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Suicide is a leading cause of death for youth aged 10-18
52% of youth experience depression & 40% face anxiety
75% of youth aren’t receiving the mental health services they need
Being, Belonging, Becoming is an innovative youth leadership program that improves the mental health and resilience of youth and buffers them from adversity.
Supported by a cutting-edge curriculum and digital platform for learning and engagement, underserved youth ages 12-18 will develop skills, capacity, and confidence to address complex social issues like bullying, racism, and climate change.
This hybrid program builds on the success of a two-year pilot involving 500 diverse youth in Ottawa, who experienced positive mental health outcomes.
Since the pilot, Children First Canada has enhanced the curriculum and design, enabling delivery both inside and outside schools in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. By partnering with community-based organizations to host Social Impact Labs and leveraging a new digital platform, the program aims to ensure a broader and more impactful reach.
While investments in youth mental health services are urgently needed, experts agree that it isn’t sustainable to keep funding downstream approaches.
What makes Being, Belonging, Becoming innovative is its upstream approach that catches youth before they fall and empowers them to be “rugged & resourced” using an evidence-based approach to build resilience & strengthen mental health.
The program has an exponential reach through a social ripple effect with each youth impacting their peers in their community.
Target youth engaged in 2023/2024: 1,590
Actual youth engaged in 2023/2024: 3,300
Even better, the word is spreading, and Children First Canada is receiving requests from additional communities to expand our programming.
The Being, Belonging, Becoming program is meeting an urgent need and is in high demand!
We need your support to help expand this program and ensure that youth develop a strong sense of belonging and the need to participate in society fully.
Feedback from youth, teachers, and school board administrators has been enormously positive.
Staff and students say that the program includes some of the most relevant, engaging, and motivating lessons students have experienced.
"What makes this program revolutionary is that instead of treating kids as though they’re broken, it respects kids for their tenacity and resourcefulness. We can’t keep throwing money at mental health services. We need to work upstream and catch kids before they fall, building them up with a sense of empowerment and agency.”
