In the spring of 2021, New Leaf Foundation created a Youth Wellness Survey. The goal was to engage young people in Toronto and the surrounding area to share their vision of individual and community wellness.
The survey was developed in consultation with YouthREX and was designed around 3 general areas of inquiry:
- Youth’s experience of stress
- How young people define wellness for themselves and their community
- The role that youth see themselves playing in cultivating wellness
Our objectives included using what we learned to inform our programming and approaches, as well as to share the findings for the benefit of other youth service providers and caregivers.
New Leaf surpassed our goal to engage 100 youth, receiving 187 completed surveys.
"I define wellness as making the active effort to take care of my mental, physical, and social health. Not being "sick" does not equate to my [optimum] wellness. Wellness affects every aspect of my health, not just my physical wellbeing."
Key Insights
The youth surveyed:
- shared a holistic vision of wellness that included physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual factors
- see a relationship between community and individual wellness
- emphasized the importance of acceptance, diversity, and inclusion
- identified lack of access as a key barrier to wellness
- are keenly aware of how systems, such as schooling and policing, impact their wellness
With thanks to McCall MacBain Foundation, YouthRex, MLSE LaunchPad, NpowerCanada, Peacebuilders Canada, Pathways to Education Regent Park, Rexdale Community Health Centre, RexPride, L’Amoreaux Collegiate Institute and Victoria Park Collegiate Institute for their support and participation.