Youth-driven research will inform local decision making

MINTO – A youth-driven research project will help fuel discussion and formulation of municipal policy and planning here.

To increase youth engagement at the municipal level, the town’s economic development department collaborated with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) through their Municipal Youth Engagement Initiative Program.

The goal of the program is youth-driven applied research to solve, address or inform a community issue. The program also creates an opportunity for various partners to collaborate, including: students, municipal staff, teachers, local school board, council, OMAFRA and other local stakeholders.

Marketing and community development coordinator Taylor Kuenen explained  at the June 18 council meeting that town staff connected with Norwell District Secondary School principal Paul Richards last fall to determine which class the program would best align with in terms of research and data collection.

“Norwell’s great for always wanting to get involved in things,” Kuenen noted. “The whole goal is to connect the students … It’s really just to establish that relationship and just get the youth voice across to council.”

Teacher Jen Fenton’s Grade 12 human growth and development class was chosen as the final cumulative assignment for the course, consisting of a final report and presentation based on social research and data collection.

Fenton pointed out that usually, once completed, such research projects usually end up collecting dust in a school storeroom.

“I really was reaching to try to find a way to make this authentic for the students and then along came Taylor with this project,” Fenton told council.

The goal of integrating the program into the curriculum is to provide students the opportunity to choose a real-life topic or issue in Minto, survey students and collect applicable data the town could access. Topics selected included rural transportation, mental health, sports and recreation, religion and ethnicity.

Fenton noted one of the student research groups focused on learning when students were “most stressed,” while another focused on learning if students were aware of available local support systems and programs.

“The results showed that they don’t know what’s here,” said Fenton, adding, “getting students linked up to the supports that we do have here” should be a priority.

Fenton also pointed out that, “In the Town of Minto our students generally have a good mental outlook and we also found that there is a great deal of stigma attached to getting help for mental health issues.

“So perhaps that’s a next step for us ... finding how do we de-stigmatize that help.”

Fenton said the survey also revealed “people of colour in Minto have a difficult time finding a spot for themselves.” She also noted lack of transportation “does affect students’ ability to be involved” in their community.

Kuenen noted in her report to council she is “very pleased with the results from the youth and the relationships made within the high school.”

Kuenen said reports generated by students will be circulated to various local committees, including Minto Youth Action Council, Minto Mental Health, Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee and the Town of Minto Cultural Roundtable.

“So we’re really excited to get everything going,” she stated.