It Matters to Me: Informing Youth Services Delivery

IT MATTERS TO ME: INFORMING YOUTH SERVICES DELIVERY 42 transitional life events, such as elementary school to high school, high school to post-secondary school, and youth to adulthood (Ziemann, 2019). Having a place where young people can retreat that encourages peace and quiet from everyday stresses was a common theme from this research project. Data presented in Finding 5 spoke to the idea of having a quiet space to support youth in their mental and spiritual well-being. Surrey school-age youth mentioned over 32 times in focus group discussions the need for a quiet space to destress, rest, and chill (City of Surrey, in press). This group shared that this space may resemble a spa, or a library, or it could be part of an outdoor space that encourages quiet comfort. Furthermore, they shared that experiencing quietness is a useful stress reduction strategy that is often not easy to find, including in their homes. A program, called Quiet Place Project, strengthens the argument on the benefits of using quiet spaces in programing design to improve health outcomes of young people (Spalding, 2003). The Quiet Place Project was implemented in several schools in England, and results demonstrated improved mental, physical, and spiritual health in at- risk young people (Spalding, 2003). Regalado and Smale (2015) discovered that young people still gravitate to quiet places, which often cannot be found in their homes. A youth-integrated services delivery approach has been proven to be the best model to support young people with services to increase positive health outcomes (Foundry BC, 2018). A youth-integrated service delivery approach has been modeled in communities worldwide, and based on successful evaluated outcomes, it makes this approach relevant to supporting Surrey youth. Conclusion 2: There is a need to support youth to access health services when they need it . The need for service models to rid the barriers that prevent young people in accessing health services such as long waitlist, limited service hours, and the lack of diverse and relevant health approaches was supported in Finding 3. Also emphasized was the need to encourage young

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