Youth and Family Engagement
Your experience matters.
At Lynwood Charlton Centre, we don’t just connect children, youth, and families to services—we reimagine those services with them. By actively listening to lived experiences and centering feedback in everything we do, we’re reshaping Hamilton’s mental health system to be as unique as the communities we serve.
At Lynwood Charlton Centre, we are committed to meaningful engagement with children, youth, and families to better understand, improve, and build on our services and Hamilton’s child and youth mental health system.
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In simple terms: It’s shifting from a model of "we know what's best for you" to "let's figure out what's best together."
Youth and family engagement (in the context of professional care) is the intentional, meaningful, and ongoing partnership between mental health providers, youth, and their families. It is the cornerstone of modern, effective, and humane mental health care, ensuring that support is not just clinically sound, but also personally meaningful and empowering for those it is designed to serve.
It means recognizing that youth and families are the true experts on their own lives, experiences, and needs. Instead of being passive recipients of care, they are active, empowered leaders and co-designers in their healing journey, at both the individual treatment level and the organizational/system level.
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Youth and Family Engagement involves action at multiple levels:
At the Individual Care Level:
Co-creating treatment plans: Goals and strategies are developed with youth and family, not for them.
Shared decision-making: We offer options and expertise, and youth/families make informed choices that align with their values, culture and needs.
Authentic communication: We listen to understand, validate concerns, and communicate clearly and transparently.
At the Program/Organizational Level:
Advisory roles: Inviting youth and family members to serve on advisory boards committees, and hiring teams.
Program design and evaluation: Parenting with youth and family to design new services, improve existing ones, and evaluate program effectiveness.
Peer support: Creating opportunities for youth and families to support others and shared experiences.
At the System Level (as Lead Agency):
Advocacy: Amplifying the voices of youth and families to influence policy and funding decisions.
Community outreach: Ensuring services are designed to be accessible and welcoming to all in our community.
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Engagement is critically important because it leads to significantly better outcomes and a more effective, responsive system:
Improves treatment: When care plans are relevant and respectful of a family’s culture and preferences, they are more likely to be followed, leading to better results.
Empowers youth and families: It builds their skills, confidence, and self-efficacy, turning them from “patients” into active agents of their own well-being. This is healing in itself.
Builds trust and reduces stigma: Collaborative relationships break down power dynamics and build trust, making it easier for youth and families to seek and stay in care.
Creates better services: Who better to inform the design of mental health services than the people who use them? Their lived experiences leads to more accessible, relevant, and innovative programs.
Promotes equity: It ensures services are culturally competent and responsive to the unique needs of diverse communities, helping to dismantle barriers to care.
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At the Individual Care Level:
We recognize that children, youth, and families know themselves best and bring their own unique knowledge, experiences, strengths, and skills to their journey to mental health and well-being. Therefore, we strive to work in partnership with children, youth, and families in all aspects of the care they receive.
At the Program/Organizational Level:
We understand that engaging youth and their families at all levels of our organization will help ensure that our services remain child, youth and family centered. That’s why we are committed to creating opportunities for youth and families to share their voices and perspectives in ways that have a meaningful impact. This may include helping make decisions about new or changing programs, how services look and feel, or working with staff and leadership to impact change.
At the System Level (as Lead Agency):
We take an active role in ensuring that children, youth, and families are connected to community-wide engagement opportunities that help make a difference to our local child and youth mental health system. This can mean connecting with other youth, families, agencies, or community partners to improve our system and make a genuine impact.
Our Promise
Everyone deserves to feel seen, heard, supported, and safe.
Meaningful engagement means two-way communication, working together as allies, and sharing in decisions that are made. It means co-creating solutions that:
Honour personal stories as catalysts for change
Adapt systems to dismantle barriers
Turn feedback into action at every level
Because when we empower those we serve to lead the conversation, we don’t just improve care—we write a new story for mental health in Hamilton.
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We will implement strengths-based advocacy.
This approach focuses on the strengths of individuals with mental illness and/or substance use, rather than their symptoms.
By involving those with lived experience in decision-making, we aim to empower them and create programs that address their needs.
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We will use an intersectional approach for all policies and programs.
This means acknowledging individuals’ unique identities to move beyond the assumption of a shared experience. Factors like race, class gender identity, sexual orientation, and religion intersect, influencing the biases people encounter.
Recognizing these differences will enable us to develop more effective policies and programs.
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We will utilize the strengths of others.
This involves harnessing the diverse expertise, strengths, and opportunities available within Lynwood Charlton Centre and the community to effectively address individuals’ mental health and substance use needs.
Our goal is to collaborate and combine these strengths to deliver the highest quality of care and support.
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We will advance research that transforms care.
This involves partnering with universities, clinicians, and communities to ethically study what works—and what could work better—in child and youth mental health. By grounding our programs in evidence while centering lived experience, we ensure every young person benefits from the latest science without sacrificing personal connection.
Our goal is to turn insights into action, so today’s research becomes tomorrow’s healing.
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We will center youth and family voices in everything we do.
This involves creating meaningful partnerships at all levels—from individual care plans to system-wide program design. Children, youth, and families bring irreplaceable expertise to their mental health journeys, and their insights shape how services evolve.
Our goal is to embed these perspectives so deeply that every decision reflects what matters most to those we serve.
How We Fulfill Our Promise
You can make a difference.
Who better to inform the design of mental health services than the people who use them? Your unique perspectives about our system mean that we can see what is working well, what isn’t, and how we can make things better. Your knowledge and expertise make you a vital partner in improving child and youth mental health in Hamilton. Your story matters.
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WE NEED YOU.
You’re the expert in your own life. Help us understand how to support you better.
Use your experience to:
Co-develop content and resources for fellow youth
Get trained in youth engagement and help train others
Share the ways that programs can services can do better
Help hire staff and shape our team
Help create research projects and community initiatives
Get involved and gain:
Skills and training in facilitation, research, and advocacy
Volunteer hours for your contributions
A powerful resume builder and professional network
Real, tangible change in Hamilton’s mental health system
READY TO LEAD? Use the contact form below to connect with us.
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WE NEED YOU.
Your journey as a family member is invaluable. Help us ensure our services are truly designed with families, not just for them.
Use your experience to:
Help shape our strategic vision
Co-develop programs and services
Evaluate and improve upon existing programs and services
Help train staff
Co-design resources (like program brochures and guides for families)
Make our services easier to access and navigate for everyone
Get involved and contribute to:
Better, more responsive programs for all families in Hamilton
A stronger and more compassionate mental health system
Reducing stigma and barriers to care through your advocacy
Supporting other families on their journey
READY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE? Use the contact form below to connect with us.
Connect with us
Interested in learning more and how you can make a difference? Contact us through the form below.