MIND & SPIRIT
YOUTH LEADERSHIP
IMPACT REPORT
2019-2022
INTRODUCTION
Mind & Spirit Youth Leadership (MSYL) is a youth-led community health committee who work together to improve holistic health and wellness in their community. MSYL leaders create and sustain vibrant community health projects including programs, initiatives, and community events.
MSYL started in 2015, out of Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities’ (SCHC) health promotion department.
Through creating and sustaining vibrant community health projects, MSYL participants gain:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2019 - 2022
See full resultsEXECUTIVE SUMMARY: OVERVIEW
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this project was to effectively and meaningfully engage more young people in active leadership roles in the community to address specific community health challenges.
STRATEGY:
The project utilized a peer-to-peer and youth-led model of community programming.
LONG-TERM GOALS:
Increased participation in community programming
Improved healthy behaviours and health outcomes
Youth meaningfully engaged in leadership roles*
*We defined meaningful engagement as consistent attendance in the MSYL program and taking on active leadership roles in designing, delivering, and evaluating community health programs, initiatives, or events.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: METRICS SNAPSHOT
Youth leaders meaningfully engaged in MSYL
Community health programs delivered by MSYL leaders
Community health initiatives delivered by MSYL leaders
Community health events organized by MSYL leaders
Unique young people participated in MSYL health programs
Community members served through MSYL health initiatives
Community members attended MSYL community events
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: PROMISING PRACTICES
Through over 20 one-on-one interviews and three focus groups with MSYL youth leaders and staff members, we identified six promising practices for meaningfully engaging youth for community projects:
Create exciting community moments
Planning & delivering fun & exciting community projects was a source of pride for MSYL leaders.
Unconditional support & investment
Create an environment where staff provide unconditional support regardless of participants’ contributions and not just within the program scope.
Encourage positive risk-taking
Create a supportive & safer space for youth to have new experiences, make mistakes, and expand their comfort zone.
Ensure everyone is heard
Prioritize inclusion and accessibility by providing diverse opportunities and methods for sharing ideas and opinions.
Give youth ownership
Let youth take on high-level roles and responsibilities including supporting staff with administration and decision-making.
Create space for down-time
Create space and make time for relationship building and having conversations about ideas outside of the program scope.
ABOUT MSYL
Who do we serve?
MSYL is made up of youth who are between the ages of 13-18 years old living in Scarborough, predominantly in Eglinton East, Kennedy Park and Ionview (EEKPIV). Although our program is catered to this specific community, many of our projects impact individuals across Scarborough
These three neighbourhoods have been labelled as Neighbourhood Improvement Areas (NIAs) by the City of Toronto in 2014 under the Toronto Strong Neighbourhoods Strategy 2020. These neighbourhoods have been identified to be facing unnecessary, unfair, and unjust differences in economic opportunities, social development, healthy lives, participation in decision-making, and physical surroundings.
Neighbourhood Profiles:
| Community: | City of Toronto | Ionview | Kennedy Park | Eglinton East |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visible Minority Population: | 51.5% | 73.1% | 69.5% | 69.5% |
| Unemployment Rate: | 8.2% | 8.8% | 9.1% | 10.8% |
| Low income (LIM-AT) (Under 18): | 26% | 34% | 37% | 38% |
OUR MISSION
MSYL’s mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of young people in our community. We try to achieve this through three main strategies:
1. Creating meaningful, engaging, and safer leadership opportunities for young people where they share decision-making power.
2. Support youth with designing, delivering, and evaluating vibrant community programs, initiatives, and events.
3. Provide opportunities for youth to learn, grow and develop their sense of self and social, interpersonal and leadership skills.
OUR SPECIALTY
What makes us special? MSYL lets young people make the decisions. Our belief is that young people have the capacity and resiliency to make real change in their communities. Our unique theory of change involves a peer-to-peer model, strengths-based approach, and our PIES framework.
OUR WHY
Why do we do what we do? MSYL addresses issues that are important to the community. Our neighbourhoods in Scarborough have lower health outcomes and social determinants of health compared to provincial averages, and in some cases are referred to as food deserts. Young people can and should play an intergral role in leveraging strengths and assets of their community to address community concerns and desires.
OUR LEGACY
At MSYL, we aim to turn youth leadership into legacy. When youth leaders take initiative and start recognizing the issues in their community and proposing their own solutions, they create a legacy that will continue for generations. Achieving legacy through leadership means teaching young people how to be leaders outside of MSYL with their selves, friends, family, and their larger community.
OUR THEORY OF CHANGE:
MSYL’s theory of change begins with Ontario’s Stepping Up Framework (2014) and prioritizing young people’s physical health, mental health, and risk-taking behaviours.
At MSYL, we take a holistic view of health and wellbeing. That means our activities have to make an impact on a young person’s physical, mental, social, and spiritual health. That includes everything from physical fitness and nutrition, to healthy relationships and community belonging.
To make that impact on a young person’s life, we created a peer-to-peer model for community health programs. Young people who sign up for the MSYL program would design, coordinate, and deliver community health programs, initiatives, and events.
We call this the PIES model.
Programs
Create long-lasting healthy behaviours and solutions to community challenges.
Initiatives
Address immediate community needs through community action.
Events
Create space for community to gather and connect with each other.
Space
The Youniverse Youth Space is where all of the leadership activities and planning for PIES projects occur.
Here’s what that looks like:
THEORY OF CHANGE: PEER-TO-PEER
A peer-to-peer model looks like youth leaders creating solutions and engaging with youth in their community. At MSYL, youth leaders make major decisions about the work they do. They brainstorm and design how a PIES project will be run. Then they coordinate the project by acquiring supplies, assigning roles, and outreaching to the community. Finally, they deliver the actual project to the community and evaluate themselves on how they did. Staff are there to provide resources, support, and guidance.
THEORY OF CHANGE: YOUTH ENGAGEMENT OUTCOMES:
For MSYL leaders, being at the centre of this model creates a unique set of outcomes. This diagram represents some of the holistic impacts we aimed to have on young people involved in the MSYL program.
OUR IMPACT
We decided to measure if MSYL has been successful based on the level of “meaningful engagement” of young people in the program. To us, this looked like attendance and participation at MSYL meetings and taking a leadership role in at least two programs, initiatives, or events.
This impact report will demonstrate how we have achieved our goals of meaningfully engaging over 60 young people over the past three years.
MSYL’S Impact
Year 1 2019
32/35 2022
Year 2 2020
5/20
Year 3 2021
17/39
Year 4 2022
21/39
The number of figures in a row represents how many new participants registered for MSYL in that year. The number of filled figures in a row represents how many participants were meaningfully engaged and active members of MSYL.
Youth leaders meaningfully engaged in MSYL program over four years
Participants attended MSYL on average over four years
100% of MSYL participants identify as a “person of colour”
<5 respondents answered “yes” when asked if they identify as transgender.
Youth were asked to evaluate their own experiences in MSYL for their sense of youth involvement, staff involvement, and youth-staff interactions.
From before MSYL to after MSYL, we see the following changes:
-
Youth report higher levels of involvement, leadership, and teamwork, among youth
-
Youth report higher levels of staff support and enthusiasm for youth decision-making
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Youth report higher levels of youth and staff collaboration, respect, and learning
OUR PROGRAMS
overview
Each week participants learn leadership skills, discuss important topics, and form long-lasting relationships.
more friendships formed by participants on average
of participants rated improved self-confidence and self-esteem
unique participants in program since 2019
GLTR (Girls Leadership Through Resilience)
In the GLTR program, MSYL leaders create a safer space to empower, encourage, and unite feminine-identifying participants.
Each week participants learn leadership skills, discuss important topics, and form long-lasting relationships.
more friendships formed by participants on average
of participants rated improved self-confidence and self-esteem
unique participants in program since 2019
DTALKS (Deep Talks)
In DTALKS, young male-identifying participants are encouraged to reflect and develop knowledge of self. This program was started to address the lack of safer spaces for young masculine people to discuss their feelings.
MSYL leaders facilitate discussions about masculinity, health, relationships, and current issues in a safer space.
more friendships formed by participants on average
of participants rated improved self-confidence and self-esteem
unique participants in program since 2019
SLAP (Sounds Like A Plan)
SLAP is MSYL’s event organizing committee. Young people are empowered to create events that meaningfully engage with their community such as the Tamil Heritage Month event, Black History Month event, Human Library, and the Haunted House.
MSYL leaders are involved in decision-making every step of the way and learn valuable skills.
participants attended on average
community events organized
unique participants in program since 2019
CHEF (Cooking for Healthy Eating & Fitness)
CHEF is a cooking program that promotes healthy eating through teaching cooking skills, nutrition, and food safety.
MSYL leaders select healthy recipes and teach participants through hands-on techniques. Participants and leaders sit together at the end of each class and share a meal with mindful eating.
participants attended on average
of participants rated improvement in nutrition and cooking knowledge
unique participants in program since 2019
EKHO (Eglinton Kennedy Health Outreach)
EKHO is a health promotion program where MSYL leaders and participants create evidence-based health resources to share on social media. Participants get to learn the basics of social media engagement and promote awareness of community issues.
Participants have created posts about managing stress, COVID myths, anti-racism, and more.
followers gained on social media
unique participants in program since 2019
FOCUS Photography
FOCUS is a photography program for highlighting the positive and beautiful aspects of our community. MSYL leaders teach photography and videography skills to participants while building their portfolios.
Photos taken in FOCUS were incorporated in a 2019 Nuit Blanche exhibit by artist, Esmond Lee. Participants utilized skills learned in the program to create promotional videos, and start a photography business. Participants also won an online photography contest for Scarborough residents.
unique participants in program since 2019
LYFT (Limitless Youth Fitness Training)
MSYL leaders, alongside a physical trainer, facilitate accessible workouts to promote healthier lifestyles and physical literacy.
of participants rated improvement in reaching fitness goals
unique participants in program since 2019
HARTS (Healing Arts)
In HARTS, MSYL leaders provide children (ages 6 to 12) with a safer space to express themselves creatively. Participants learn different art techniques and receive art supplies that are often outside the budget of individuals in priority neighbourhoods.
At the end of the program, HARTS participants put on a gallery exhibition of their artwork.
participants attended on average
unique participants in program since 2019
Homework Club
In this program, younger participants get paired with an older tutor for 1-on-1 homework help.
MSYL leaders take on the role of tutors and train other tutors. Leaders also match participants together based on subject matter and interests.
participants attended on average
unique participants in program since 2019
Neighbourhood Games
MSYL leaders engage children in the community through fun, outdoor activities.
Leaders design and lead different physical games and activities to promote active lifestyles and be role models. Participants form lasting relationships with each other.
participants attended on average
of participants rated improvement in confidence and teamwork abilities
unique participants in program since 2019
GROW Summer Camp
MSYL leaders design and deliver a free summer camp program for developing leadership skills. Participants get to lead activities for younger participants.
Participants go on field trips and learn about gardening, environmental health, and community activism.
participants attended on average
unique participants in program since 2019
OUR INITIATIVES
MSYL initiatives empower youth leaders to engage community groups in need of meaningful support and resources. These initiatives build MSYL leaders’ capacities to take action-oriented steps to address issues, and build partnerships in the community. Youth are involved in identifying community issues, planning solutions, and accomplishing their goals. The initiatives listed below are not an exhaustive list.
Swipe on the image below to see more of our initiatives.
MSYL leaders wanted to support homeless people living in Scarborough. Every year, leaders create care kits and hand them out to those in need. Over 60 care kits have been handed out since 2019.
MSYL leaders clean up the community by picking up cigarette butts. This initiative was created by MSYL members to improve and raise awareness of the environmental impact of cigarette butt litter. MSYL has done cleanups for Scarborough General Hospital, the Hub Mid-Scarborough, and local parks.
When tragedy strikes in our community, such as a traffic accident, shooting, or missing person, MSYL leaders use their voice and platform to raise awareness. MSYL leaders also put together gifts and letters of condolences with contributions from community members.
MSYL leaders recognize their position as role models and create public statements for use on social media to show support for current social justice causes such as addressing anti-Black racism and anti-Asian violence, Indigenous rights, combatting sexual assault, reducing gun violence, and improving mental health.
MSYL leaders learn about how urban planning and infrastructure impacts the living conditions of their community. They have identified and attempted to redress infrastructure issues such as improving TTC bus routes, increasing recycling initiatives, and promoting healthier local restaurants. They write letters to institutions and politicians, and try to generate support through social media.
OUR EVENTS
MSYL events are designed, planned, and delivered by MSYL leaders. These events are created to gather and connect our diverse community and reflect the cultures and stories around us. MSYL also prioritizes creating events that are innovative and inspiring. We want our community to feel proud, joyous, and a deep sense of belonging whenever they attend MSYL events.
Black History Month Event
The Black History Month event celebrates Black people’s history and culture in Canada and honours the contributions and legacies of Black Canadians. The event incorporates performances, guest speakers, and artwork all from the community
MSYL organized this event annually from 2019 to 2022. During COVID, we held this event virtually.
100% of post-event survey respondents rated a high level of overall satisfaction with the events and indicated they would be returning for the following year.
Tamil Heritage Month Event
Our Tamil Heritage Month events were held annually every January from 2019 to 2022. This event celebrates the contributions of Tamil people to the Canadian community and celebrates their resilience.
The event includes cultural performances and knowledge sharing all coordinated by members of the MSYL program.
100% of post-event survey respondents rated a high level of overall satisfaction with the events and indicated they would be returning for the following year.
Human Library
The Human Library is an annual event held from 2019 to 2022, where members of the community become “living books”. They share their stories and experiences with the community about overcoming adversity, inspiring others, or sharing wisdom about life’s truths.
MSYL leaders select storytellers from a long list of applicants and organize and host the event. This event is a positive space for conversations that can challenge stereotypes and prejudices through dialogue.
100% of post-event survey respondents rated a high level of overall satisfaction with the events and indicated they would be returning for the following year. Over 90% of survey respondents indicated that they felt closer to their community.
Halloween Haunted House
The Halloween Haunted House is one of MSYL’s most exciting community events. MSYL leaders and volunteers transform a school gymnasium into a free scary haunted house experience for everyone. Leaders decorate the space and take on the task of performers who scare participants walking through. During the pandemic, the haunted house transformed into a virtual scary storytelling event, and a scary movie night.
For many of our community members, a haunted house is very new experience that they would not normally access. Bringing new experiences to the neighbourhood excites and activates the community. Our 2019 Haunted House received over 500 attendees!
Mother's Day Fine Dining
In 2019, MSYL leaders transformed the Hub Mid-Scarborough into a fine dining restaurant for the community. Families in the community could reserve a table for an elegant three-course meal, live entertainment, and raffle prizes, all completely free of charge. Celebrating parents & guardians through organizing this experience showed how socioeconomic conditions shouldn’t keep communities from experiencing joy together.
MSYL leaders were the cooking staff, serving staff, and entertainers. Over 100 meals were cooked and served by MSYL members with the help of staff and amazing volunteer chefs.
ANALYSIS
PROMISING PRACTICES
Through this project, we learned a lot about what it takes to meaningfully engage young people in leadership roles in their community. Meaningful engagement to us means continued participation in programming and taking on leadership roles like running programs and events. Below we’ve outlined eight practices identified by staff and youth that promoted meaningful engagement.
Create exciting community moments
When we asked when they felt most meaningfully engaged in the community, participants consistently mentioned the larger-scale events MSYL organized such as the Halloween Haunted House, the Human Library, and the Mother’s Day Fine Dining event. Planning and delivering exciting moments for the community was a source of pride for MSYL. Being able to invite friends and family members to see something unique and being able to directly identify how their input led to positive outcomes was a meaningful experience. Community programming can be challenging and risky, but when the projects were fun and exciting, MSYL members rose to the occasion and felt pride.
Give youth ownership
A priority for MSYL was creating a safer space where young people had the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them. Many participants pointed out that MSYL pushed them to try new things, leave their comfort zone, and explore unfamiliar territory. Participants talked about how they would work for hours preparing an event and stay very late cleaning up. Experiences like that were challenging but also fresh and fun. By providing young people with exciting opportunities for community engagement, alongside support from peers and staff, they felt comfortable in facing new challenges. Positive risk-taking can be a healthy way for a young person to find their identities and limits.
Encourage positive risk-taking
Participants pointed out that MSYL was always accommodating of their needs and capacities. The support that participants received was never contingent on their participation or contribution. The Youniverse Youth Space was a “room of requirement” where youth could come for MSYL meetings, for studying, for recreation, or for a break. Some participants who took significant breaks with the program, still felt included and supported. Unconditional investment from peers and staff, beyond the expectations of the program, strengthened the relationships and commitment participants felt in MSYL.
Ensure everyone is heard
MSYL members developed their confidence and skills largely from the peer-led model of the program. The youth take ownership over the projects and receive support and advice from staff. For some youth, some of the tasks and responsibilities they received in MSYL were unlike anything else they’ve ever had to take on. Whether it was delivering programs, administrative tasks, or constructing a youth space, staff trusted youth with the job. When all participants were involved in decision-making and were supported by trained staff, engagement and commitment grew.
Unconditional support & investment
Participants said that their voices were valued and heard in decision-making processes at MSYL. We strived to treat older members, younger members, and staff equally when planning projects. Encouragement to share opinions and ideas was appreciated by participants.
Create space for down-time
For many participants, the space and time in between programs, events, and initiatives was even more important than the projects themselves. When participants and staff would have deep conversations about goals, passions, relationships, and ideas, that was when trust and bonds were created. Creating space and making time for these conversations is often difficult with the demands of programming, but it was a crucial component that connected everything we do.
CHALLENGES
Below, we’ve highlighted four challenges that we faced in trying to achieve our grant outcomes.
Diversity of space
Participants pointed out that MSYL was always accommodating of their needs and capacities. The support that participants received was never contingent on their participation or contribution. The Youniverse Youth Space was a “room of requirement” where youth could come for MSYL meetings, for studying, for recreation, or for a break. Some participants who took significant breaks with the program, still felt included and supported. Unconditional investment from peers and staff, beyond the expectations of the program, strengthened the relationships and commitment participants felt in MSYL.
Career development
MSYL members developed their confidence and skills largely from the peer-led model of the program. The youth take ownership over the projects and receive support and advice from staff. For some youth, some of the tasks and responsibilities they received in MSYL were unlike anything else they’ve ever had to take on. Whether it was delivering programs, administrative tasks, or constructing a youth space, staff trusted youth with the job. When all participants were involved in decision-making and were supported by trained staff, engagement and commitment grew.
Mental health support
Participants said that their voices were valued and heard in decision-making processes at MSYL. We strived to treat older members, younger members, and staff equally when planning projects. Encouragement to share opinions and ideas was appreciated by participants.
COVID-19 pandemic
When the pandemic hit, the loss of in-person space hit the program hard. It was a big challenge to create a similar sense of safety and fun within the virtual space. Our hybrid model worked well but it also ran into the issue of not being able to accommodate everyone’s needs as best as we wanted to. Losing the in-person feeling meant we also couldn’t deliver as exciting and eye-opening programs and events. Meetings and planning felt repetitive at the beginning of the pandemic as we tried to figure out new ways of engaging with each other and with the community. Through the creativity of our members, we quickly changed that through experimentation and perseverance. Even if we had only 2 viewers for our Instagram lives, we stuck with it. We also saw a spike in mental health issues for participants and the community at large. We took a step back from our regular programming to focus on more frequent 1-on-1 check-ins. And we developed new programs to address mental health needs like guided meditations through our Instagram.
SUSTAINABILITY & THE FUTURE
One of the most important indicators of success for ourselves is evidence of sustainability. MSYL has set its sights on becoming a sustainable and replicable program for the future. We asked ourselves, how are we doing with achieving this goal?
HIGHER LEVEL ROLES
One indicator is how MSYL leaders have taken on administrative and coordination roles for the program. Senior members often help plan meetings, prepare budgets, monitor spending, apply for grants, write reports, email partners and stakeholders, and more. Basically everything required for the successful planning and completion of the program. As MSYL leaders develop these skills, the program can become more self-sufficient. We still believe that this work should be financially supported and that staff are required to ensure safety and quality.
EXPERT KNOWLEDGE
MSYL leaders have also proven themselves to be “experts” in the field of youth programming. They have been asked to conduct workshops on mental health for other youth groups and present at conferences!
- Children’s Wellness Workshop - La Majeur School of Music
- Mental Health Workshop - Malvern Family Resource Centre
- Zooming Out: An Exploration of a Digital Equity Framework for Front-Line Staff - Alliance Conference 2021: Power in Community
BUSINESS VENTURES
SCHC also started a youth business ventures summer camp in partnership with Ryerson Enactus and Northpine Foundation. MSYL participated in the program as well and developed our very own business. Using the skills learned through our photography program FOCUS, and a newly purchased photo booth, MSYL members have put together an event photography business. The business has had a handful of clients and can only continue to grow.
There is also sustainability through the leadership that MSYL leaders have developed for themselves. MSYL leaders have gone on to start their own school clubs, businesses, community initiatives, and advocacy campaigns. Some of our participants have gone on to win prestigious scholarships like the Ted Roger’s fund. Some have even decided to pursue a career path in community work and social work related fields. Sustainability ultimately looks like our community becoming more self-reliant. When the young people here go on to succeed and contribute to the wellbeing of our community, we’re achieving the sustainability we aimed for.
Meet the founder…
A MESSAGE FROM
CHARANJIT SINGH
What happens to communities when youth believe in themselves? A greater sense of belonging, vibrancy and energy manifests, a manifestation that knows no limits or constraints, one that permeates and resonates within hearts, minds and creates a ripple effect felt by generations to come. I had the honour of witnessing something to this effect in 2015 when we started a youth group named MSYL.
This program aimed at making a meaningful difference in the lives of their community members by delivering wellness programs, initiatives and events that promoted healthy lifestyles and increasing control over their health. With consistent efforts, they made real progress with not only supporting and caring for those around them, but also developing their own emotional intelligence, skills and knowledge through reflection, dialogue and empathy.
With this momentum, in 2019 we were graciously able to receive a grant of $656, 400 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to further expand our youth group to meaningfully engage youth in creating solutions to address challenges in their community. As more youth joined who were committed to creating a positive impact and addressing barriers, we learned that real change must take place intrinsically within ourselves and with our families for it to transcend across communities, nations and throughout the world. An authentic environment had been cultivated, where passion was meeting purpose and youth were beginning to lead change.
This type of collective movement raised higher vibrations that aligned youth with their true selves to fulfill their potential and strive towards becoming the best version of themselves. Seeing this type of transformation where youth were learning to unlearn and relearn, practicing self-care, and fostering interdependent relationships that resulted in building each other up was truly awe-inspiring. Much of our success was in great thanks to Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities, The Hub Mid Scarborough, Ontario Trillium Foundation, SCHC staff, volunteers, and community partners who dedicated various resources and investments in children and youth.
Most of all I’d like to thank the community youth leaders themselves who stayed dedicated to the vision and didn’t lose hope. Those who went above and beyond so others could gain wonderful experiences in life and have a better tomorrow – you are the success of MSYL and the world needs more of you – please do not ever change. I truly hope MSYL gave you memories of a lifetime and wherever you go, may you never stop caring, never shy from taking a stand and may you always give back in order to move forward. Sincerely, I want to thank you for giving me a chance and for allowing me to be a part of the fabric of your community.
With my best,
Charanjit Singh
CONCLUSION:
The past three years of the MSYL program have been transformational for the youth leaders, for the staff, and for the community.
With heart, dedication, and compassion, the young leaders at MSYL have built a legacy. They have carved their own space in their neighbourhoods, into something their community deserves. They have represented the values and characteristics that matter to them. And they know that they are capable of even more.
For MSYL, the sky is the limit.
Looking towards the future, we plan to:
- Expand our programming, initiatives, and events.
- Strengthen the capacity of MSYL leaders to run the program on their own.
- Apply for funding to continue our standard of excellence.
- Empower our communities to self-advocate and support MSYL.
Special thanks to
To address financial hardships and a lack of new school supplies, MSYL leaders handed out over 150 backpacks since 2019 to families in need.