By Connor Clerke, OKN knowledge broker
In May and June 2021, more than 2500 youth participated in the Halton Youth Impact Survey. The results from the survey address an important gap in comprehensive data on how young people are doing across a range of indicators, including mental health, belonging, safety, and connections with their community.
Preliminary results were shared at a Youth Data Party in November 2021 with 44 young people leading a discussion on what the data means to them and how to mobilize the information to improve wellbeing in Halton. Participants shared ideas for taking action, from the community promoting a sense of belonging by helping youth feel at ease, to schools providing additional support for homework, resources for mental health and opportunities for connecting with others through clubs.
Explore new data
Now, the data is available for everyone to access in OKN’s Data Portal. With over 50 new indicators, you can now explore this new data to inform your work with children and youth. For example, did you know that only 3 in 10 Halton youth rate their mental health as very good or excellent? And while 63% of youth report at least one positive interaction in their community, 29% feel lonely. Mental health is so important to a young person’s development and affects the way we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices. How can we support young people struggling with their mental health and sense of belonging? The data will help center youth voices so that programs and services intended for young people are responsive to their specific needs and experiences.
In addition to exploring a wide range of indicators, the Data Portal allows users to make comparisons across different geographies in Halton. This can help identify gaps in services, or programs to learn from. For example, how do youth rate their school experience in North East Oakville compared to South Central Milton? In what communities do youth experience higher levels of belonging? Are there linkages between sense of belonging and access to community services such as libraries and recreation? The map below highlights the sample size of the survey for the different neighborhoods of Halton. Explore the Data Portal to make your own comparisons to better understand the gaps and opportunities for serving youth in our community.
What next?
In the coming months, the OKN team will be rolling out a knowledge translation plan to turn the new, comprehensive data into community action. Our goal is to generate awareness about how young people are doing across a range of indicators, inform evidence-based decision-making that will support young people, and mobilize community action to improve the wellbeing of youth in Halton.
Beginning in March, we will be publishing a series of data action bulletins focusing on the Halton 7. The data action bulletins will summarize key findings in an accessible format with questions to help guide discussion and action at your organization. Do the findings support your programs or policies, or identify gaps in programs or services? In what ways can we develop and foster youth connectedness? How can we work together to build strong community belonging with youth?
The Halton Youth Impact Survey collected comprehensive demographic data that will provide important information on how youth with different backgrounds, abilities, and identities understand their sense of wellbeing. What are the important differences experienced by those living with a disability or those with a gender identity other than male or female? How do newcomer, non-binary, Indigenous and white youth rate their levels of stress, family connections and community safety? And how can we ensure all youth are included in our programs, services, and policies?
The data action bulletins will be accompanied by a series of public events to share findings and facilitate discussion among young people, educators, service providers, policy-makers, and others across Halton. Everyone working with youth has a role to play and no matter your area of work, there is data to inform how to support young people.
In the second half of 2022, OKN will publish a final report, bringing together all the key findings from the survey, providing a comprehensive community profile of youth wellbeing in Halton.
We look forward to connecting with partners across Halton and working together to improve youth wellbeing in our community. To explore the data now, visit the OKN Data Portal and share on your social channels how you plan to use the data with the hashtag #HaltonYouthDataAction. To receive the latest updates on events and reports, sign up for the OKN newsletter.
Let’s work together to see all children and youth thrive!
