25th Annual RBC Spirit of the Capital Award Recipient

Left to Right: Ayla Martin (she/her), Sarina Lyons (she/her), Zara Lyons (she/her), Taliah Lyons (she/her) NOTE: Talk Overdose is a project of Youth4Youth Canada

Take a Stand Award

Youth4Youth Canada (group)

Founded and overseen by female Indigenous youth, Youth4Youth is the umbrella grassroots organization under which youth create and manage projects to improve the lives of youth in Canada through arts, culture and health education. Group members are Taliah Lyons (Carleton University), Zara Lyons (Lycee Claudel), Ayla Martin (Carine Wilson Secondary School), and Sarina Lyons (Lycee Claudel).

Y4Y Canada felt inspired to act when they learned that Ottawa was experiencing an opioid crisis which was increasingly affecting youth. After receiving microgrants, they began their Talk Overdose project: a project which aims to reduce stigma toward people who use opioids. Through school presentations and workshops, they’ve reached approximately 500 youth in communities across Canada in their first year, despite only being able to work on the Talk Overdose project during school breaks.

Due to the fact that Indigenous people have disproportionately been impacted by the opioid crisis, Y4Y Canada researched other ways to help and came to recognize the role of culture in healing intergenerational trauma. With the support of their Wasa Nabin Coordinator, Bethany Stewart at the Odawa Native Friendship Center (ONFC), they designed the Kisac project to promote connection to culture. Kisac has mobilized Elders, Knowledge Keepers, Facilitators, parents, and youth to come together to deliver their culturally relevant workshops. ONFC is known for its Wasa-Nabin cultural programming. The program is well-developed and it is a safe space where urban Indigenous youth aged 13-18 can be themselves. Youth participate in cultural activities, are taught to make healthy life choices, and have access to Elders for guidance.

For the upcoming 2022-23 school year, Youth4Youth is actively working to put their Outreach Brochure in the hands of school social workers and counselors to reach even more students. They are tremendously grateful for the help and guidance of community mentors such as their Wasa Nabin Coordinator Bethany Stewart, their former Wasa Nabin Coordinator Alexia Miron, and chocolatier Pierrette Vezina. The Outreach Brochure clearly demonstrates how their Talk Overdose project ties into Ontario provincial education curriculum, as well as to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #19. One of their future goals is to secure grants which will allow them to bring their project to remote Indigenous communities, especially those with internet issues.

Putting opioid users in recovery in front of youth audiences for presentations and Q&A sessions has been our biggest struggle… While not as dynamic or interactive as a live session, [videos] still allow youth to hear an honest and heartfelt story about another person’s journey through opioid addiction. We’re also striving to make them representative of the population, to properly show the extent of the problem, rather than enforce existing stereotypes.