YAP is a youth-focused FASD prevention initiative that encourages young people to create resources and projects that raise awareness of FASD and other alcohol-related harms among their peers. Saskatchewan youth (between the ages of 14-24) develop projects and/or resources to share with their community.
The YAP program integrates and applies a number of strategies to youth-focused FASD prevention. First, using a philosophy of youth engagement as the basis of the program, youth are supported to create positive change in their lives and in their communities. Second, the YAP program is characterized by a harm reduction approach, focusing on the consequences and risks of substance use rather than on use of the substance itself. For example, rather than suggesting total abstinence from alcohol, the harm reduction approach recognizes that not all youth will simply stop drinking. The harm reduction approach focuses instead on providing skills and tools to reduce the harms experienced through alcohol use. Third, the YAP program facilitates peer-to-peer prevention, by providing skills, resources, and support to participants in creating resources and projects specifically tailored to the needs of their peers.
Cope shares the voices of Saskatchewan young people and how they cope with challenges in their lives. The aim is that youth throughout the province will connect with other young peoples’ experiences, feel supported, and learn about healthy ways of coping with difficulties in their lives.
What’s Inside? Creative works which reveal the thoughts and opinions of young people and how they cope with challenges in their lives; the culture of alcohol consumption; a young man’s experience with addiction issues; the impact of addictions on family members; and sex, alcohol, and consent. In addition, the magazine explores youth finding outlets through music, getting involved, youth conference planning, and much more.
Cope was developed as part of the Youth Action for Prevention Program; a youth-focused FASD prevention program that raises awareness about alcohol-related harms and supports youth to create positive change in their communities. The articles and art in this magazine can be used to start conversations about the role of alcohol in the lives of young people and society, and ways to promote resilience.
Learn about two projects highlighted in the magazine:
“Driven” is a powerful example of young people coming together to develop a creative resource to empower other youth encountering challenges in their communities. The song and video can be used as a discussion tool for both adult ally and peer-to-peer alcohol education workshops.
YAP Songwriting Group in Beardy’s & Okemasis at the Constable Robin Cameron Education Complex
Eleven youth from Beardy’s & Okemasis First Nation worked together to create a song about the impacts of alcohol in their community. Lindsay Knight (Eekwol) facilitated the songwriting workshop, providing young people with the opportunity to write lyrics and develop a song based on their experiences with alcohol (or those around them), and focus on resilience, including what they like about living in their community and what helps them cope with challenges in their lives.
This project was funded by the Youth Action for Prevention Program at the Saskatchewan Prevention Institute.
The Rap and Rhythm Poetry Workshop was designed to empower youth to creatively express their stories of resilience through storytelling and rap. Twelve youth were selected to attend the workshop at Saskatoon’s Core Neighbourhood Youth Co-op (CNYC), where they were mentored by four local artists and learned the songwriting and production process. The goal of the workshop was not only to encourage self-expression through story and song, but to create purpose-driven music to which others may connect. Through the mentorship of these artists, the youth were able to self-produce a powerful and meaningful full-length album. The album was released by Paved Arts in May 2016.
This workshop was funded by the Youth Health Community Grants Program at the Saskatchewan Prevention Institute.
A video was created by Saskatchewan youth communicating the importance of avoiding alcohol during pregnancy. The video addresses alcohol and pregnancy in a sensitive and relevant way by having nine different young people thanking their own mothers for not drinking alcohol during pregnancy. As part of the project, posters were also developed featuring the same youth.