Grant: Operating Grant: Pathways Implementation Research Team - Component 1

Rates of suicide, self-harm and self-injury are increasing among Two-Spirit and gender non-conforming Aboriginal youth in Canada. Mainstream services and mental health promotion messaging around suicide, self-harm and self-injury do not reflect the experiences, knowledge or needs of Indigenous youth and their rights to self-determination over their own bodies. The goal of this youth-directed research is to identify best practices around suicide, self-harm and self-injury prevention and mental health promotion for Two Spirit, gender non-conforming and LGBTTQQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual queer, questioning, intersex and asexual )youth. We will accomplish this work through a research partnership between the Native Youth Sexual Health Network (NYSHN) and the Well Living House (WLH), based at the Centre for Research on Inner City Health, St. Michael's Hospital. Our objectives are to build on and strengthen existing relationships and governance structures between Indigenous youth communities, NYSHN and the WLH, engage with Indigenous youth around the re-framing of language in current suicide, self-harm and self-injury prevention messaging and services, to conduct a systematic review of literature on existing services in this area and to conduct an environmental scan identify promising practices including models of healing such as Rites of Passage and Arts-based methodologies Rites of passage and coming of age ceremonies incorporate many of the key elements of the overall research framework that we will use in this project, including youth-led initiatives and the involvement of the larger community.