator
Visits
I’m back on tour, visiting all of our TNM Groups across the province…. and this time, I’m bringing TNM’s New Program Manager, Jay Baker, along with me!
To get started with our tour, we visited our TNM Group in Kirkland Lake last week with our partner agency North Eastern Ontario Family and Children’s Services (NEOFACS).
Even though we haven’t been able to do TNM Groups visits in person for two years now, our virtual visit transported us from the cold winter days to a warm summer day…as the adult allies planned a Beach Party-themed meeting! The adult allies and youth were decked out with Lei necklaces and themed Zoom backgrounds, and it felt as if we were in paradise. The adult allies are continuously going above and beyond when it comes to youth engagement by dropping off beach theme activities and snacks at the youth’s home before the meeting.
We played many icebreakers during our group visit, such as Two Truths and a Lie, Never Have I Ever, and Trivia. I discovered so much about everyone on the line, such as how one of our youth is exceptionally good at axe throwing!
The last time I visited, I learned how students drive snowmobiles to school. It’s always so interesting to learn about the different traditions and norms in each community. Adult allies and youth shared with me that the community has a very competitive ice sculpture contest every year and how 9-year-olds can get a boating licence. However, most exciting of all was that some workers received nuggets of gold as a gift… let’s say I’ve already added Kirkland Lake to my retirement plan.
During our visit, we discussed the possibility of having all of our northern TNM Groups collaborate and connect for an event or a meeting to get to know each other and engage more youth leaders. If you’re reading this and you want to join a TNM Group, click here to find one near you!
Thank you to the fantastic adult allies and youth for such a warm welcome and all the laughs! Jay and I look forward to continuing our tour across the province and getting to connect with all the incredible adult allies and youth who are constantly shifting the needle to create meaningful change within the Child and Youth Mental Health sector.
See you all soon on zoom,
Fizza Abbas, Network Coordinator
Visits
Hello everyone,
I know it has been a while since you’ve read about my adventures visiting our TNM groups across the province!
A few weeks ago, I got to visit our TNM group in the Peel region with our partner agency EveryMind Mental Health Services. As many of you may know, I used to be a youth facilitator in the network prior to becoming the Network Coordinator…..and TNM Peel was my group! It was where my love and appreciation for the network first began.
As you can imagine, this was a very exciting group visit for me, being around someone who once was my adult ally and mentor, and other youth who knew me prior to my role as Network Coordinator. There was no need for introductions, as we just got straight into reconnecting and laughing.
The youth shared with me that they have been working on creating a series of podcasts discussing “A year since COVID”, self care and mental health. Which was so exciting to hear, since podcasts have been so popular amongst our TNM groups as a way to connect with youth virtually, especially after the very long year we’ve all had. The group will also be hosting a Virtual Wellness Discussion near the end of the month!
As one youth shared that they would be transitioning on from TNM, we spent the remainder of our time sharing the impact TNM has had on us! One of the highlights was hearing the impact the adult ally has had on the youth. Youth shared that the introduction to TNM gave them the opportunity to connect with others, find their voice and gave them the purpose they needed to advocate for themselves, their peers and their community. This reminded me of my own experience within this group, and how this adult ally had uplifted and believed in me, and all that I could bring to the network! Our adult allies are the anchors of TNM, without them we could not do the work we do.
Thank you to the youth and adult ally for welcoming me back to my TNM group and making me feel so special! I can’t wait to see you soon at DTL 2021!
See you all soon on Zoom,
Fizza Abbas, Network Coordinator
