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Youth Speak Out
Overview
Our Youth Speak Out Program (YSO) worked with children and youth in/from the child welfare system to identify, help heal, and share their lived experience to better their communities and provide more resources and support to the generations of children / youth that enter care after them.
YSO participants are still in foster care, have been adopted, or have aged out of the system without permanent families.
YSO participants were educated on civic engagement, and CYPCC worked with them to develop their leadership skills. Our YSO program empowered children/youth to be more involved in and feel a part of their communities. Working with local adult supports, we prepared Youth Speak Out members for media interviews and taught them how to participate in panels where they can tell legislators, policymakers, social workers, family court lawyers and judges, potential adoptive families, and other decision-makers what it’s like to be in foster care and why they need stable relationships with people who will stick with them long after they turn 16, 18, and 21.
YSO participants spoke on a wide range of topics related to their experience or time in care, including but not limited to: Apprehension, Life in foster/group care, Aging Out, Experiences with Homelessness, Poverty, Intergenerational Trauma, Addictions, Victimization, Anti-Human Trafficking, Colonialism, Inequity, Permanency, Kinship and Customary Care, Education and Employment.
ACC SASK Youth Speak Out - WE KNOW
What Our Youth Say
Youth Speak Out (YSO) teams have grown into a national initiative, bringing together young people from communities across Canada. From Ottawa and Toronto to Vancouver, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and beyond—including Moncton, Fredericton, Iqaluit, and Thunder Bay—participants have come together to share their experiences and advocate for change within the child welfare system.
Through this work, youth have had the opportunity to speak at all levels, including on Parliament Hill, at Queen’s Park, and within provincial legislatures. They have shared their perspectives with social workers, educators, adoptive and foster families, policymakers, and government leaders, including the Governor General and federal committees such as the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development, and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA). Their voices have played an important role in influencing policy and improving practices.
Beyond advocacy, the process of developing and sharing their personal stories has proven to be both meaningful and therapeutic. Many participants have built strong support networks, with some forming lasting relationships or finding permanent connections through the program. Others have gone on to pursue education and careers in fields such as social work, mental health, government, and law, all with the goal of supporting future youth in care.
Today, members of the Youth Speak Out program continue to share their experiences with a wide range of audiences. Their voices remain a powerful force in promoting permanency, strengthening support systems, and creating lasting change for children and youth in the child welfare system.
To learn more about this work, please contact: info@adoption.ca.
