Alternative methods of practice for connecting with clients

Limitless Possibilities through Freedom from Addictions

Addiction Services of Thames ValleyCelebrating our 25th year of serving the Thames Valley

area (Middlesex, Oxford and Elgin Counties)Our Services:Substance Abuse concernsProblem Gambling concernsIndividuals, families and the communityAge 12+ / Male and femaleAssessment, Treatment Planning, Referrals,

Outpatient Counselling / Case ManagementCommunity Development, Prevention

Background:Understanding of current generation of youth and

substance use Utilize and expand on Best Practices for working

with youth and substance misuse *Resource and communication gaps and barriersYouth empowerment four pillar model:

Family, Service Providers, Community, YOUTH

Addiction Services of Thames Valley

* CCSA – Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse

Youth

Parents &

Youth Allies

Service Providers

Peers & Other Youth

Communication

To open dialogue between youth,

caregivers and service providers in order to prevent youth from

using illicit substances.

Production of this Material has been made possible through a financial contribution from Health Canada.

PIER ProjectElgin County

Peers, Information, Education, Resources

“A holistic approach to prevention against illicit substance use by youth”

“Having been involved in a

peer to peer model, I truly

believe that it works and it is

exciting to see it used in

another program”

-18 year old female, Oxford

County

“I wanted to be involved in this because I really think parents need to learn how to talk to their kids better about drugs”

 -16 year old Female, Elgin County

“Adults telling youth information, isn’t the same as

when a youth tells another youth the same thing…

youth listen to other youth, it’s more personal”

-16 year old female, Elgin County

“My younger sister comes to me to ask about drugs all the time, and I’m always trying to find the best

information to help her. I think this is a great project because it not only helps me to talk to my friends and

little sister better but I’m also learning REAL facts about drugs that aren’t biased”

– 17 year old female, Elgin County

• To date we have hosted 21 youth focus groups in Oxford & Elgin Counties

• Youth participants have ranged in age from 12 to 19

• The PIER Project has accessed youth through: high schools, youth centres, probation, leadership retreats, narcotics anonymous, etc.

Oxford & Elgin Focus Group Demographics

Focus Group QuestionsBelow are some questions that are included in the

focus group:Who do youth talk to about drugs?How do youth gain knowledge regarding drugs?Do youth get pressured to use drugs? If so what

or who pressure them?Do youth use resources in regards to drugs?What ‘type’ of resources do youth prefer?Do youth know where to access these resources?

Adult & Youth Survey Design

• We designed an adult and youth survey in order to receive additional feedback from those who were unable to attend in a focus group• We had the survey available online through survey monkey as well as hard copies which we distributed as various events and presentations • To date we have received over 300 surveys from adults and youth

Why do youth use drugs?“well it would be like stressin on something. You keep thinking about it and just take them to forget about it or something.”

Male youth

“and curiosity” Male youth

“it does make you money…I mean some people have some nice stuff from selling drugs and everything”

Female youth

“to fit in, not like peer pressure, but silent pressures”

Female youth

“So to be into a group like that (popular kids)…you’ll be a somebody.”

Female youth

“You can pretty much assume about 80% of the school smokes weed. It’s very easy to get marijuana

in high school. School authority overreacts way too much when it comes to marijuana, it doesn’t affect

anyone else in any negative way what so ever.”Female youth

“It makes us focus and zone in on our work”

Male Youth

Who or What Pressures Youth to Use Drugs?

Who or what do you think pressures youth the most to use illicit substances?

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Boredom

Friends/peers

Stress

Other

Percent (%)

YOUTH

ADULTS

What would make you feel more comfortable talking to adults about drugs?

Responses

“I think it’s great to get parents

involved; they need to know how to talk

to us and not just nag at us”

– 17 year old female, Oxford County

“any parents that say they have open communication with their kids, usually don’t”-16 year old female, Elgin County

“Don’t tell your kids that

they’re screw ups just

because they tried”

-15 year old female, Elgin

County

Q: What do you want caregivers to know?

“Don’t freak out

on us, that is the worst

thing to do”

-18 year old

male, Oxford

County

Insider’s Report: a conversation with teens about drugs

Don’t Harass-Do give space-Do give time

Don’t Over-React-Do be calm-Do be open to options

Don’t Criticize-Do respect their choices-Do understand their reasons

Don’t jump to conclusions-Do listen-Do let them explain

Don’t be afraid-Do ask-Do engage in conversation

Don’t Smother-Do let them come to you-Do show you care and want to talk

What do youth want to know about substances?

“I don’t think youth use resources, I know when I get pamphlets or

information it ends up on my bedroom floor”

-17 year old female, Oxford County

“ Online…You can look it up on your phone now too, you can just whip out your phone and just look it up on the internet” – 17 year old female, Oxford County

“I think it’s a good idea because there needs to

be better resources”- 16 year old female, Elgin County

Q: What type of resource do you think youth would prefer?

“ TV shows…like Intervention…I actually kind of like watching those things cuz you get to see it from a different perspective, but you also

learn stuff too, it’s cool, it’s sad though.”-15 year old female, Elgin County

Who do you think is the main person youth talk to about drugs?

0 20 40 60 80 100

Friend

Parent/caregiver

Sibling

Teacher or school personnel

Other

Percent (%)

YOUTH

ADULTS

Music can stimulate the mind, stir the soul and elicit emotions

•Listening to music is a popular leisure activity among youth; music is readily accessible and youth are repeatedly exposed to its messages

• These lyrics positively display the use of drugs and may be contributing to their desirability and normalization in society

”This ecstasy has got me

standin next to you but in the long run these drugs are probably gonna catch up sooner or later, but f*** it I'm on one, so let's enjoy,

let that X destroy your spinal chord, so it's not a straight line no more” -

Eminem

“I need drugs baking soda, cocaine, how sweetI need to find me a crack pipe and I‘m complete I got these crack dealers chasing me through the cement jungle cuz they gave me s*** to sell and yo I smoked

the whole bundle” -Necro

“Pick it, pack it, fire it up, come along and take hits

from the bongPut the blunt down just for

a secondDon't get me wrong it's not

a new methodInhale, Exhale - just got an

ounce in the mailI like a blunt or a big fat

coneBut my double barrel bong is gettin me stoned”

– Cypress Hill

“Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars

And live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars

The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap

We'll all stay skinny 'cause we just won't eat

And we'll hide out in the private rooms

With the latest dictionary and today's who's who

They'll get you anything with that evil smile

Everybody's got a drug dealer on speed dial”

- Nickleback

“Gonna pop my pills from a pez dispenser”

- Nickleback

Nuttin’ but some gangsters smokin’ and ridin’ Come on, get high with us

Come on and ride with us

– Ja RuleLet’s go home and get

stoned We could

end up making love instead of misery. Go home and get stoned

- Hinder

Resources that youth identify as useful for finding information

Where do youth go to find resources?

34%

11%33%

21%

1%

Ask somebody

Guidance/school office

Online

Wouldn't look

Other

• PIER Project Facebook pages have been created for both Elgin and Oxford County

• Once we accept youth as our ‘friends’ we send them a message explaining that they need to change their personal settings so that we cannot see any of their personal information (wall posts, photos, etc.)

We know that many youth no

longer use email.

Facebook and texting is what

they use to communicate

Below is the message that we send the Youth once they become our friend:

Sorry this takes some time, but for professional confidentiality on my end I need to make sure that your profile is limited from my view. I'm not trying to be rude, but for me to keep my profile working and to keep you added as a friend we need to set your settings.

Here's how:go to SETTINGSthen click PRIVACY SETTINGSclick on MANAGE PRIVACY then under PROFILE there's a bunch of different boxes to change/manage (profile, basic info, personal info, status and links, photos tagged of you, etc) for each of those you can choose who you DON'T want to see by CLICKING ON THE ARROW DOWN and at the bottom of that list is CUSTOMIZE. At the bottom of the box that comes up is a red line that says EXECPT THESE PEOPLE this is where you type in MY NAME and hit ok.

If you can do this for your pictures, your photo albums, and your wall/news feeds that would be great.

On the Youth Prevention Workers main profile we have a disclaimer that reads:

**Because of the work I do this is not my primary contact. If you need to talk to me or have me respond right away please call

me: 226.374.6220**

If you are facing a crisis or in immediate danger of harm please call 911.

TEXTINGThe pros of text messaging

• It is what the youth prefer “More than 75% of teens send or receive text messages and are

more than likely to use text messaging than email” (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 2009)

• The majority of youth own a cell phone “Two-thirds (63%) of teens own cell phones” (Centers of Disease Control and

Prevention, 2009) “ Online…You can look it up on your phone now too, you can just whip

out your phone and just look it up on the internet”– 17 year old female, Oxford County

Youth typically have their cell phone with them at all times and are therefore very accessible

Texting cont’dThe cons of text messaging

• Youth Prevention Workers are accessible ALL of the time, often youth will text outside of typical work hours (evenings and weekends)

• There is not a history of the messages that you can keep on file

• Still a need to have relationship and explain information to youth on a personal level.

• Mis-interpretation of messages can occur

WEBSITESwww.adstv.on.ca

Downloadable self referral forms Self Assessment forms  Office locator  Family Tip sheets/information  Youth page/PIER Project information and results Gambling games! Program presentations/information Downloadable “Taking Care of You” worksheets 

“Multiple Solutions

are almost always

necessary”

“Tell me…I forget, show me…I remember,

involve me…I understand”

- Ancient Proverb

Questions?

Presentation SourcesSubstance Abuse in Canada: Youth in Focus. 2007.

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse Activities. AND; Harm Reduction For Special Populations in Canada AND; Action News March 2010 All available at-- www.ccsa.ca

Audience Insights: Communicating to Teens (Aged 12-17). 2009. US Department of Health and Human Services. Available through-- Lynn Sokler, Chief, MCSB Lsokler@cdc.gov or www.cdc.gov/NCHM/DHCM/MCSB

Alcohol, tobacco and illicit substances in music videos: a content analysis of prevalence and genre. Journal of Adolescent Health, Volume 37, Issue 1, Pages 81-83. E.Gruber, H.Thau, D.Hill, D.Fisher, J.Grube

Contact InformationAbbie Boesterd

Youth Prevention Worker Oxford County(226) 374.6220

aboesterd@adstv.on.ca

Jessica AustinYouth Prevention Worker

Elgin County(519) 282.0662

jaustin@adstv.on.ca