BounceBack: Designed For Youth By Youth

When we started developing a BounceBack program for youth aged 15 to 18 years old, we knew right away that we couldn’t do it alone. We made a commitment to ensure young people were at the very heart of how the program was designed, adopted and promoted across the country. Our Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) members have played a key role in developing a program for youth, by youth.

In 2017, committee members went through an intense review process of the 9 youth booklets. From their feedback, we made a lot of small changes that collectively have had a big impact. For instance, we replaced references to work or taking care of family members to youth-specific activities such as walking down the hallway, going to practice or meeting up with a friend. We also changed graphics and illustrations and added bolder colours. These changes are key to ensuring that the materials are accessible and relevant to young people.

In 2018, the committee reviewed the online program, and all of the promotional channels that BounceBack uses, to get the word out about this free service. From these conversations we launched several projects to make the program more accessible for youth who want to participate. We launched the School Counsellor Pilot Project, where BC secondary school counsellors can refer students to the coaching program without a physician’s referral. We also developed this BounceBack website, created new videos with coaches and past participants and added more interactivity to the program as a whole.

Currently, our YAC consists of 19 young people from across BC. The team has played a central role in the development of the #CelebrateEverydayVictories campaign and exploring what future youth involvement in the BounceBack program will look like.

We are so grateful for all of the incredible young people who have been a part of the team from across British Columbia. Their dedication, time and commitment to mental health advocacy is at the centre of BounceBack for youth.

Are you interested in being a part of an incredible team of changemakers?

Contact us to learn more about volunteer opportunities with the BounceBack team.