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Ann Watkins
At 16, Isabelle Rivard had experienced more hardships than many people twice her age. As a teenager suffering from depression, as up to 20 per cent of Canadian youth do, she felt the only way to ease her emotional pain was through self-harm and substance abuse. Her unhealthy behaviours were a coping mechanism for something much deeper.
Two years later, you would not have believed that the girl teaching other youth how to snowboard while mentoring them was that same teen.
Twenty years later, she is a self-confident adult with a fulfilling career.
Rivard, now a successful manager in the federal government, attributes this change to her involvement with Youth Net/Réseau Ado, a “for youth, by youth” mental health program at The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).
At 14, after going through a few hospitals and treatment centres, Rivard landed at CHEO in the care of psychologist Dr. Ian Manion. In 1994, Manion put Rivard in touch with Sarah Brandon, the co-ordinator of the newly launched Youth Net/Réseau Ado program. She welcomed Rivard into the program and immediately started teaching her the tools of self-empowerment. Brandon took note of Rivard’s passion for snowboarding, and after a day on the hill together, Brandon noticed a whole new side of Rivard.
“If it hadn’t been for that early intervention in my life, I would have ended up nowhere good very quickly,” says Rivard. In 1997, Rivard returned to Youth Net as a co-op student. Using her own experience, Rivard wanted to start a program to reach out to youth and use snowboarding to develop self-confidence and healthy coping mechanisms. After presenting the idea to Manion, she was given his blessing and support. There was one stipulation, however: she had to stop engaging in self-harming behaviour herself. This is how the FreeRide program was born.
The FreeRide program was created in 1997 and has gone on to help hundreds of youth, providing the opportunity to learn a new sport while also learning about keeping active as a method of coping with stress, depression and other mental health issues. In November 2000, The FreeRide program was awarded the Pan-Commonwealth Youth Service Award.
“Youth Net has touched the lives of thousands of young people in the last 20 years. The program’s ‘out of the box’ approach creates a safe space for teens to be vulnerable and open,” Manion said. “For a lot of youth, it is often the first time they feel like they can open up.
“We learned that youth are the solution, and we shouldn’t be doing ‘to’ or ‘for’ them, but with them,” he adds. Youth Net has inspired similar programs across Canada and in other countries, as well as the provincewide Réseau Ado Québec. The Ottawa program alone has trained 300 facilitators and reaches 5,000 young people every year in Eastern Ontario.
Rivard found that talking with other teens and the program’s young staff members helped her more than traditional treatments. It taught her to look within to find the strength to cope with depression and adversity, and move to a state of mind where suicide is no longer perceived as a solution. Rivard feels that the lessons learned back then have allowed her to deal with later hardships in a healthy way, and those around her are often amazed by her inner strength and resiliency.
“You have to find the answers in yourself,” Rivard says. “The resources are there, you just have to find those tools and learn how to use them.”
Any youth who might want to get involved can call 613-738-3915.
Youth Net/Réseau Ado will be celebrating its 20th anniversary Oct. 18. An open house will be held at Tabaret Hall at the University of Ottawa. There will be a youth-only workshop from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and a wellness fair for the general public from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. This free event is open to everyone and there is no pre-registration required. For more information, go to www.youthnet.on.ca, or contact Taylor Linseman at tlinseman@cheo.on.ca.
Youth Net recognized as a model
Dr. Ian Manion and psychiatrist Dr. Simon Davidson are the two heads behind Youth Net’s world-renowned model for mental health outreach for youth. In 1993, Manion and Davidson conducted a nationwide survey for the Canadian Psychiatric Association. After the data showed just how many teens were suffering in silence, they were inspired to create a better outlet for youth to open up and discuss mental health.
The program started to take shape with the training of the first facilitators in 1995 and constant feedback from participating youth. The facilitators were trained to be bridges to help, as well as to run focus groups for youth to share their feelings. New programs like FreeRide, Pens and Paints, Girls Talk and Guys Talk were created, and Youth Net/RéseauAdo flourished into the groundbreaking program it is today.
查看原文...
At 16, Isabelle Rivard had experienced more hardships than many people twice her age. As a teenager suffering from depression, as up to 20 per cent of Canadian youth do, she felt the only way to ease her emotional pain was through self-harm and substance abuse. Her unhealthy behaviours were a coping mechanism for something much deeper.
Two years later, you would not have believed that the girl teaching other youth how to snowboard while mentoring them was that same teen.
Twenty years later, she is a self-confident adult with a fulfilling career.
Rivard, now a successful manager in the federal government, attributes this change to her involvement with Youth Net/Réseau Ado, a “for youth, by youth” mental health program at The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).
At 14, after going through a few hospitals and treatment centres, Rivard landed at CHEO in the care of psychologist Dr. Ian Manion. In 1994, Manion put Rivard in touch with Sarah Brandon, the co-ordinator of the newly launched Youth Net/Réseau Ado program. She welcomed Rivard into the program and immediately started teaching her the tools of self-empowerment. Brandon took note of Rivard’s passion for snowboarding, and after a day on the hill together, Brandon noticed a whole new side of Rivard.
“If it hadn’t been for that early intervention in my life, I would have ended up nowhere good very quickly,” says Rivard. In 1997, Rivard returned to Youth Net as a co-op student. Using her own experience, Rivard wanted to start a program to reach out to youth and use snowboarding to develop self-confidence and healthy coping mechanisms. After presenting the idea to Manion, she was given his blessing and support. There was one stipulation, however: she had to stop engaging in self-harming behaviour herself. This is how the FreeRide program was born.
The FreeRide program was created in 1997 and has gone on to help hundreds of youth, providing the opportunity to learn a new sport while also learning about keeping active as a method of coping with stress, depression and other mental health issues. In November 2000, The FreeRide program was awarded the Pan-Commonwealth Youth Service Award.
“Youth Net has touched the lives of thousands of young people in the last 20 years. The program’s ‘out of the box’ approach creates a safe space for teens to be vulnerable and open,” Manion said. “For a lot of youth, it is often the first time they feel like they can open up.
“We learned that youth are the solution, and we shouldn’t be doing ‘to’ or ‘for’ them, but with them,” he adds. Youth Net has inspired similar programs across Canada and in other countries, as well as the provincewide Réseau Ado Québec. The Ottawa program alone has trained 300 facilitators and reaches 5,000 young people every year in Eastern Ontario.
Rivard found that talking with other teens and the program’s young staff members helped her more than traditional treatments. It taught her to look within to find the strength to cope with depression and adversity, and move to a state of mind where suicide is no longer perceived as a solution. Rivard feels that the lessons learned back then have allowed her to deal with later hardships in a healthy way, and those around her are often amazed by her inner strength and resiliency.
“You have to find the answers in yourself,” Rivard says. “The resources are there, you just have to find those tools and learn how to use them.”
Any youth who might want to get involved can call 613-738-3915.
Youth Net/Réseau Ado will be celebrating its 20th anniversary Oct. 18. An open house will be held at Tabaret Hall at the University of Ottawa. There will be a youth-only workshop from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and a wellness fair for the general public from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. This free event is open to everyone and there is no pre-registration required. For more information, go to www.youthnet.on.ca, or contact Taylor Linseman at tlinseman@cheo.on.ca.
Youth Net recognized as a model
Dr. Ian Manion and psychiatrist Dr. Simon Davidson are the two heads behind Youth Net’s world-renowned model for mental health outreach for youth. In 1993, Manion and Davidson conducted a nationwide survey for the Canadian Psychiatric Association. After the data showed just how many teens were suffering in silence, they were inspired to create a better outlet for youth to open up and discuss mental health.
The program started to take shape with the training of the first facilitators in 1995 and constant feedback from participating youth. The facilitators were trained to be bridges to help, as well as to run focus groups for youth to share their feelings. New programs like FreeRide, Pens and Paints, Girls Talk and Guys Talk were created, and Youth Net/RéseauAdo flourished into the groundbreaking program it is today.
查看原文...
