Tagged: equity

Safe at Home with Pride 2023

Posted on June 22, 2023 by - Learning

An under-examined aspect of safety for youth is being safe to be themselves in emotional and mental ways, and that includes having people in their lives who use the language that resonates with who they are – be that gender designations, names, or labels.

Despite what parents, teachers, and kids in the schoolyard have said for generations, sticks and stones may break my bones, but hateful words can leave deeper wounds that are slower to heal. And yet, many people resist something that costs them nothing: using respectful language.

Helpful resources

In Victoria, the Greater Victoria School District has created a library of helpful resources for those who want to understand the terminology of sexual orientations, gender identity, and gender expression.

Ready or Not ’23: Emerging Adult Development

Posted on May 30, 2023 by - Learning

Red, green, and black text reads 2023 edition Ready or Not Aging Out of Care

Youth with a history of trauma are at higher risk for negative outcomes later in life and delays in developing basic life skills. Youth who also have disabilities, both visible and invisible, face additional challenges with their emerging adult development. These lived experiences can lead to a reduced “window of tolerance” for stress which impacts different aspect of their lives including healthy relationships, employment, housing stability, and substance use.

Ready or Not ’23: Culture, Spirituality & Wellbeing

Posted on May 15, 2023 by - Learning

Red, green, and black text reads 2023 edition Ready or Not Aging Out of Care

Intergenerational trauma, colonization, and trauma during and resulting from the foster care system contribute to negative outcomes in personal wellbeing for youth. The Child Welfare League of Canada’s Equitable Standards for Transitions to Adulthood for Youth in Care outlines ways in which governments can better support culture, spirituality, and mental health in order to improve outcomes in personal wellbeing for former youth in care. They state:

“Every young person should be connected to their culture and spirituality, in ways that are meaningful to them, safe, and at their own pace.”

AND

Ready or Not in 2023

Posted on April 1, 2023 by - Learning

Red, green, and black text reads 2023 edition Ready or Not Aging Out of Care

For the last several years, Threshold has focused in the spring on sharing the facts around youth aging out of government care on their 19th birthday. The late Katherine McParland, a leading youth housing advocate, once deemed aging out of care the “superhighway into homelessness” – a term that has proliferated. In the past three years, however, the government of BC has announced multiple funding and policy changes aimed at either creating off-ramps from that highway or relieving the housing crisis.