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WHO ARE WE?
To support this initiative, the Hub has 2 navigators, Dani and Melissa to develop relationships with youth and help them navigate services best suited to their needs.
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Dani:
I am very excited to be a member of the Brazeau Empowerment and Support Team in Drayton Valley.  I believe this to be a wonderful program for our community and I am excited to see how we can grow from this. 
With a degree in Community Rehabilitation, I have worked front line with adults and children with disabilities for almost 7 years. I have a passion for helping others within their natural environments and making their community as accessible as possible.   I have also spent much of my career in the classroom supporting young children with various disabilities in their learning environments.  
When I’m not in the office, you can find me taking my dog for hikes through the trails around town or practicing at-home yoga videos on youtube!  I love staying active and being in the outdoors.  


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​Melissa: 
I am an RN with 13 years experience. My passion is helping people get what they need to be independent and safe, whether it is fulfilling their physical needs or emotional support. Working with youth and their families in our community is my dream job. I am so excited to be a part of this initiative!
Outside of the office, I get to use the tips and tools that I share with all of you. I have 4 kids ranging from 6 to 13. My home is filled with lots of laughs, hugs and just enough chaos to make it normal. I grew up in the Warburg area, did my first year of nursing school at the Consortium in Drayton Valley and returned to the area to raise my kids.
People often ask me why I do what I do.  My “why” is to build connections with the youth and help them become resilient. I strive to meet people where they are at, connect with them and help link them with supports and resources right at our fingertips. I have so much love for this community and have learned that there is so much to be offered and shared right here!
WHAT WE DO?
  • Support individuals between the ages of 11 and 24 within Drayton Valley, Brazeau County and surrounding areas 
  • Focus on the encouragement of healthy relationships 
  • Support universal strategies that build healthy lives
  • Support individuals in connecting with and navigating community resources
  • Support building life skills and career guidance
  • Support awareness around living well with addictions and/or mental illness 
  • Reduce stigma and barriers to accessing support for addictions and mental health

WHY DO WE DO THIS? 
  • Increase resiliency of youth and their families
  • Provide positive opportunities for all youth
  • Strengthen our community by engaging youth in making positive changes

WHERE CAN YOU FIND US?
  • FACEBOOK: Brazeau Empowerment and Support Team
  • INSTAGRAM: dv_b.e.s.t

HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US?
Email: danielle.dvyouthhub@gmail.com OR melissa.dvyouthhub@gmail.com

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         WORKSHOPS and INFORMATION


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​          Youth Hub: A Place for All of Us

You may have heard talk of the Youth Hub opening in Drayton Valley for individuals aged 11-24. Our Youth Hub will be youth-designed. It will be a space that youth want to be in with supports in place that they want and need. 

First, let’s talk about the space for our Youth Hub. Research shows that having a ‘place’ to belong creates an increased likelihood of setting roots in their home community, less crime and more volunteerism. Prior to Covid-19 outbreak, the Drayton Valley Integrated Services Hub for Youth was in the process of leasing a building in Drayton Valley. The idea of the Youth Centre came from youth following the research being done by RYSE in our community. Researchers heard youth ask for a safe space to be and to get more access to mental health supports. Before the COVID 19 restrictions, we had a group of youth help pick the space. It was so much fun to tour a few different potential sites and allow the youth to pick the one that they felt would be the best. Hearing their ideas of what each room in the building could be used for, layout of furniture and the types of games they wanted to see was amazing. The excitement was palpable. The space will be inviting, all-inclusive and safe. When youth walk through the door, they will be welcomed whole heartedly. 

Why has there been so much devotion to develop the Youth Hub? Did you know that the majority of mental health concerns typically begin prior to age 24? Barriers that youth face when accessing mental health supports includes stigma, lack of understanding of services, long wait lists, and difficulty navigating the system. Our Youth Hub will decrease the stigma around mental health and addictions support, assess where youth are at and help them navigate the system to determine the right supports for their needs. The integrated services model of the Youth Hub will increase service access for individuals and strengthen our community’s capacity to support its youth. Besides connecting youth with services they need, these individuals will greatly benefit from natural supports and relationships that develop informally and locally within the Hub. The balance between professional and natural supports is critical for healthy development. Our Youth Center will provide an environment where this balance can be accomplished. 

What makes our Youth Hub different? Our centre will be successful because of the involvement of youth themselves in the project. We are calling out for help from youth to make decisions on the youth hub space, to determine what services should be offered and to help promote it within our community.  If you are between the ages of 11-24 and you would like to be involved in our youth advisory board, please give us a shout out. We need your help!




       
​     BEST utilises a Stepped Care Approach
The stepped care approach is a model used to detect what level of intervention is best suitable for the individual’s needs.  By using a variety of intensive support resources, individuals are provided with a range of support according to their needs.  Using this model means that the most effective yet least resource intensive treatment is delivered to individuals first.  Support is evaluated and monitored and if needed, a higher intensive/specialized level of support will be offered.  
Stepped care is an increasingly popular model of treatment that promotes client responsibility, autonomy, resilience and empowerment.  The model also addresses the large similarity between the demand and supply of services available. The model is systematic, flexible and meets the needs of youth across the range of problems, personal preferences, and acuity. It is based on the premise that the most effective form of support, yet least resource disrupting, is offered first and is regularly reviewed and is shifted along the model as needed. Intensity of support is ‘stepped up’ only when there is evidence of, or prediction of failure to address youth concerns.
The stepped care model recognizes the existing strengths and resources within the community; therefore responsibility is shifted throughout the community resources. The model encompasses and rationally organizes all forms of mental health support on a broad spectrum of intensity and complexity. It is also important to consider indirect mental health supports, such as cultural and traditional supporting organizations. In doing so, youth are able to be offered a diverse range of services so that their mental health is adequately supported. This is done according to principles aimed at ensuring more immediate access while fostering empowerment and adjusting to youths’ readiness for change. The stepped care model is underpinned by two foundational principles:
  • Interventions offered should provide the highest likelihood of positive outcomes while burdening the youth as little as possible.
  • Systems should be adaptable and flexible, allowing for ease of ‘stepping up and down’ in a timely and seamless manner.
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​Helping Youth RYSE

Now more than ever, it is important that we support the well-being of our young people. Youth are the cornerstone of our society and the foundation of our future. However, their ability to thrive can be impacted by social, economic, and environmental forces, and their ability to get the support they need when they need it. To better understand youth well-being in Drayton Valley, a team of researchers from Dalhousie University have been following more than 500 young people over two years, trying to understand both their challenges and their resilience.

The Resilient Youth in Stressed Environments (RYSE) project is a 5-year study led by Dr. Michael Ungar at Dalhousie University, in partnership with Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) Drayton Valley, the oil and gas industry, government, school boards, and other key organizations within our community. The study will give more information on how youth handle the boom-bust cycles of living in an oil-field town, as well as how government, families, peers, industry, educators, and health and social service providers can support the health and well-being of young people in Drayton Valley. 

Importantly, youth themselves are pioneers of RYSE. By forming a RYSE Youth Advisory Committee, young people will be able to use the information collected from the project to spearhead activities that promote youth well-being, and to be change-makers in our community. In fact, the idea for a youth hub came from youth using the RYSE data. Early findings from the study showed that youth felt there was a “lack of things to do”; they wanted a safe place to hang out, as well as better access to mental health supports. The Healthy Communities Coalition of Drayton Valley heard the youth and put together a board of members to create the Drayton Valley Integrated Services Hub for Youth. The youth hub is funded by Policy Wise Alberta, and is supported by FCSS and the Primary Care Network in Drayton Valley. Our program is here to support youth with navigating resources in our community, mentorship, and career/life-skills building. The youth hub is just one example of young people creating change with RYSE data, and we look forward to other new and exciting ways they are using information from the project to better our community. 

Another round of data collection is now underway which will help researchers further understand the stress and resilience of youth during the bust cycle of the oil and gas industry we continue to face. If you completed a survey and a hair sample in 2018, we encourage you to participate again. You could earn up to $125 for filling out the survey ($75) and providing a hair sample ($50)!

If you (or someone you know) would like to complete another survey and hair sample for RYSE, are interested in the Youth Advisory Committee, or want more information on the services of the youth hub, let us know! 

Email: danielle.dvyouthhub@gmail.com, melissa.dvyouthhub@gmail.com or rysedraytonvalley@gmail.com
Tel (RYSE): 1 (708) 241-0962
Facebook: @Brazeau Empowerment Support Team; @RYSEDraytonValley
Website: www.ryseproject.org