In Northwestern Ontario, youth suicide and self-harm rates are nearly five times the provincial average. Intensive supports are scarce, staffing shortages are persistent, and geographic isolation makes timely access to care difficult. Even when services are available, young people must navigate a patchwork of programs in a fragmented system, and our highest-risk youth are most likely to fall through those gaps. 

In response, our organizations developed the Middle Path Club, a DBT-informed group for high-risk youth aged 12–17. Created locally and refined through youth feedback, the program blends DBT skills training with caregiver engagement, individualized counselling, and cross-sector consultation. 

This workshop illustrates how a small northern team built an in-house program that bridges service gaps, reduces barriers through an anti-oppressive lens, and strengthens collaboration across sectors. Participants will have the chance to apply 'middle-path' thinking to their own systems, identifying rigid patterns and shaping collaborative alternatives.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will be able to describe how the Middle Path Club aligns youth and caregiver supports to reduce service gaps for high-risk youth.

2. Participants will apply System Middle Path thinking to examine rigid patterns in their own regions and develop collaborative, realistic alternatives. 

3. Participants will learn practical strategies for integrating caregiver engagement and lived expertise into youth programming. 

4. Participants will identify ways to adapt evidence-informed frameworks to local and rural contexts using community resources and anti-oppressive principles.