What We Do

In collaboration with our network partners, we will continue to enhance Indigenous youth mental health and wellness by continuously:  

• Nurturing our growing, national network, honouring a distinctions-based approach, focused on building trust, relationships and engagement with network partners.
• Positioning the network to advocate for and support sustainable culturally and contextually relevant youth mental health and wellness services with and for First Nations, Inuit, Métis young people.
• Supporting provincial and territorial IYS initiatives and the Indigenous communities and youth they serve by gathering and sharing knowledge and resources  
• Creating virtual and in-person gathering spaces to strengthen existing connections, facilitate new ones, stimulate knowledge sharing and build and enhance services, research and evaluation capacity
• Engaging in the development of the IYS data platform and other data-related capacities and ensure that best practices for Indigenous data sovereignty and governance are respected and reflected in their approaches.  
• Building a living repository of resources for Indigenous youth mental health and wellness and supporting communities in using these to build their capacity and services, covering
  • Wise practices for context-specific and culturally relevant youth services in Indigenous contexts
  • Interventions and wellness programs to strengthen connection to language, culture, community, land and traditional practices
  • Evidence-informed, culturally grounded or culturally adapted mental health, wellness and substance use interventions, including digital ones
  • Methods, measures and metrics, including measurement tools developed with and for or adapted for use with Indigenous youth
  • Growing and strengthening the workforce (Indigenous and allied)
• Training and capacity-building for current and future Indigenous leaders in research, services, etc.,
• Advancing knowledge, including through publications, reports and presentations.  

Stay tuned 

• The launch of Communities of Practice/Learning Circles to bring together: 
  • IYS Indigenous Research Champions from across Canda through quarterly meetings to support their work and learn from their collective wisdom.
  • Communities and organizations that serve First Nations, Inuit, and Métis youth, including IYS hubs.