Grant: Catalyst Grant: Standards for Children and Youth Mental Health Services

This project aims to mobilize some of the key findings, guiding principles, and recommendations for best practices emerging from a long-term qualitative and community-based participatory research study in British Columbia. Since 2017, the Care Pathways Study has traced the mental health and substance use (MHSU) healthcare trajectories and outcomes of over 100 street-involved young people who use drugs (YPWUD) in Metro Vancouver, Prince George, and Kelowna. We have documented how these individuals navigate multiple systems of care and supervision (e.g., the foster care and criminal justice systems) across time and place, identifying some of the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly expanding youth MHSU services system in BC. We have also qualitatively documented the evolving experiences of young people's caregivers and providers. In 2022, key findings from the Care Pathways Study were summarized into two reports: "Harm Reduction Calls to Action from Young People Who Use Drugs in the Context of Unstable Housing and Homelessness" and "Youth Voices on Treatment in the Shadow of the Overdose Crisis: Key Recommendations and Findings for Service Providers." While these documents are based on research from British Columbia, they arguably have broad applicability to settings across Canada. In order to mobilize the guiding principles and best practices that have emerged from the Care Pathways Study, the proposed project will engage YPWUD, their caregivers, and their providers in the creation of a Crackdown podcast episode (with a listenership of more than 10,000 people), as well as a video episode as part of the award-winning Living On series. We will also hold a one-day hybrid in-person and virtual participatory summit event designed to elicit critical discussion of the challenges and opportunities of translating our guiding principles and best practices into pan-Canadian standards for the delivery of specialized, evidence-based youth MHSU services.