Grant: Project Grant

Youth and young adults aged 15-24 are typically completing school or job training and laying the foundation for a stable future. In Canada, 20-25% of youth and young adults experience mental health problems. For this group, challenges at school, home, and community are compounded by fragmented resource services, resulting in low graduation rates, high unemployment, and poor health outcomes. Our team has spent the last two years understanding how youth with mental illness develop job skills and enter employment. We identified a lack of youth-specific models of care that comprehensively support youth to concurrently managed their illness and achieve their employment and education goals. In response, we partnered with the YMCA, the Inner City Youth Clinic, and youth leaders to develop and deliver an innovative intervention of employment support tailored for individuals aged 15-24 years. The 16-week intervention is called Y-BEAT (Youth Breaking though Employment And Training). Our preliminary research shows Y-BEAT to be acceptable and feasible for rigorous study. We propose to examine the effectiveness of Y-BEAT in facilitating improved employment/education, health, and quality of life outcomes for youth with mental illness. The intervention involves two elements: (i) in-class health and skills training (5 weeks), and (ii) individualized placements to gain experience (11 weeks) in employment or training settings that match their goals. Intervention staff support participants and employers to develop a workplace Action Plan that outlines training, support and work expectations. Building on preliminary success, we will now test this intervention's effectiveness in a randomized trial. This involves comparing outcomes of the Y-BEAT intervention to usual treatment. If Y-BEAT is shown to improve employment, school, and health outcomes, we expect to reach thousands of youth by subsequently sharing the program with health and social agencies nationwide.