On this episode of your right to speak we will be talking with Rosa, a returning youth guest. We will be talking to Rosa about living with fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis. Rosa starts the conversation with the challenges of living with fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis and how it impacts her day-to-day activities. The conversation then turns to Rosa explaining that the only things that help her with the pain is medical marijuana, and she discusses what the impact of having invisible pain has had on her life. Near the end of the conversation Rosa expresses how sometimes it is a challenge to work with social workers and Child and Youth Care Practitioners because they don’t always believe that she is in pain.

The mission of the Child and Youth Care Alliance for Racial Equity (CARE) is “to challenge systemic and institutional oppression within child and youth care education, policy and service provision that impact the lives of young people in the Province of Ontario”. In this conversation with two members of CARE we speak about how racial, and other forms of inequity, manifest in CYC; ways the field and individuals can address these oppressions; broadening conceptions of care beyond the ways it has been historically been taken up in CYC; and the roll of research for CARE.

Juanita Stephen is a Co-Founder of CARE, she has worked with young people in numerous capacities over the years, and also teaches CYC. After completing her diploma, undergrad and Master’s in Child and Youth Care, Juanita is currently doing her Ph.D. in Gender, Feminist, and Women’s Studies at York university in Toronto.

Peter Amponsah is a professor at Sheridan College in the Child and Youth Care program. He has done direct practice with young people, worked in management, and helped developed policy for child welfare agencies. Much of Peter’s work, like Juanita’s, focuses on anti-oppressive & anti-racist theory and practice. Peter is currently working on his Ph.D. in Social Work at York University.

To find out more about CARE email TheCareAlliance@gmail.com; visit at https://www.facebook.com/EquityInCYC; and follow on Twitter @EquityinCYC

On this episode of Your Right to Speak Salvatore talks Wendy Curnew-Harris who is a residual counselor and has been an Additions worker. Wendy starts off explaining what the Harm Reduction approach is and how to work with youth who have additions. Throughout the conversation, Wendy stresses the importance of taking an individualized approach and being authentic with youth. In keeping with that through Wendy also discuss that sometimes the best approach for youth is abstinence. Let’s Raise Awareness Together.

Dr. Jen Couch contextualizes her insights from practice and research with young people who came to Australia as refugees. In the conversation we start by reflecting on the murders at the Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, Aotearoa/New Zealand, we then move into discussing relational work with young people. Dr. Couch closes by speaking about the benefits of working with young people from a refugee rights model, in contrast to a needs model.

Dr. Couch is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Arts at the Australian Catholic University, which she came to after working extensively in the youth and community sectors of Australia and South Asia. Including with many young people who lived as refugees.

On this episode of Your Right to Speak Rosa talks with Salvatore about some of the challenges she has faced from CYCPs and social workers due to being of mixed ethnicity. The conversation then turns to how Rosa has been able to navigate through the social constructs society has placed her in.

Let's Raise Awareness Together.  

Drawing upon his own work in residential care and as a foster parent, Dr. Smith talks about care as an action and a disposition. He discusses several theories and aspects related to care, what it looks like in practice, the relationship between care and love, and some of the difficulties regarding care in this current managerialist climate.

Dr. Mark Smith spent about 20 years working in residential care before moving into academia. He has published widely on topics related to residential care, ideas of love in child and youth care, historical abuse in residential care, and in 2018 co-edited a book titled Social Work in a Changing Scotland. Dr. Smith currently teaches at the University of Dundee in Scotland.

On this episode of Your Right to Speak Salvatore talks with Bailey, Liam, and Kirkland, three young people from the Cross Over Youth project (http://crossoveryouth.ca) about the closing of the Ontario Child Advocates Office. The conversation starts with the guests explaining what they think the impact will be as a result of closing the Office and how it may affect young people across Ontario. They go on to discuss some of the gaps and challenges they foresee the Ombudsman office will be facing.

Let's Raise Awareness Together. 

In this episode Marleigh Pirnasar talks about working in Northern Quebec after growing up, going to school, and becoming a CYC in southern Ontario. She explains how she had to reckon with her southern geographical privilege, differentiates between cultural competency, cultural humility, and cultural safety, and discusses the necessity of understanding self when working in cultures different from one’s own.

Marleigh Pirnasar is a Child and Youth Care Practitioner who works in Nunavik, northern Quebec.

On this episode of Your Right to Speak Salvatore and Wolfgang reflect on 2018 and the conversations they have had on their shows.  Wolfgang and Salvatore talk about some of their memorable moments and what they’ve learned in 2018 from their guests. Reflect on these and other experiences they offer their thoughts to Child and Youth Care Practitioners and Social Workers entering the field.

Let’s Raise Awareness Together   

Dr. Laura Steckely talks about Threshold concepts, what they are, how they are relevant to CYC practice, practitioners, and those we work with. Threshold concepts are ideas central to a field that once understood “transform learning and practice” leading to “new ways of thinking and understanding”. Threshold concepts have been identified and discussed in multiple fields, yet only minimally considered in Child and Youth Care. In this episode Dr. Steckley talks about her research into Threshold concepts in residential care and what she has identified so far.  

Dr Steckley is the Course Director of the MSc in Advanced Residential Child Care at the University of Strathclyde, in Scotland. Prior to becoming a faculty member, she worked in residential treatment in the USA and residential care in Scotland.

This episode of Your Right to Speak is a press conference recording that took place on November 29, 2018 organized by the Ontario Children’s Advocacy Coalition. The press conference was in response to a recent decision by the Provincial Government. Below is a press release from the Ontario Children’s Advocacy Coalition regarding the Government’s Decision:

“On November 15, 2018, the Ontario Government announced its intention to discontinue the Ontario Child Advocate’s Office (OCA; formerly known as Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth). This Office ensures young people have a voice about things that affect their lives. This decision is especially devastating for young people living on the margins, Black youth, Indigenous youth, young people living in the care of public institutions like child welfare or youth justice and those with special challenges or disabilities.

The current Ontario government has said that they will transfer some of the functions of the Office of the Child Advocate to the Ombudsman of Ontario, a much larger office that deals with consumer complaints by adults in a wide range of public services, but that has no experience dealing with child welfare, child and youth mental health and youth justice sectors. Young people involved in those sectors are unfamiliar with the Ombudsman, and there are no opportunities for a collective voice. The Child Advocates Office would be subsumed under an institution that deals solely with adults. An independent Office must be maintained to ensure the appropriate support and care of Ontario’s most vulnerable children and youth.

Presently, the Provincial Child Advocate was chosen and appointed by an all-party Committee of the legislature and he reports directly to the legislature through the speaker. This is to ensure that his Office remains independent and is not unduly influenced by the government or at risk of reprisals for releasing reports to the public that are critical of the government’s performance, particularly as it relates to children in its care. Bill 57 introduced by the Progressive Conservative Government would cut three legislative officers which includes the Ontario Child Advocate. Disrupting the independence and authority of the Child Advocate who represents the most vulnerable children and youth in the province without thoughtful consideration of the facts or thorough public consultation demonstrates an unconscionable breach of power.”

This is part 2 of our is a panel conversation with Tanitia Munroe, Karlene Williams-Clark, Dr. Lance McCready, Elise Yusef and Cannary Branco regarding the research project Understanding Non-Financial Barriers to Black Queer Youth Transitions from High School to College. The primary goal of the project was to build an evidence base to guide the work of postsecondary education connectors working with organizations that serve Black queer youth. The guests are a mixture of researchers, community partners, and people interviewed for the research project.

Due to the number of people we went longer than usual with this episode. Rather than playing the whole 1 hour at once, we split the conversation into two episodes, you can listen to part 1 by going to the October 31 2018 episode of CYC podcast.

On this episode on Your Right to Speak Salvatore talks with Karen Prosper the Executive Director of Arrabon House and a returning guest Catherine Ellis-Dobson the Assistant Director of Arrabon House. Karen and Catherine talk about what programs and services Arrabon House offer young women and what gaps they have seen in the residential group home setting. Karen and Catherine’s extensive experience shines through as they share their belief in the importance of utilizing a person-focused wellness model and reflect on the most important lessons they have learned thus far.  Let's raise awareness together!  

This episode is a panel conversation with 5 people, Tanitia Munroe, Karlene Williams-Clark, Dr. Lance McCready, Elise Yusef and Cannary Branco. The conversation is about a recent research project called Understanding Non-Financial Barriers to Black Queer Youth Transitions from High School to College. The primary goal of the project was to build an evidence base to guide the work of postsecondary education connectors working with organizations that serve Black queer youth. The guests are a mixture of researchers, community partners, and people interviewed for the research project.

Due to the number of people we went longer than usual with this episode. Rather than playing the whole 1 hour at once, we are splitting the conversation into two episodes, one this month and the second one the last Wednesday of November.