The New Mentality Group
Become a part of the NEOFACS Youth Engagement Initiative, join The New Mentality movement!
The New Mentality is an initiative of Children's Mental Health Ontario that seeks to improve the health and well-being of children and youth in Ontario. It is a community of passionate youth and adult allies who are working towards creating change in the mental health system. As a community, we support each other in our work by creating spaces where individuality, diversity, and radical inclusion are celebrated.
The New Mentality has groups that operate in children’s mental health agencies across the province. Each group is led by two youth facilitators in partnership with an adult ally, who is a staff from the agency. Groups complete projects in their communities to raise mental health awareness and fight against stigma towards mental illness.
Groups also advise agencies on how to create youth-friendly services and embed youth voices into their agency through leading youth engagement practices.
The group members:
- Become part of a new movement
- Advocate for youth mental health services
- Raise awareness of mental health supports and services
- Bring experience, creativity and ideas forward
- Lead activities
- Contribute to system change
The perks:
- Be a part of the NEOFACS youth engagement initiative
- Learn facilitation skills, teamwork and project management
- Help develop leadership skills
- Develop a sense of belonging, personal growth and gain confidence
Youth engagement is all about empowering youth and making them valued partners in addressing and making decisions about things that affect them.
It is professionals working with youth to create opportunities for young people to contribute and be involved in improving the community, organization, or system in which they are involved.
In the New Mentality, it is also about valuing youth with lived experience as experts in their own mental health journey, and as people who have important wisdom to contribute.
The New Mentality Group is for youth 12 to 25 years of age.
If it sounds like something you want to be a part of, we would love for you to join our community!
Contact NEOFACS Today!
To contact one of our local groups, email newmentality@neofacs.org or call:
- Kapuskasing: 705-335-2445, Isabel Lajeunesse, ext. 6233
- Kirkland Lake: 705-567-9201, Natasha Dobratz, ext. 4229
- Timmins: 705-360-7100, Jessica Cloutier, ext. 5445
