Our Story - Youth Research and Evaluation eXchange

01.

Understand your youth program’s capacity – and start there.

While grassroots organizations share many similarities, we recognize that all organizations are unique, have different histories, work in different contexts and have staff with varying capacities. We are committed to taking the time to learn about these unique aspects of your organization so that our work with you takes into consideration your organizational, social and political realities.

02.

Be responsive to your program’s needs.

We will be guided by the question, “How and when will you use the information that comes from this process?” Asking this question will help us ensure that our work with you is relevant and meaningful.

03.

Work collaboratively with a youth program.

While we will do our best to support your program, we know we are not the experts on your work. We aren’t coming in to tell you what you do; our work is a shared process and YouthREX is committed to staying true to the ‘eXchange’ in our name.

04.

Adhere to high ethical standards in supporting your evaluation.

Our evaluation work with you will comply with the Tri-Council Policy Statement on the Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans. All our processes will also demonstrate cultural awareness, sensitivity and inclusive practices that reflect on our own values.

05.

Meaningfully engage youth.

YouthREX is committed to processes that include the experience and voices of Ontario’s youth, particularly those who are racialized youth, newcomer youth, Indigenous youth, youth with disabilities or special needs, youth in and leaving care, Francophone youth, LGBT2SQ youth, youth living in rural & remote communities, youth from low-income families and youth in conflict with the law. We will work with your organization to identify how to engage youth in the design, development and evaluation of your youth program.

06.

Commit fully to equity, diversity and inclusion.

When it comes to equity and inclusion, there is always room for improvement. We will work with you to better recognize the differences in the experiences of youth with diverse identities, in enhancing the inclusiveness of your program, and in identifying and reducing barriers to meaningful youth participation.

Timeline

YouthREX's highlights and contributions
over the past ten years.

YouthREX is primarily funded by the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community & Social Services with contributions from the York Research Chair in Youth and Contexts of Inequity held by Dr. Uzo Anucha at the School of Social Work, York University.

2023-2025

January 2025
#YouthREXat10: YouthREX is proud to celebrate 10 years of learning, collaboration, and shared impact in Ontario’s youth sector!

December 2024
The Data Hub by YouthREX launches, providing the community sector with accessible data about Ontario youth that highlight and focus attention on trends and issues about young people.

October 2024
YouthREX’s YouTube channel for knowledge mobilization, REX TV is live, featuring curated video collections and playlists.

June 12, 2024
YouthREX hosts an in-person Youth Justice Roundtable with youth sector stakeholders (program directors, funders, policymakers, social innovators, and researchers) and Natalie Cook, South Australia’s Minister for Human Services.

April 2024
The Kit for Centering Black Youth Wellbeing is live! This online hub for anti-Black racism learning + action + community engagement in Ontario’s youth sector features the Call-In-Cards for Anti-Black Racism Action.

February 21, 2024
YouthREX hosts the first of three online trainings for youth workers, Mental Health First Aid: Supporting Youth.

December 7, 2023
YouthREX hosts another online Teach-In – Resisting Burnout and Vicarious Trauma: Collective Care and Solidarity in Frontline Youth Work – featuring Vikki Reynolds, consultant, facilitator, and community worker.

October 26, 2023
YouthREX hosts a free in-person training for youth workers, Mental Health First Aid: Supporting Youth.

September 7, 2023
YouthREX hosts a Thought Leadership Forum with Dr. Tania de St Croix. Rethinking Impact: Evaluation & Accountability in Youth Work brings together youth sector funders, executive directors, senior policymakers, and social innovators to explore how the youth sector can collaboratively design ways of understanding long-term impacts of our work with youth.

September 6, 2023
In partnership with the York Research Chair in Youth and Contexts of Inequity, YouthREX hosts Visioning Transformative Youth Work: Collaborative Design Day, featuring Dr. Tania de St Croix, critical youth studies and youth work scholar, author, youth worker, and academic at King’s College London, UK. The event includes livestream and in-person engagement opportunities to collaboratively craft a vision for creative and viable forms of transformative youth work practices.

April 20, 2023
In response to the Government of Canada’s legislative review of the Cannabis Act and the fifth anniversary of cannabis legalization, YouthREX co-hosts a two-part community dialogue on cannabis and youth – Canada’s Cannabis Act and Youth: 5 Years Later and 5 Years Forward – in partnership with the Ontario Native Education Counselling Association (ONECA), Provincial Youth Outreach Worker Program at Strides Toronto, and YMCA Youth Cannabis Awareness Program.

April 2023
YouthREX’s contract with the Ministry of Children, Community & Social Services is renewed until March 2024 and includes funding for an external evaluator to assess the impacts of YouthREX’s programs and services.

2020-2022