The Foundry team is proud to have participated in this project for the Canadian Mental Health Association BC. It aims to better understand how youth suicide prevention and life promotion can be meaningfully taken up online.
This project reports on activities to date for an information-gathering and youth consultation process for professionals engaging with young people looking to PREVENT YOUTH SUICIDE BY PROMOTING LIFE IN ONLINE PLACES. Funding comes from the BC Division of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA-BC) via the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA). The ultimate purpose of the project is to inform recommendations for a forthcoming online initiative/digital campaign related to life promotion and youth suicide prevention by CMHA-BC.
It became very clear that a central feature of the work of life promotion is the relational process of cultivating hospitable places together – online and offline.
Here are the main recommendations from the project:
1) Simplify the Online Journey
Funding and organization of resources is a major barrier to more effective online help for youth. Greater collaboration between services agencies is required.
2) Policy and Regulation
Canada/BC need to establish a robust watchdog function related to online safety and youth mental health.
3) Cultivate Caring + Hospitable Spaces online
Youth are seeking more livable online spaces. They are committed to co-creating more friendly and safe user guidelines with large technology, gaming and information sites that they use frequently.
The 26-page report is available here. An executive summary is also available here.