Healing youth, one workshop at a time
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) conducted the 2023 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS), revealing an alarming statistic— more than half of Ontario students experience symptoms of anxiety and depression. The survey also highlighted the need for more investment in programming to support youth mental health.
One York Region-based organization, Next Generation Arts, is doing their part, one program at a time.
Next Generation Arts was founded to provide accessible, free arts programming for youth in Markham and Scarborough, with a focus on community-led and community-supported programs. The organization seeks to encourage youth to explore their creativity, learn skills to support their career development, build connections with other York Region youth, foster youth empowerment and provide necessary resources.
Founder and executive director Jen D. Fabico-Smith shares the vision behind why Next Generation Arts is York-Region based: “As someone who lived between the border of Markham and Scarborough, it always felt like an extended community. The same community, but with different ends, south and north. There is a strong sense of community, a lot of shared lived experiences, and rapport that has been built over time…. providing us with great opportunity to have a platform to advocate for both communities, especially in York Region. We understand that it’s crucial to advocate in the places where we’ve built our lives.”
In 2020, Next Generation Arts launched the HEAL (Health Empowerment & Arts Leverage), a free arts and wellness workshop program for Scarborough and Markham youth between the ages of 13-29. The program is a drop-in style format, so youth can join at any time, in-person or online. Workshop disciplines include spoken word, inter-arts and painting, and focus on trauma-informed, culturally sensitive approaches to arts-based learning.
Currently, HEAL offers two workshop streams in York Region: visual arts with Mariz Pe, and spoken word and poetry with Patrick de Belen. Sessions run weekly on Tuesdays from 4–6 p.m. at Aaniin Community Centre in Markham and will continue through December 2025.
HEAL will relaunch in Scarborough this fall, offering spoken word and poetry, music and songwriting, and inter-arts workshops at Next Generation Arts’ newly expanded space.
The impact of the HEAL program has been profound for participants, with 100 per cent expressing that they would join HEAL again and/or recommend HEAL to others in their community.
With many participants returning week after week, HEAL has also nurtured participant collaborations, with some co-writing songs and recording original music videos together.
As Fabico-Smith explains, “HEAL isn’t just an arts program—it’s a safe space for youth to be themselves, to process what they’re going through, and to heal through creativity. We want each young person to walk away knowing that their voices matter, that they are not alone in what they’re going through, and that healing is possible.”
*Story submitted by Sheniz Janmohamed (Next Generations Arts photo)