Chapter 10 - Working with Youth
sub-section:
General approach
Youth engagement has been an important part of Eva’s Phoenix since the program was first conceived. The original idea for Eva’s Phoenix came from conversations with the youth about what they felt they needed in order to help them to move forward with their lives. The agency continues to believe that providing opportunities for the youth to have real input into the way things work is valuable for the agency.
Programs are developed with a view to supporting active youth engagement as much as possible, within the capacity of the organization to support such engagement. The agency also recognizes that this engagement needs to be authentic, and that the agency has a responsibility to respond to the youth regarding how any of their comments have been incorporated into programming and operations.
For more information about Eva’s Phoenix’s policies in the area of youth and resident engagement, click here
The process of actively engaging youth – particularly youth who have dealt with as many serious issues as the clients at Eva’s Phoenix – is a challenging one. The process of establishing trust between staff and youth may be the most significant challenge, as many of these youth feel they have had nobody in their lives that they could count on. Such a process requires flexibility on the part of staff, and a willingness to think creatively about how to facilitate participation.
