In this episode we explore the relationship between youth and adult allies, particularly as it relates to issues of injustice. Dr. Hava Gordon discusses some of the justice issues that young people in the US face, particualry as they relate to schooling, and looks at what the role of adult’s are in supporting youth movements. She introduces several suggestions on how to be an ally, some of the challenges of being one, and suggestions on how to avoid aspects that can limit ones capacity to be an ally.

Dr. Gordon is an associate professor of Sociology and Criminology  at the University of Denver. Her work focuses on the social construction of inequalities such as gender, race, class and age; social movements, and schooling. Her current research is on community struggles over urban school reform, and is the subject of her upcoming book This is Our School! Race, Resistance, and Community Struggles over School Reform.

On this weeks episode, we say farewell to our co-host, Josh. Best of luck to him and his future endeavours! The two guests on the show are Melissa and Maria, who are peers of Salvatore (Sammy). The topic of the show talks about how sexuality is a spectrum and the different challenges facing the LGBTQ + community. There is also talk around the coming out process. 

If are you a child or youth that would like to be on the show or if you have a topic that you think we should talk about please email Salvatore at [email protected]

In this interview: Star, who wrote the zine series “Confessions of a Teenage Transexual Whore” talks about their time doing sex work and making art. They also discuss reasons people do sex work, how to support people who are engaged in such work, and what harm reduction might look like in those contexts. Star, who also uses the name Markus, is a visual artist, writer, student, educator, trans, videographer, and activist. They are currently doing an undergraduate degree in sociology and actively making art. You can find much of their work at starkisscreations.com

On this episode we talk with Megan, a recent graduate from Humber Colleges Child and Youth Care Degree. Megan talks with Sammy and Josh about her thesis on sections 43 of the Canadian criminal code and corporal punishment. The 3 discuss how children are viewed and how the discourse of a child needs to change to match the current times. The discussion then focuses on parenting and the use of corporal punishment as a parenting tool and the challenges with that.  It was also noted that communication with the young person is really important to start moving away from using corporal punishment.  

If you are a child/youth that would like to be on the show or if you have an idea of what you think we should talk about please email Sammy and Josh at  [email protected]

Murtaza Majeed discusses what harm reduction is and looks at examples of harm reduction from Iran, Afghanistan, Ireland, and Portugal. He discusses polices and programs that directly impact young people and talks about the war on drugs, racism in drug policy, and his recommendations for global responses to reduce the negative impact of drug use.

Murtaza Majeed, is the coordinator for Youth RISE, an international, youth focused harm-reduction program based out of London. Murtaza has worked with Medicines du Monde, and was the coordinator for the Afghanistan National AIDS Control Program. He lives in Kabul, Afghanistan. 

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On this episode of Your Right to Speak, Sammy and Josh talk with Sho and Aki about the use of social media, communications and elevating the voice of young people and social justice movements. There is discussion about how social media and communications should be used together, and how social media has become a new way for young people to express their views. 

If you are a child/youth that would like to be on the show or if you have an idea of what you think we should talk about please email Sammy and Josh at [email protected]

Tina Lackner discusses what mindfulness is, the evidence-base that supports it, and how to implement it with children, youth and ourselves. Tina Lacker is a CYW, a registered play therapist, a mother of three, and a faculty member at Humber College in Toronto.

Here are a variety of mindfulness based resources recommended by Tina to get you started:

For Children:

Christiane Kerr - "Enchanted Meditations For Kids" or "Calm for Kids"

Mindful Monkey, Happy Panda by Lauren Alderfer

For Teens

Mindfulness for Teen Anxiety by Christopher Willard

For Adults

Insight Timer- https://insighttimer.com

Tara Brach- https://www.tarabrach

Headspace- https://www.headspace.com

10 Mindful Minutes by Goldie Hawn

For Parent and their Children:

Still Like A Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for Kids (and their parents) by Eline Snel,

For Parenting:

Parenting the Mindful Child by Susan Kaiser Greenland and Child's Mind: Mindfulness practices to help our children be more focused, calm, and relaxed by Christopher Willard

For CYCs:

Acceptance & Mindfulness treatment for children and adolescents: A practitioners guide by Thomas Ollendick, Steven Hayes, Lauren Greco

On this episode of Your Right to Speak, Chelsea, from the Ontario Provincial Advocates Office, talks about a new report called Searching for Home. Taking into consideration the voices of young people, the report looks at barriers within the child welfare system. Chelsea discusses why “family” is not defined in the report, the lack of young people’s voice in developing “Plans of Care”, and how adultism impacts young people.

In this episode Dr. Stephen Snow talks about the evidence base for Drama Therapy, what it is, and why it is an effective way of working with people. He then goes on to explain a research process called ethnodrama and discusses two ethodrama projects he has been a principle investigator on. One with young women in youth protection and the second with family members who are care gives of people with mental illnesses.

Dr. Snow has developed a specialty in therapeutic theatre. In the past twenty years, he has directed over 25 theatre productions with diverse casts, including persons with mental health challenges, developmental disabilities, young people, and the blind. He has published articles and lectured on various aspects of Drama Therapy, both nationally and internationally, he’s been the principle-investigator in several ethnodrama research projects and is the former Chair of the Department of Creative Arts Therapies at Concordia University.

In the interview Dr. Snow mentions a few authors and the new Drama Therapy journal. Here are some links.

Ethnodrama: An Anthology of Reality Theatre

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2033617.Ethnodrama

North American Drama Therapy Association- http://www.nadta.org/

The Department of Creative Arts Therapies at Concordia University -

https://www.concordia.ca/finearts/creative-arts-therapies.html

Drama Therapy Review-

http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal,id=241/view,page=0/

For this black history month episode of Your Right to Speak, Sammy and Josh welcome back past guests Denise and Priscilla. The conversation begins with the meaning of the term black and the impact on young people in the social service system. The discussion then turns to issues the black community faces in the child welfare system. There is also talk around how the system needs to move away from a cultural competence framework, and the need for better ways to understand the different culture perceptive. An interesting point was made that the term neglect needs to be redefined to better fit different cultures. It was stressed that public services and policy makers needs to take into consideration the day to day experiences of communities that policy impacts.