C2Y: Discussions on Child and Youth Care

We are continuing our uploading of presentations from the Ontario Association of Child and Youth Care conference which took place in June 2017. Today’s episode is called Walking the Path Towards Meaningful Youth Engagement. The presentation is by two young people who lived in residential care and three Ryerson University Master’s in Child and Youth Care Students.

The following is the conference abstract:

Walking the Path Towards Meaningful Youth Engagement

Since the ratification of the UNCRC, the participation and voice of young people has become a focus in child and youth serving organizations. Progress has been made, however young people still find themselves silenced, dismissed, and removed from the conversations and decisions impacting their lives. Current initiatives for youth engagement are often limited through tokenistic and outdated approaches, that result in young people continuing to feel as though they are not heard and do not have control over their own lives. We as CYCs need to model and advocate for the advancement of meaningful and authentic youth engagement. In order to do this, we need to unpack the complexities and barriers so we can envision a way forward. This presentation will focus on the role of CYC practitioners to support and partner with young people to elevate their voices and participation in the care and services they receive. Through a reflective process, we will examine the barriers that inhibit us from fully implementing a youth engagement approach in our daily practice. CYCs have the responsibility to navigate through these barriers.

Camille Bautista is a current high school student and Ryerson bound hopeful with a particular passion concerning the complexities surrounding philosophical conundrums. She aspires to become a lawyer in the hopes of lending her voice and determination to advocate for the rights of either the environment’s protection or refugee crises.

Charles Jackson is a current student of Fleming College in the Academic Upgrading program, who will be attending Fleming in the fall for the Personal Support Worker Program. Charles hopes to work with the disabled and elderly community, in order to help them remember their humanity and special place in our society.

Joe Blake, BA CYC is currently enrolled in the MA CYC program and has been working in the field of CYC for seven years. Joe’s interests in the field particularly lie in the areas of the youth justice system, restorative practices, social justice, Indigenous practices and youth advocacy.

Amanda Mayhew, BA CYC, MA CYC candidate, is a dynamic CYC practitioner who has been in the field for 8 years. Her expertise is in residential care, where she has been a leader in relational and strength-based approaches. Amanda is well versed in the research on children’s rights and youth engagement. Her passion is advocating for young people to be included in all decisions that impact their lives.

Christopher Tone, BA CYC, MA CYC candidate, has practiced in the CYC field in varying capacities for approximately twelve years. The bulk of his experience lies in school based and residential care for young people who have been dually diagnosed and/or have ASD. Christopher is keenly interested in exploring issues surrounding street involved youth, and the application of children’s rights in Canada and in international contexts

Sandra Davis is a foster parent whose been loving, caring for, and supporting young women for over 15 years. In this conversation, Sandra discusses the joys and challenges of foster care, where she sees it going in the future, and provides some thoughts for those considering becoming a foster parent.

Thank you for listening to our 100th episode! Please feel free to LIKE us on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/CYCPodcast, and subscribe to us on iTunes and Stitcher! 

In this conversation, Patty talks about her son Francis. It is a heartfelt and loving reflection on some of the celebrations, joys, challenges, and learnings she has gone through in her journey with Francis, who was assigned female at birth. There is much to learn from Patty’s wisdom for other parents, service providers, friends, and all those who may come into contact with gender diverse children and youth (which really is all of us).

Amanda Riley, a recent Bachelor of Child and Youth Care graduate from MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta discusses her research looking at the impact of school bus riding for young students in New Zealand/ Aotearoa. Academic achievement, driver/student relationships, bus safety, the impact of two hour commutes, and the possible role of CYCs are discussed.

On this episode of Your Right to Speak, we end our Immigration and Refugees series with Pierre-Andre, a law student from York University. Pierre-Andre explains what the Refugee Sponsorship Support Program is and the importance of it. There is then a conversation of what the difference is between private sponsored and government-assisted refugees, as well as some of the challenges with the private sponsorship program. Let’s raise awareness together!

If you are a child or youth that would like to be on the show or  have a topic that you think we should discuss, please email Salvatore and Jenn at yourrighttospeak@gmail.com   

On this episode of Your Right to Speak Salvatore and Jenn continue on the topic of sexual abuse. The guest Stewart is a volunteer at an agency called The Gatehouse. Stewart  talks about his experience as being  sexual abuse as a child and the peer support program that is offered at The Gatehouse that are free. The focus is that people are coming into The Gatehouse to heal. There is talk about the unique atmosphere create in The Gatehouse. For example how a child and adult is given a teddy bear when they come into The Gatehouse. There is also talk how there needs to be more services for man who are sexually abused. Stewart talks about the stigma of how people who are sexually abuse are often thought of as being sexual offenders.

If you are a child or youth that would like to be on the show or if you have a topic that you think we should talk about please email Salvatore at yourrighttospeak@gmail.com

To hear Stewart radio show please go to: 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/personaltransformation  

The Gatehouse website: http://thegatehouse.org/

The Gatehouse Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGatehouseChildAbuseInvestigationSupportSite/?__mref=message_bubble

The Gatehouse Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/TheGatehouseChildAbuseInvestigationSupportSite/?__mref=message_bubble