Kids Help Phone: How We Engage Youth May 25, 2017 Presented by: Alisa Simon VP, Counselling Services and Programs Alisa.simon@kidshelpphone.ca
The counsellor was really nice, and I m glad I had someone to talk to. It made things seem a little less overwhelming and intimidating. 2
New Mission and Vision: Strategic Plan 2017-2021 As part of our new 2017-2021 Strategic Plan, we created a new vision and mission, as well as a compelling 5-year goal and 3 strategic objectives. Our Vision: A future where every young person in Canada will access the support they need, in the way they need it most. Our Mission: We are always open, providing a safe and trusted place for young people in any moment of crisis or need. Our Five-Year Goal: To be the most nimble, accessible, effective access point for young people to the support they need. Kids Help Phone is the lifeline for vulnerable kids when they need help it s where trusted adults can be counted on to lead them through the maze of despair or fear. The evaluations of the service provide strong evidence that Kids Help Phone is effective in filling a gap for kids who desperately need a safety net. Shaheen Shariff, Ph.D, Associate Professor, Dept. of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University 3
Our Commitment to being there for children and youth Kids Help Phone is committed to meeting young people where they re at, which means continually adapting to the communications technologies they use. Phone Ask Us Online Phone Four Websites Live Chat Pilot Ask Us Online Four websites Good2Talk Service Launch Always There App Live Chat Pilot Resources Around Me BroTalk New Website Always There App Resources Around Me Texting Service Trial 1989 2002-2015 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2017 2017 4
Kids Help Issues: 2016 Family Relationships 11% Suicide/Suicide- Related 9% Bullying/Harassment 5% Legal Information & Independent Living 4% School 4% Peer Relationships 17% Mental/Emotional Health 31% Sexual Health 3% Emotional Abuse 3% Sexual Violence/Abuse 2% Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity 2% Information about Kids Help Physical Violence/Abuse 2% Other Issues 5% 5
6 Kids Help Issues: 2016 Mental /Emotional Health contacts: 31% of all contacts >5 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21+ Mental /Emotional health is the most frequently discussed main issue in counselling. In one-quarter of these counselling sessions Anxiety is reported as the main Mental /Emotional Health issue. Youth in counselling at Kids Help Phone do not typically begin discussing Mental /Emotional health issues until they reach the age of 13 years old, with 18+ year olds discussing Mental /Emotional Health the most of all age groups. Female youth are more likely to discuss Mental /Emotional health than males, and French speaking youth are 20% less likely to discuss Mental / Emotional health issues during counselling than English speaking youth. Concerns for Others Health, 7% Self-Injury, 9% Depression, 22% Self-Esteem, 6% Self Care, 7% 2 3 Anxiety, 26% Grief and Loss, 6% Traumatic Incident or Symptoms, 5% Disordered Eating, 4% Psychosis, 2% Mood Disorder, 2% Externalizing Behaviour, 2% Personality Disorder, 2% 6 * Excluding the Good2Talk, post-secondary service
Contacts from North West Territories, Yukon and Nunavut Youth Population: 27,560 (0.4% of total youth pop) Primary users of Phone for counselling (66% of all counselling sessions are done via Phone) Highest rate of male service users at 32% of all counselling sessions 11.2% Crisis Interventions Lowest reported rate of Trans /Genderqueer youth counselling at 0.8% Youth living in the Territories have the lowest ratio of website-traffic-to-youthpopulation at 24 to 1. Youth living in the Territories are most likely to reach out to Kids Help Phone to discuss mental/emotional health (25%) followed by Peer Relationships (16%) and Family Relationships (14%). 7
Our Counselling Structure 90 professional counsellors Toronto Montreal Vancouver More than 90 full and part-time paid, professional counsellors based in one of three locations 2 (Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver) are led by a team of 14 Counselling Managers who provide oversight to service quality, including the assessment of Counsellors work on the phone and Live Chat channels against our standards of practice. All Counsellors participate in professional development sessions, supplemented by access to Clinical Practice Specialists who support individual counsellors in strengthening specific counselling skills. Counsellors also have 24/7 access to a Knowledge Management System with tipsheets and research-based information on over 100 topics related to issues facing young people. 8
Pre-contemplation Contemplation Connection Support Crisis Intervention Maintenance Kids Help Phone s Role in the Mental Health Continuum Young people contact Kids Help Phone before they consider accessing mental health supports. Provide information to young people considering accessing formal supports (what is treatment like, do they need parental permission, etc...) Connect young people directly to services in their community There for young people in between appointments whenever they need support 24/7 availability to young people experiencing severe distress. Available to be part of maintaining healthy mental health for those young people for whom their treatment plan has ended 9
10 Societal logic: continuum of increasing costs Kids Help Phone s direct services (phone and text-based) provide an essential service at a last chance position in the continuum of social costs. One professional focused on many individuals Schools Media/messaging Social programs Public health $ Kids Help Phone One counsellor focused on one individual* * Note that some Kids Help Phone activities extend into the low-cost prevention category, and others (more rarely) into crisis management $$$ Many professionals focused on one individual Police Fire Hospitals Courts 10
Youth Engagement at Kids Help Phone 11
Youth Engagement Kids Help Phone believes in the value of youth voice, and sees young people as partners in the collaborative work of program and service development. Our five-year plan includes a national youth engagement strategy, and a commitment to continuous improvement as we strengthen our practices and keep learning from youth. This means that: The organization, staff and volunteers provide appropriate support Activities are inclusive, flexible and engage a diverse group of young people We take a peer-based approach to raising awareness 12
Opportunities for Youth Input National Youth Council 15 young people from across Canada (including Nunavut!). Continuing to expand the reach and the role each year Meet monthly, over Google hang out Operate as an advisory Evaluation council Use young people to support evaluation Capture users experience and voices to strengthen service Focus Groups/ Design Workshops /. Surveys Test new products and projects Collect information on trends Provide youth voice into the service and marketing Inform new initiatives Working Groups & Committees Work with young people over time to develop new services School Clubs Peer-to-peer based model Student-led Activities for youth to lead Clubs across Canada - open to anyone who has a teacher sponsor Raising Awareness/ Fundraising Speaking about our service Leading fundraising initiatives 13
Youth Engagement Example: Brotalk 21 moderated focus groups across Canada (157 young male participants) 4 Design workshop with boys What are the positives and challenges young men associate with their life stage? Understand their mental health selfhelp behaviours and coping strategies What would they want from a helpline service? Gain detailed and actionable insight from young men s perspectives regarding the essential elements of a service/support designed for them. 14
Ex. Brotalk 15
Ex. Brotalk 16
Ex. BroTalk 17
Youth Voices We surveyed 1,319 teens in Canada between the ages of 13 and 18 and featured some of the highlights in our Teens Talk 2016 Report on Youth Issues. We found that more than one-in-five teens had seriously considered attempting suicide in the last 12 months, and body or self-image issues were teens top problem. 18
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Tip Sheets 20
Youth Marketing Campaign 21
Wallet Cards 22
Posters 23
Questions? 24