Manitoba Advocate Releases Special Report: Innagakaeyaa Bimadizewin (Towards the Good Life): Unifying Voices for Youth Addiction System Change

NOVEMBER 28, 2024 – TREATY 1 TERRITORY AND NATIONAL HOMELAND OF THE RED RIVER MÉTIS, Winnipeg, Man.

Today, Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth Sherry Gott released the special report Innagakaeyaa Bimadizewin (Towards the Good Life): Unifying Voices for Youth Addiction System Change, an urgent call for action to reform Manitoba’s youth addiction services. The report amplifies the concerns and suggestions of those most affected by the addiction system: young people who use substances and have first-hand experience with the youth addiction system, and the service providers working tirelessly within it to support them.

“Manitoba’s current youth addiction system is plagued by systemic issues that greatly impact the availability, accessibility, and quality of services – making it ill-equipped to meet the complex and co-occurring needs of the children and youth it is intended for,” said

Manitoba Advocate Sherry Gott. “Manitoba’s young people not only deserve better, they have a right to it under international human rights law – the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.”

Protecting children from substance-related harms is an obligation that extends far beyond preventing substance initiation among youth. It also includes providing equitable and comprehensive services to youth who use substances, holistically supporting families and communities, and improving the underlying determinants of health for all children and their families. Making meaningful progress on a complex challenge of this nature requires finding and following new paths in collaboration with each other (youth, service providers, government, and the community) grounded in a commitment to fulfilling children’s rights.

Children and youth have a right to express their views on matters that affect them, and caregivers, service providers, and governments have an obligation to listen. Their feedback on what they need most from the addiction system, as well as service providers’ profound insights on the current system’s limitations and potential, must be at the heart of all collective efforts in order to map Manitoba’s pathway to providing integrated, holistic, and comprehensive services.

“Only through collaborative action can we propel the changes essential to ensuring the needs, best interests, and rights of young people are at the forefront of all youth-serving systems, and a future where every young person who uses substances in Manitoba can access the support they need, when they need it,” said Gott. “Not only is this within our power, but it is our responsibility. The survival and well-being of Manitoba’s young people depend on it.”

Read Innagakaeyaa Bimadizewin (Towards the Good Life): Unifying Voices for Youth Addiction System Change here: https://manitobaadvocate.ca/reports-publications/special-reports/.

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Media contact:

Lindsay Ridgley, Manager, Public Education

451-6111 LRidgley@manitobaadvocate.ca

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