In January 2007 the Centre and Children’s Mental Health Ontario embarked on a joint youth engagement pilot project – The New Mentality. The idea for this initiative originated from youth members of the Centre’s Consumer and Advocate’s Network.

The goal of this project is to develop a network of youth across the province to promote public awareness of mental health issues and to advocate for a system that best meets the mental health needs of children and youth. To date, New Mentality groups have been established across eight regions, in Toronto, Hamilton, Burlington, Kingston, Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay and London.

This network is based on a youth/adult partnership model – where youth act as leaders of their own initiatives, supported and mentored by adult allies from child and youth mental health organizations and other youth serving agencies. The New Mentality’s goal is to foster meaningful engagement opportunities for the young people who are involved and to serve as a model for Ontario mental health organizations.

To this end, The New Mentality team has partnered with the Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement to conduct a comprehensive evaluation which will include observed outcomes and the insights of the youth participants, adult allies, and participating organizations. The evaluation and the effective practices learned from this process will be presented at the June 2008 Children’s Mental Health Ontario and Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies joint conference.

To ensure that this project is grounded in best practice, its first phase included a literature review and interviews with child and youth mental health organizations to determine what the evidence says about youth engagement and to pinpoint how theory is being applied in the field.

The resulting publication, READY… SET… ENGAGE! summarizes the findings of the New Mentality team in a guide for mental health professionals about effective practices for youth engagement. It explores:

To find out more about youth engagement and get updates on The New Mentality visit the website at: http://www.thenewmentality.ca.