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Coordinated & Youth-Friendly Communities
Young people are better able to achieve their full potential when individuals, organizations and communities work together to support them. Ontario must create youth-friendly communities and spaces that are accessible and inclusive, and that make the needs of young people a priority. Doing so will make youth feel more supported, connected, engaged, valued and safe.
Outcomes #19, 20
Ontario wants youth to:
- Have access to safe spaces that provide quality opportunities for play and recreation
- Know about and easily navigate resources in their communities
This year, Ontario encouraged youth-friendly communities by enhancing the coordination among services and promoting community collaboration. Its programs and policies have made progress in the following areas:
- Reducing wait-times and improving the coordination of services for youth
- Supporting organizations to collaborate, evaluate, and improve services and outcomes for youth
New in 2014–2015
Supporting Youth through Friendly, Inclusive Communities
Ontario focused on strengthening the youth sector to enable more organizations to support positive youth development, collaborate and provide timely, relevant and responsive services to improve outcomes for youth.
- Learn to Fish introduces kids, teens and adults to fishing. This fun, two-hour program combines a practical teaching session with an hour of supervised hands-on fishing. Ontario Parks provides everything participants need to learn how to fish safely and sustainably in Ontario, identify and catch local fish species, get a fishing licence and follow fishing regulations.
- Sport Pathway for Ontario Native Wellness is a new provincial initiative led by the Aboriginal Sport and Wellness Council of Ontario. It supports the health and well-being of Aboriginal youth across the province.
- The Newcomer and Youth Community Indicators is a new analytical tool that provides information to help communities assess their attractiveness in drawing newcomers and keeping youth, and thereby increase local productivity and innovation.
- The Community Transportation Pilot Grant Program supports youth and other vulnerable populations by providing grants to municipalities that partner with local community organizations and transportation providers. Partners coordinate transportation services and resources for people travelling to training or education; people seeking employment; people living on low income; and people with disabilities. This year, grants to two of the participating municipalities will be used specifically to serve youth.
Data from the 2015 Profile
- 62% of parents feel recreation opportunities in their community meet their child’s needs.
- 75.7% of youth feel there are good places in their community to spend their free time.
New in 2014–2015
Improving Information and Coordination of Ontario’s Youth Services
Ontario improved the coordination of youth services and reduced wait-lists to help ensure services for youth are accessible and impactful.
- Investments in children’s treatment centres of an added $5 million annually are expanding access to physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech-language therapy for up to an added 2,000 children each year across Ontario. These investments will further reduce wait-lists for assessments.
- Eight thousand children with physical and/or developmental disabilities are now receiving direct funding sooner from the Special Services at Home program. This program helps kids develop new skills and abilities and provides support for family caregivers. The 2014 wait-list for the program was removed in just eight months, ahead of the commitment of two years in the 2014 Budget.
- Working with Children and Youth with Complex Mental Health Needs: An Integrated Training Project website helped direct service providers enhance their skills in key areas. Those key areas include targeted prevention, brief services, family/caregiver skills building and support, and supporting the capacity to practice within a health equity lens.
- The Youth Collective Impact Program (Youth CI) is a new program that helps organizations in local communities across Ontario learn about Collective Impact and enables them to develop, launch and implement collaborations that address major challenges and improve outcomes for youth in their community.
- Youth Research and Evaluation eXchange (YouthREX) makes research, evidence and evaluation accessible and relevant to Ontario’s youth sector so grassroots groups and youth-focused organizations can measure and enhance the success of their programs for youth.
What the Data Says
Children’s Treatment Centres served more than 74,000 children and youth with special needs in 2014–15.
Data from the 2015 Profile
- 78% of students use social media to find information about news, health issues, or relationships.
- 10% of callers to 211 looking for community referrals are young people.
Case Study
The SPOT (Sudbury)
The SPOT (Supporting Potential Overtime with Teens) is a multi-functional hub serving youth in the Donovan, Flour Mill and downtown areas of Greater Sudbury. It is a safe space for teens and a central location for community partners to deliver services. The SPOT provides services to teens aged 13 to 17 that promote healthy living, arts and culture; strengthen participants’ resilience; and improve quality of life. The program is free and accessible to youth five days a week. By partnering with over 15 community providers, The SPOT has offered over 70 free activities, outings, services and workshops.
"Youth describe The SPOT as one big family. Many of them feel unaccepted by other traditional social institutions, such as family or school. The SPOT represents a safe place to be truly themselves." —Natasha Lidkea, Outreach Worker, The SPOT
Program participants enjoy a nutritious evening snack with their friends at The SPOT.