C2Y: Discussions on Child and Youth Care

On this episode, we talk with Joey who is the lead of digital media for Pride Toronto. Joey talks about how he feels society more accepting towards the LGBTQ+ community however, there are some challenges.  

In this interview: Star, who wrote the zine series “Confessions of a Teenage Transexual Whore” talks about their time doing sex work and making art. They also discuss reasons people do sex work, how to support people who are engaged in such work, and what harm reduction might look like in those contexts. Star, who also uses the name Markus, is a visual artist, writer, student, educator, trans, videographer, and activist. They are currently doing an undergraduate degree in sociology and actively making art. You can find much of their work at starkisscreations.com

On this episode we talk with Megan, a recent graduate from Humber Colleges Child and Youth Care Degree. Megan talks with Sammy and Josh about her thesis on sections 43 of the Canadian criminal code and corporal punishment. The 3 discuss how children are viewed and how the discourse of a child needs to change to match the current times. The discussion then focuses on parenting and the use of corporal punishment as a parenting tool and the challenges with that.  It was also noted that communication with the young person is really important to start moving away from using corporal punishment.  

If you are a child/youth that would like to be on the show or if you have an idea of what you think we should talk about please email Sammy and Josh at  yourrighttospeak@gmail.com       

On this episode of Your Right to Speak, Sammy and Josh talk with Sho and Aki about the use of social media, communications and elevating the voice of young people and social justice movements. There is discussion about how social media and communications should be used together, and how social media has become a new way for young people to express their views. 

If you are a child/youth that would like to be on the show or if you have an idea of what you think we should talk about please email Sammy and Josh at yourrighttospeak@gmail.com 

• Christiane Kerr - "Enchanted Meditations For Kids" or "Calm for Kids"
• Mindful Monkey, Happy Panda by Lauren Alderfer

• Mindfulness for Teen Anxiety by Christopher Willard

• Insight Timer- https://insighttimer.com
• Tara Brach- https://www.tarabrach
• Headspace- https://www.headspace.com
• 10 Mindful Minutes by Goldie Hawn

• Still Like A Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for Kids (and their parents) by Eline Snel, 

• Parenting the Mindful Child by Susan Kaiser Greenland and Child's Mind: Mindfulness practices to help our children be more focused, calm, and relaxed by Christopher Willard

• Acceptance & Mindfulness treatment for children and adolescents: A practitioners guide by Thomas Ollendick, Steven Hayes, Lauren Greco

On this episode of Your Right to Speak, Chelsea, from the Ontario Provincial Advocates Office, talks about a new report called Searching for Home. Taking into consideration the voices of young people, the report looks at barriers within the child welfare system. Chelsea discusses why “family” is not defined in the report, the lack of young people’s voice in developing “Plans of Care”, and how adultism impacts young people. 

Searching For Home Report: http://provincialadvocate.on.ca/documents/en/ResidentialCareReport_En.pdf 

If you are a child/youth that would like to be on the show or if you have an idea of what you think we should talk about please email Sammy and Josh at yourrighttospeak@gmail.com  

For this black history month episode of Your Right to Speak, Sammy and Josh welcome back past guests Denise and Priscilla. The conversation begins with the meaning of the term black and the impact on young people in the social service system. The discussion then turns to issues the black community faces in the child welfare system. There is also talk around how the system needs to move away from a cultural competence framework, and the need for better ways to understand the different culture perceptive. An interesting point was made that the term neglect needs to be redefined to better fit different cultures. It was stressed that public services and policy makers needs to take into consideration the day to day experiences of communities that policy impacts. 

Serena Thomas speaks about working with people in post disaster contexts. She discusses some of the unique perspectives being a cultural anthropologist provides, and what all who work with “others” can learn from this perspective.

Serena Thomas has worked for several years with people experiencing complex trauma and grief in post-disaster situations.

In this episode of Your Right to Speak, Sammy talks with his colleague from the Ontario Provincial Advocates Office, Josh. The conversation covers many issues gay black youth face from within gay and black communities. Josh discusses racism, shadeism, class, homophobia, pornography, and whiteness. He stresses the point that the 2SLGBTQ+ community is very diverse and needs to stop working in silos. He ends the conversation talking about how to support the diverse needs of children and youth without reproducing oppression.

In this episode Adrienne Carter speaks about her work with refugees and displaced people in a variety of countries and contexts. She shares stories, wisdom, and practice-based evidence from years supporting children, adolescents and parents who are dealing with trauma from both natural disasters and war. She talks about the similarities and distinctive aspects of both experiences. Adrienne Carter also discusses effective therapy interventions and unique cultural factors when providing mental health services in different contexts.

Adrienne Carter is a psychotherapist and educator. She has worked with Doctors Without Borders (MSF), The Centre for Victims of Torture, and The Child and Youth Mental Health Centre in Victoria, Canada. She has supported refugees in Kosovo, Sri Lanka, and Kashmir among other locations. Adrienne has recently returned from Jordan where she was training people who are working with refugees from Syria. 

On This episode of Your Right to Speak, Sammy talks with Denise, Priscella and Erica who are members of the Hairstory team at the Ontario Provincial Advocates Office. The conversation is about the many issues black children, youth and families face within the care system. They discuss the over representation of black children and youth in the care of Children’s Aid, the racial bases staff have towards black children and youth, and the importance of cultural competence and cultural compassion in the care system. The interviewees stress the need for more black families to become foster parents and the stigma within the black community about the care system.

Let’s Raise Awareness Together!    

You can follow Hairstory on facebook : 

Also through the hashtags:  #hairstory, #blackyouth #untanglingtheroots, 

If you are a child/youth that would like to be on the show or if you have an idea of what you think we should talk about please email Sammy at yourrighttospeak@gmail.com