The long-term goal of Planet Youth Nogojiwanong is to see reductions in rates of substance use and other related behaviours, and improvements to overall youth well-being. Issues and behaviours that we see on the surface tend to be symptoms of deeper and more complex root causes. By finding out what the root causes are, and working as a community to address these, we hope to see change in a positive direction.

Data on youth substance use rates show that our area has rates that are higher than the Ontario average, and as of the last few years, even lower-risk substances are causing high health risks due to the toxic drug supply (for example, fentanyl spiking).But the data we have is out of date – we are missing local, recent data to know how our youth are doing in multiple areas of wellbeing. This approach will help us have fresh, local data that we can use to make positive change in our communities.

We will not be copying the exact actions that Iceland took to address their community priorities. Instead, we will be using the evidence-based process they developed, including a validated survey and planning cycle. This will help us know what our local youth’s concerns are, where they may stem from, and what our strengths are. It will be up to us to identify and implement locally relevant solutions based on that information.

Substance use impacts everyone in various aspects, such as mental and physical health, family breakdown, increased crime, and societal costs. We all pay educational taxes, for example, regardless of whether we have children in the school system or not. We all have a responsibility to help make our communities better, and any person who parents, lives, works, or interacts with children and youth in any capacity has a responsibility to be a positive influence (protective factor).