NAVIGATING MENTAL HEALTH WITH GEN z

sharing stories of newcomer and immigrant youth

Expect It All is an initiative by Living Hyphen and On Canada Project to spotlight the widely nuanced mental health experiences of newcomer and immigrant youth across the nation-state we now call “Canada”. Through the power of storytelling, we amplify the unique and compelling voices of newcomer and immigrant youth who boldly and honestly speak their truths in all their complexity.

The lived experiences, the mental health journeys, and the stories of these youth are not a monolith. That’s why we invite you to Expect It All. There is no single story and newcomer and immigrant youth defy all expectations. 

We live in a country where, according to the 2021 census, more than 8.3 million people – or almost one-quarter (23.0%) of the population – are foreign-born individuals who have immigrated here. How do we ensure that we build the support necessary to guide youth through the varied impacts of migration? We begin, first and foremost, by bearing witness to their experiences and their emotions. Sharing these stories and listening is a powerful act of recognition that can create the communities of care we want to see in our world. 

Bear witness with us and Expect It All.

LETTER TO OUR YOUNGER SELVES

We brought together an intimate group of newcomer and immigrant youth from diverse backgrounds to share stories of mental health through a series of gentle and generative writing workshops. These youth then developed their stories further to create an array of music, monologues, photography, and spoken word poetry. The following video is a collective poem that they created and wrote together. Scroll below to find their individual creations.  

MEET THE YOUTH

TRAINING FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

Expect It All is part of a learning series developed by On Canada Project to help youth counsellors at Kids Help Phone build a deeper understanding of the experiences of newcomer and refugee young people. Living Hyphen partnered with OCP to co-host community dialogues to support training with storytelling clips that helped build empathy for these experiences and root reflection in these lived experiences. Over the course of five connected modules, we helped learners deepen their cultural humility muscles and reflect on how their counselling approach and practices can best support young people in the context of migration, settlement, and belonging as a hyphenated Canadian. If you’d like to offer a similar training to your teams, connect with us.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ON CANADA PROJECT

On Canada Project (OCP) is a one-of-a-kind independent edu-media platform dedicated to bridging information gaps and creating delicious invitations for social good. OCP dives deep into culture, politics, and news, ensuring Canadians feel both informed and empowered. In an age where misinformation threatens unity, our media is a beacon, reaching millions each month.