Youth Net – Grey Bruce

Year End Report

July 2006

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements                                                                                        3

            Executive Summary                                                                                       4

            Historical Background                                                                                   5

                        Canadian Mental Health Association – Grey Bruce Branch                    5

                        Youth Net – Grey Bruce                                                                       5

                        The TAMI Program                                                                              6

Program Descriptions                                                                                    7

                        Youth Net – Grey Bruce                                                                       7

                        Talking About Mental Illness                                                                 7

                        Youth Net discussion group                                                                  7

Statistics from Youth Net – Grey Bruce 2005/2006                         9

                        Pre-test and Post-test Comparisons                                                      9

                        Youth Net survey results                                                                       13

                        Program Evaluation results                                                                    18

            Conclusion                                                                                                      21

Looking Ahead                                                                         21

            Appendix                                                                                                        22

TAMI Pre-test                                                                                     22

                        Youth Net survey                                                                                 24

                        TAMI Post-test                                                                                    28

Acknowledgements

Youth Net would like to thank the following people and organizations who have provided significant support to our 2005/2006 year endeavours, both financially or otherwise:

Doug Abell, John Deifenbaker Secondary School

Marie Barclay, Focus Coalition

Donna Beatty, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Sally Miller, M’Wikwedong Native Learning Centre

Michelle Patterson, Former Youth Net – Grey Bruce Coordinator

Jackie Ralph, Friends and Neighbours Club Coordinator

Grey Bruce Health Services Crisis Intervention Team

Choices – Drug and Counseling services

Bruce Grey Children’s Services

Financial Providers for 2005/2006

Owen Sound Health Services

United Way

Focus Coalition

Bruce Power

Youth Net – Grey Bruce Staff

Tina Farquharson, Youth Net – Grey Bruce, Co-coordinator

Katie Graham, Youth Net – Grey Bruce, Co-coordinator

Linda Lankin, Youth Net – Grey Bruce, Supervisor

Hazel Lyder, Youth Net – Grey Bruce, Former Supervisor

Executive Summary

Evidence shows that youth talk to their peers when coping with mental health issues.  It is very rare for a youth to seek professional help at the beginning of a mental health problem.

Youth Net – Grey Bruce (YNGB) bridges the gap between youth and the professional world.  It is a crucial element to the peer network that helps youth contact professional services in their local community.

YNGB has hosted 29 Youth Net discussion groups between September 2005 and June 26 and has also collected mental health/mental illness data from almost 300 youth throughout the Grey Bruce region.

Key Findings

· 15% of the youth surveyed reported serious thoughts of suicide.

· 6% of the youth surveyed reported they have attempted suicide.

· 54% of the youth who answered yes to at least one of the suicide questions did not tell anyone about these thoughts or actions.

· 80% of the youth who did tell someone about their suicidal thoughts, told either a friend or family member.

· 18% of the youth surveyed reported they felt totally depressed a few times a month.

· 28% of the youth surveyed reported they cope ‘not very well’ or ‘badly’ with stress.

· 13% of the youth surveyed have accessed mental health services.

· 90% of the youth surveyed reported they would go to either a friend or family member if they had a problem.

· 86% of the youth indicated in the pre-test that they knew ‘a little’ or ‘some’ about mental illness.

· 81% of the youth indicated in the post-test that they now know ‘some’ or ‘a lot’ about mental illness.

· 4% of youth indicated in the pre-test that they know ‘a lot’ about how people cope with mental illness.

· 21% of youth indicated in the post-test that they now know ‘a lot’ about how people cope with mental illness.

Historical Background

Canadian Mental Health Association – Grey Bruce Branch

The CMHA/GB was established in 1962.  Our mission is to advocate with and provide programs and services for people with mental disorders, and to enhance, maintain and promote mental and emotional health of all individuals in Grey and Bruce counties.  CMHA/GB provides many relevant and necessary programs and services:

· Community Leisure Access

· Leisure Links

· Court Support Services

· The Mental Health Crisis Line of Grey & Bruce – 1-877-470-5200

· Good Grief Program

· Grey Bruce Friends and Neighbours Club

CMHA/GB also sponsors events such as:

· The Sunflower Fun Project

· Mental Health and Mental Illness Week

· and a Speakers Bureau

Youth Net

Youth Net is a youth mental health promotion and mental illness prevention program.  It was developed as a result of the 1993 research report entitled Canadian Youth Mental Health and Illness Survey which had been commissioned by the Canadian Psychiatric Association.

The survey results indicated that Canadian young people are at a significantly high risk of mental health problems.  Speaking through the survey, young people expressed dissatisfaction with the existing mental health services.  Perhaps not surprisingly then, young people stated that they were most likely to turn to other young people with their mental health/mental illness needs.

The first Youth Net program was launched in Ottawa in 1993 at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).  Since that time 19 other Youth Net sites have been founded across the country, including our own program here in Grey & Bruce County.

In May 2001 YNGB was launched at the James Mason Recreation Centre, Saugeen First Nations, and the Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library.

Due to lack of funding YNGB did not run in 2003 and 2004.  YNGB was re-launched September 2005 in combination with the Talking About Mental Illness (TAMI) Program.

Historical Background

Talking About Mental Illness (TAMI)

TAMI is based on a program (Beyond the Cuckoo’s Nest) that was designed in 1988 by nurse case managers at the former Clarke Institute of Psychiatry.  It was developed in response to the community’s expressed need for information on mental illness. 

In 1998, the TAMI program was launched in three cities: North Bay, Kingston and Hamilton.  The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) (Ontario Division) and the Mood Disorders Association of Ontario were the main organizations to get the program in motion.

TAMI is a presentation designed to give secondary school students facts about mental illness and create opportunities for them to interact with people who have first-hand experience with mental illness (family members or people with mental illness).  The presentation provides accurate information to help correct fears, myths and misconceptions many people have about mental illness.  It combines education and face-to-face interaction to change a community’s attitudes surrounding mental illness.  It also encourages youth to examine media messages and their own preconceptions about mental illness.  

The integration of TAMI and YNGB happened in September 2005 in cooperation with the Canadian Mental Health Association – Grey Bruce Branch. 

Program Descriptions

Youth Net Grey Bruce (YNGB)

YNGB consists of two visits to a high school classroom or community group setting.  The target cohort for the program is ages 12 to 20.  The first visit is the TAMI presentation and the second is the Youth Net discussion group.

Both programs have been combined to allow youth to learn about mental illness and to come to terms with their own views about mental health and mental illness.  Overall, both programs help youth in conversing amongst their peers about mental health issues.  They are able to view other opinions and are given information about local resources in their community.

TAMI and Youth Net both strive to decrease the stigma surrounding mental health and mental illness in Grey Bruce communities.

Talking About Mental Illness (TAMI)

TAMI is the first of two visits.  It is a seventy-five minute educational and interactive presentation.  All youth are given a Pre-test (Appendix A) before the presentation in order to determine their attitudes and knowledge about mental illness.

Youth are exposed to different subjects such as: stigma in our society; stress and anxiety; depression; eating disorders; personality disorders; and schizophrenia.

The main part of the presentation features an individual in the Grey Bruce community who shares their personal story about living with a mental illness.  All students are also given the opportunity to take part in fun activities, discussions and are also encouraged to ask questions throughout the presentation.

The objectives of the TAMI presentation are to: educate youth about mental health; educate youth about different mental illnesses; share strategies on how to cope with stress; and show students that a person living with a mental illness can have a positive impact on our community.

Youth Net discussion group

Youth Net is a mental health promotion and illness prevention program.  It facilitates conversations with young people about the experience of mental health and mental illness. Youth Net – Grey Bruce has been offered by CMHA/GB since 2001. The goal of YNGB is to engage teens in open discussion about mental illness and mental health issues.

Youth Net offers a bridge for youth to get in touch with ‘youth friendly’ services in their communities as necessary.  Youth Net is NOT a counseling service.  It is a program in which one-time discussion groups meet to provide discussion and resource information.

Each discussion does vary but all groups do follow a similar procedure:

· One YNGB staff member and one trained YNGB volunteer (aged 19-30) lead the discussion groups that look at mental health and mental illness.

· YNGB participants are required to fill out the Youth Net survey at the beginning of the discussion group (Appendix B).

· All YNGB discussions are based on 5 main questions:

· What is mental health?

· What is mental illness?

· What stresses you out?

· How do you cope with stress?

· What is the mental health system and how can it be accessed?

· YNGB discussion groups are approximately 75 minutes long.

· No adults are present during the discussion.

· Discussions remain confidential unless youth state intent to harm themselves or others or reveal any kind of abuse of anyone under the age of sixteen.  These limits of confidentiality are clearly explained by the facilitators.  All participants are also required to sign a consent form agreeing to the limits of confidentiality before the discussion begins.

· Youth are asked to fill out the Post-test (Appendix C) which determines what they have learned and what they thought about the program.

Statistics from Youth Net – Grey Bruce 2005/2006

Pre-test and Post-test Comparisons

Before and after the YNGB program, youth are asked to fill out a pre-test and post-test.  Part A and B (Appendix A and C) on both tests are exactly the same.  By getting the youth to fill out the same test before and after allows us to evaluate what the youth have learned and if their preconceptions on mental illness have changed after taking part in the YNGB program.

YNGB received 264 pre-tests and 248 post-tests between September 2005 and June 2006.  Four TAMI presentations (15%) were hosted in community groups, while twenty-three presentations (83%) were hosted in high school classrooms.

Percentages do not equal 100% in all cases as some respondents provided more than one response.

Part A.  Please indicate how much you feel you KNOW about each of the following.  Circle the number that best describes your knowledge.

1. mental illness in general

	No Response	None	A Little	Some	A Lot
Pre	1%	10%	45%	41%	3%
Post	0%	1%	18%	66%	15%

2. how people cope with mental illness

	No Response	None	A Little	Some	A Lot
Pre	0%	20%	57%	32%	4%
Post	0%	2%	22%	56%	21%

3. different approaches to help persons with mental illness

	No Response	None	A Little	Some	A Lot
Pre	2%	22%	50%	23%	4%
Post	1%	3%	27%	52%	17%

4. what it is like to have a mental illness

	No Response	None	A Little	Some	A Lot
Pre	2%	50%	31%	13%	5%
Post	1%	19%	30%	38%	13%

5. what it is like to have a family member with mental illness

	No Response	None	A Little	Some	A Lot
Pre	1%	39%	28%	18%	14%
Post	2%	23%	33%	32%	10%

6. the causes of different forms of mental illness

	No Response	None	A Little	Some	A Lot
Pre	1%	28%	46%	22%	2%
Post	1%	4%	31%	52%	11%

7. how to recognize signs of mental illness

	No Response	None	A Little	Some	A Lot
Pre	1%	28%	46%	22%	2%
Post	0%	4%	29%	56%	11%

8. different training and career paths mental health workers have

	No Response	None	A Little	Some	A Lot
Pre	3%	41%	40%	15%	2%
Post	1%	14%	39%	41%	6%

Part B. Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with the following statements by circling the appropriate number.

1. Most people with a serious mental illness can, with treatment, get will and return to productive lives.

	No Response	SD	D	A	SA
Pre	1%	8%	27%	57%	8%
Post	4%	3%	15%	56%	22%

2. In most cases, keeping up a normal life in the community helps a person with mental illness get better.

	No Response	SD	D	A	SA
Pre	0%	3%	27%	63%	8%
Post	5%	5%	15%	65%	22%

3. People with mental illness are far less of a danger than most people believe.

	No Response	SD	D	A	SA
Pre	3%	8%	38%	43%	8%
Post	0%	4%	21%	48%	27%

4. Locating a group home or apartments for people with mental illness in residential neighbourhoods does not endanger local residents.

	No Response	SD	D	A	SA
Pre	4%	5%	27%	52%	12%
Post	1%	3%	14%	58%	24%

5. Locating a group home or apartments for people with mental illness in a residential area will not lower the value of surrounding homes.

	No Response	SD	D	A	SA
Pre	3%	6%	27%	50%	12%
Post	3%	4%	19%	55%	18%

6. People with mental illness are, by far, more dangerous than the general population.

	No Response	SD	D	A	SA
Pre	3%	22%	51%	18%	4%
Post	2%	34%	49%	14%	1%

7. Mental health facilities should be kept out of residential neighbourhoods.

	No Response	SD	D	A	SA
Pre	2%	20%	47%	26%	5%
Post	2%	30%	48%	17%	2%

8. Even if they seem OK, people with mental illness always have the potential to commit violent acts.

	No Response	SD	D	A	SA
Pre	6%	9%	36%	45%	5%
Post	5%	13%	40%	39%	4%

9. It is easy to recognize someone who once had a serious mental illness.

	No Response	SD	D	A	SA
Pre	3%	13%	60%	19%	4%
Post	0%	31%	55%	15%	1%

10. The best way to handle people with mental illness is to keep them behind locked doors.

	No Response	SD	D	A	SA
Pre	0%	49%	34%	8%	3%
Post	2%	63%	26%	8%	1%

Statistics from Youth Net – Grey Bruce 2005/2006

Youth Net Surveys

At the beginning of each Youth Net discussion group, all first time participants are asked to complete a survey questionnaire (Appendix B).

Youth Net – Grey Bruce has hosted 25 discussion groups between September 2005 and June 2006.  Three groups (12%) were held in community youth group, while twenty-two groups (88%) were held in high school classrooms.

· 247 participants ranging in age from 14 to 19 years attended the groups.

· Participants were almost equally divided between male and female.

· The vast majority of participants were currently attending a grade 11 class.

· Fifty-two participants (21%) had follow-ups after the discussion group, due to indicating thoughts of suicide on their survey.  Each of these participants were given a one-on-one talk about these thoughts and how to access local resources for help.

Percentages do not equal 100% in all cases as some respondents provided more than one response.

Results

1. How much do you like yourself?

no response	not at all	not much	sort of	very much
1%	1%	3%	37%	58%

2. Over the last three months, have you ever worried about your physical health?

no response	regularly	sometimes	rarely	never
1%	11%	36%	30%	21%

3.  Over the last three months, have you been concerned about your mental or emotional health?

no response	regularly	sometimes	Rarely	never
2%	5%	19%	33%	42%

4. How often have you felt stressed out in the past three months?

no response	never	about once a month	a few times a month	a few times a week	all the time
0%	6%	23%	34%	26%	11%

5. How well do you cope with stress?

no response	really well	well	not very well	badly
1%	13%	58%	24%	4%

6. What kinds of things do you do when you are stressed out? (can be healthy or unhealthy things)

exercise	18%
listen to music	15%
eat	10%
call friends	10%
go for a walk	9%
play sports	8%
watch t.v.	8%
sleep	6%
do drugs	6%
drink	6%
be alone	5%
play an instrument	5%
do fun things	5%
cry	4%
hit things	4%
talk	4%
talk to family	4%
no response	4%
play video games	3%
get angry	3%
don’t eat	2%
read	2%
write	2%
relax	2%
smoke cigarettes	2%
ignore it	2%
party	2%
take it out on others	1%
breath	1%
don’t know	1%
nothing	1%
don’t sleep	1%
don’t talk	1%

7. Most times when you have a problem, you:

no response	keep it to yourself	tell someone else
0%	53%	50%

8. If you do tell someone, who do you go to most often?

no response	friends	family	professional	other
0%	63%	36%	2%	9%

9. Have you ever used any type of mental health service? 

yes	no
13%	87%

If yes, which services have you used? (Please list)

counselor	67%
psychologist	33%
doctor	27%
social worker	21%
BGCS	9%
therapist	9%
choices	9%
psychiatrist	6%
teen help line	6%
PH nurse	3%
MH worker	3%

In general, how did you find these services?

no response	helpful	kind of helpful	not at all helpful	made me feel worse
0%	27%	67%	42%	9%

10. What do you think are qualities/things that make someone a “youth-friendly” professional?

understanding	30%
listens	19%
friendly	17%
nice	16%
can relate	9%
non-judgmental	8%
helpful	7%
caring	6%
trustworthy	5%
no response	5%
youthful	5%
open minded	4%
respectful	4%
honest	4%
patient	4%
easy to talk to	3%
confidential	3%
outgoing	2%
knowledgeable	2%
relaxed	2%
funny	2%
don’t know	2%
kind	2%
considerate	2%
compassionate	1%
easy going	1%
young	1%
sense of humour	1%
interested	1%
approachable	1%
polite	1%
co-operative	1%

11.  Which people in your school have these characteristics?

teachers	37%
friends	27%
blank	15%
family	10%
don’t know	9%
guidance counselor	9%
parents	5%
students	4%
doctors	3%
coaches	2%
youth leaders	2%
no one	2%
principals	2%
counselors	2%
office professionals	1%
custodians	1%
police	1%
volunteers	1%
YN group	1%

12. How often have you felt totally depressed in the last three months?

no response	never	about once a month	a few times a month	a few times a week	all the time
4%	44%	24%	18%	7%	2%

13a. Have you ever had serious thoughts about committing suicide?

no response	yes	no
0%	15%	85%

13b. In the last three months have you thought about committing suicide?

no response	yes	no
1%	4%	95%

14.  Have you ever tried to commit suicide?

no response	Yes	no
1%	6%	93%

15. If you answered yes to #13 or #14, did you tell anyone about these thoughts or actions?

no response	yes	no
0%	46%	54%

If yes, who?

no response	friend	family	counselor	pastor	hospital
0%	46%	50%	3%	1%	1%

Program Evaluation Results

Part C and D (Appendix C) in the post-test allows the participants to anonymously evaluate the YNGB program. 

Percentages do not equal 100% in all cases as some respondents provided more than one response.

Results

Part C – As a result of participating in the program, please indicate how much you agree or disagree with the following statements.

1. The classroom activities and presentations held my attention.

No Response	SD	D	A	SA
2%	2%	7%	64%	25%

2.
I learned a lot from the presentations.

No Response	SD	D	A	SA
2%	1%	10%	63%	24%

3.
The presentations are a good way to learn about mental illness.

No Response	SD	D	A	SA
2%	1%	4%	63%	30%

4.
It is valuable for students to be able to ask presenters questions.

No Response	SD	D	A	SA
3%	1%	2%	52%	42%

5. The experience of the presenters was relevant to people my age.

No Response	SD	D	A	SA
1%	2%	6%	67%	25%

6. I learned some new information about mental illness.

No Response	SD	D	A	SA
1%	1%	6%	61%	30%

7. I feel better about my ability to talk with someone with mental illness.

No Response	SD	D	A	SA
1%	2%	14%	66%	17%

8. I feel that I know more about the emotions experienced by someone who has a mental illness.

No Response	SD	D	A	SA
1%	2%	11%	69%	17%

9.
In the future, I will feel more comfortable when I meet people with mental illness.

No Response	SD	D	A	SA
1%	1%	7%	64%	27%

10. I would recommend this program to a friend who hasn’t participated in it.

No Response	SD	D	A	SA
1%	3%	3%	64%	30%

Part D

1. What I liked MOST about the program was:

the game	23%
the talking	19%
the story	13%
the discussion	12%
the info learned	10%
no response	8%
felt comfortable	6%
everyone was involved	5%
the presenters	5%
the snacks	4%
everything	4%
the activities	3%
being able to discuss any issue	3%
the confidentiality	2%
sitting in a circle	2%
it was fun	1%
you didn't judge	1%
you listened to us	1%

2. What I liked LEAST about the program was:

no response	34%
nothing	25%
not enough time	7%
not everyone talked	4%
the writing	4%
the talking	2%
not enough information	2%
the overheads	2%
not playing sports	1%
the first day	1%
liked everything	1%
not a flowing conversation	1%
too long	1%
too much information	1%
the sitting and listening	1%
a bit boring	1%
not personal enough	1%

3. If you have any further comments on the program or would like to make suggestions for the improvement of the program, please add them below.

no response	89%
it was great	3%
more time is needed	2%
very informative	1%
good job	1%
it was fun	1%
make it more available for other students	1%
love the snacks	1%
education is the key!	1%
more info on helping friends with mental illness	1%
I really enjoyed the program	1%
thanks for coming	1%
more food	1%
come every Wednesday	1%

Conclusion

YNGB has had a very successful 2005/2006 year.  Two very dedicated staff trained and worked with thirteen committed volunteers.  YNGB reached its goal by providing 28 presentations to students in various schools through out Grey and Bruce Counties.  The program challenged the students to discuss issues surrounding mental health and mental illness.

YNGB made an impact on the youth of Grey and Bruce Counties.  This belief is based on the positive verbal response from students and teachers as well as the positive responses indicated on the tests, surveys and evaluations that were conducted.  When comparing the pre and post-tests, the majority of youth indicated they had gained valuable information and resources on mental health and mental illness and their ideas of people with mental illness has positively changed therefore decreasing the stigma of mental illness.

The YNGB staff met one on one with youth who indicated they were at risk.

Staff discussed safe plans and coping strategies and provided these youth with “youth friendly” resource information to find help in their community. 

Looking Ahead

The YNGB staff has been vigorously looking for ongoing funding for the past five months.  The program received funding support from Focus and United Way but was not successful in obtaining core funding from larger contributors that were approached.

Due to the lack of substantial funding CMHA/GB has put YNGB on hold for the time being.  It is our hope that in the near future YNGB will receive funding to continue providing mental health education and resources for youth.

To assist the future coordinators, a start-up kit has been designed for them to use as a guide.