YE and Public Health

There are many ways that public health units can encourage the use of youth engagement as a health promotion strategy.   Public health staff can:

Administer youth engagement by designing, coordinating, and/or evaluating youth engagement programs that are facilitated by others.  When administering youth engagement projects, public health unit staff may be responsible for building support for youth engagement among their senior management and Board of Directors, researching best practices in youth engagement, developing evidence-based logic models and programs, writing grant proposals, managing the financial and reporting requirements of grants, liaising with funders, hiring and supervising staff and volunteers, and managing internal and external partnerships. 

Fund youth engagement by developing granting programs to support youth-led and/or community-based projects. When funding youth engagement projects, public health unit staff may be responsible for building support for youth engagement among their senior management and Board of Directors, researching best practices in youth engagement, developing calls for proposals, fostering interest in youth engagement among community partners, evaluating proposals, and overseeing funded projects to ensure financial and programmatic accountability. 

Implement youth engagement by working directly with young people and supporting them to design, implement and/or evaluate health promotion initiatives.  When implementing youth engagement, public health unit staff may be responsible for coordinating logistics such as space and food, recruiting and selecting youth group members, planning activities and coordinating speakers to train the youth, supporting the youth to plan and implement their initiatives, and coordinating communications and recognition activities.

Be a champion for youth engagement by advocating within your public health unit, community, or provincially for policies and funding to support youth engagement.  Public health unit staff can be a champion for youth engagement by sharing their knowledge about youth engagement, including its benefits to young people, the organizations that work with them, and the communities in which they live.

Partner in youth engagement by supporting community partners to implement their youth engagement projects.  This may include sitting on advisory committees, acting as a guest speaker, and helping community partners learn more about specific health issues.