Meet Lily, One of Our Youth Researchers
Minds | October 2, 2022

My name is Lily and I am one of the Research Assistants at MINDS. Through this role, I am the EDI evaluator of the various prototypes leading up to MINDS 2.0, working committee member of Youth-Centered Adult Allyship and adult liaison of the Youth Mental Health and Addictions Council, also known as YMHAC.

 

YMHAC began in 2016 under the Transition Age Project (TAP), and its mission was to promote youth-centered practice in youth mental health care through advising and guiding hospital programs, initiatives and community agencies/organizations through authentic leadership, influence and decision making. I along with Alec Cook were the original founding members of YMHAC, and when TAP concluded three years later in 2019, MINDS took stewardship and we were approached to be the council’s new facilitators, making YMHAC a fully youth-led prototype. With the help of the MINDS lab, YMHAC’s goal is to promote youth voice and participation, and to develop and research system-level change that leads to the development of Meaning and Purpose, Resiliency, and Quality Relationships for transitional-age youth (TAY). In my role as an adult liaison, I work with Alec to organize meeting agendas, provide updates from the MINDS lab and the council to one another regarding current and upcoming projects, encourage our council members to take the lead in making decisions, connect with others in the London-Middlesex community and across Canada who are doing similar advocacy work, and much more.

 

Over the past year, MINDS wanted to understand the experiences of transition-age youth who are members of a youth council and disseminated a survey centered largely on examining the experiences within the local mental healthcare system, their experiences as a member of YMHAC, and areas for future growth of the council. In addition to this manuscript in progress, Alec and I have been able to accomplish more than we expected with our council members since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic: from our own networks and promotional material we were able to find approximately 12 youth who were interested in the mission of YMHAC, organized virtual meetings, had consistent attendance from members who maintained momentum through zoom, invited various guests who were interested in the work of YMHAC, and most importantly, guided our members through the completion of their guidebook project.

 

The guidebook is meant to provide mental health literacy to youth between the ages of 16 and 24 who want to support their peers experiencing mental health or addictions issues. We as the co-facilitators and members emphasize to readers that it is not a self-help book for youth to diagnose themselves or their peers, but it is a resource to help in starting conversations around these challenges. With the appropriate references, the members wrote the guidebook to be understood and accessible to transition-age youth. It covers topics like basic information about mental health, how to have conversations with friends around mental health and substance use, self-care, coping strategies, and more. Through Ardith Publishing, we hope to have physical and digital copies of the guidebook ready for sale, for free through selective distribution, and for our attendance at the IAYMH Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark!

Popular Blog Posts

Want to know what MINDS has been up to? Check out some of our most popular blog posts.

London’s First Collective System Innovation Event

A summary of our first two-day CSI event that lists the projects moving forward in our local community...

Read More

Join us August 23-24 for MINDS first Collective System Innovation (CSI) Event!

This blog is your go-to guide for everything you need to know about our two-day adventure into mindful social innovation...

Read More
Unmarked chart paper before the event with a list of theme printouts atop it.

London’s Groundbreaking Sensemaking Roundtable

With over 40 people with lived experience leading discussions, MINDS shares our six key insights from our sensemaking work...

Read More

Welcome to a Whole New MINDS (2.0)

MINDS is a mindful social innovation lab dedicated to designing and piloting innovations to mental health and addiction...

Read More

The Road to Mental Health for Indigenous Communities

With dedicated drivers trained in crisis management and cultural sensitivity, the R2MH is a free option to attend appointments and more...

Read More

Introducing MINDS 2.0 and Our Updated Focus

MINDS expands our age range to 16-35 and changes focus to the needs of people experiencing complex and severe forms of mental ill-health...

Read More