Youth Panel: Insights into successful supports and services and where the gaps lie.

- Programs should be developed with a broader mandate (i.e. unemployed and out of school) that would include youth in order to better meet their needs.
- Leaving care (CAS, CJ’s) often translates into a loss of resources that should be addressed.
- “A foundation to independence”: youth need to be able to make their own choices at their own rhythm and not having workers telling them what they should or shouldn’t be doing.
- Stability is key.
- Parent counseling and family services are effective.
- There needs to be more of a focus on developing self-motivation.
- There is a lack of programming and resources in emergency shelters. It is important that youth can access many services at once, the sense of one-stop shopping. This can be achieved by both geographic location and partnerships with different agencies in order to offer youth the best and specialized services.
- Funding is the key to offer better follow-up and continued support which translates into youth having more options.
- Youth need to feel that they are valued, heard and taken seriously as was found through a video project by SIDA/AIDS
(http://www.sida-aidsmoncton.com/iwhtm.php)