The Gifts of our People (TGOOP) is a program of The New Mentality Network, which operates as part of Children’s Mental Health Ontario (CMHO). TGOOP is a youth-led leadership program that supports racialized youth ages 13–24 through the intersection of racialization, identity, and mental health. Built on five pillars—Storytelling, Ancestry, Community & Collective Joy, Healing/Self-Acceptance, and Refinement—TGOOP fosters confidence, connection, and advocacy skills among youth across Ontario. In this workshop, youth leaders and their adult ally will share insights from the program’s bi-weekly gatherings, including what youth need from mental health systems and the barriers they face. Participants will engage in experiential activities inspired by the TGOOP curriculum and will leave with concrete strategies for creating culturally grounded, trauma-informed, identity-affirming spaces. The session centers youth voice, showcases a youth-designed advocacy resource, and supports providers in building more equitable pathways of care for racialized youth and their families.
Learning Objectives
1. Learn strategies for engaging racialized youth and fostering culturally grounded accountability. Participants will explore relationship-building approaches, Art Navigation practices, and BRAVER space principles that support Black, Indigenous, and racialized youth in feeling seen, heard, and safe within mental health settings.
2. Become familiar with tools to safely implement racialized- and Indigenous-focused programming. Attendees will gain hands-on experience with TGOOP’s free-writing, observation prompts, systems mapping, and storytelling methods that can be adapted to clinical, community, and organizational contexts.
3. Understand how youth leadership shifts power and strengthens equity in service delivery. Participants will learn concrete strategies for empowering youth to take on meaningful leadership roles, and will see firsthand how youth-led facilitation redistributes power and fosters more equitable, responsive mental health practices.
