Throughout the summer and fall of 2018 we began the process of connecting with organizations and youth around the province. An online feedback form was created, support staff and outreach workers were interviewed, and paid focus groups were held with youth. We wanted to hear people’s thoughts and experiences of stigma and their experiences seeking support. We wanted to hear about what’d helped them, what they wish they’d known, and what they wanted to share.

Based on the wisdom and guidance we received, we put a call out for young artists with lived experience to contribute content to the campaign. We wanted to invite youth to create their own stories through works of art inspired by our findings.  A total of 20 artists submitted a final piece of art to include in the campaign and thanks to the generous funding of the Provincial Health Services Authority we were able to pay them fairly for their work. That artwork has been used to create free resources for community organizations, sharing the true stories of struggles and success of the young folks we spoke with.

We cannot express enough how grateful we are for the youth who took the time to speak with us, the wisdom and insights they shared, and the talented artists who took part. We hope you will find this content as powerful as we do.

Please checkout the artwork below or click on the link on the left sidebar of this page (bottom of page on most mobile devices) to read the report of this project. To request a large sized poster for your community organization, please email us at mdacoord@lookoutsociety.ca