Teen Wellness

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Teen Wellness with Brooklynne Webb Confidence Starts with Being Unapologetically You

With the rise of social media, how do you think body image standards have changed?

The rise in social media has fueled everyone’s insecurities. Most people only put their absolute best self online which already creates an unrealistic standard. On top of that, it’s so easy to photoshop an image and make it nothing close to reality. Everyone feels like they have to live up to these perfect standards not only online but in our day-to-day lives.

As a teenager, do you find that body image has a profound impact on your well-being?

How I feel about my body image honestly changes from day to day.

Sometimes, I feel like I am beautiful

P H OTO C O U RT ESY O F DAV I D D O O B I N

Canadian social media star, Brooklynne Webb is on a mission to help everyone feel confident in who they are. The 17-year-old uses her platform to promote self-confidence and help teens love themselves. Mediaplanet spoke with Brooklynne about how important body confidence is and the role social media plays.

and really happy in my own skin! Other days, it’s just as simple as looking in the mirror and not liking what I see.

It can be simple things like clothes not fitting like they did on the model.

Overall, it definitely has an impact on my well-being.

How do you maintain and promote personal wellness?

You use your platform as a space to promote healthy body image standards, is this something you've always been passionate about?

What is one thing you want all teens struggling with body image or confidence to know?

Even though it’s something I have always struggled with, it’s definitely something I’ve always been passionate about! I remember making posts back in 2016 expressing how loving and taking care of yourself is super important! If my 2016 self could see me now she would be so proud!

Personal wellness looks different for every person and their lifestyle. I’ve started going to therapy recently and it's been super helpful in many aspects of my life!

I wish that all teens knew that beauty is truly only skin deep. It’s the per -son you are on the inside that really matters — as cheesy as it sounds.

The reason why I am so confident is because I know exactly who I am on the inside. You are truly beautiful, and I hope you are taking care of yourself.

P H OTO C O U RT ESY O F C L AU S A N D ER S EN

Andre De Grasse : A Champion for Change Olympic gold medalist Andre De Grasse is as dedicated to empowering youth as he is to dominating the track. With the Andre De Grasse Family Foundation, Andre strives to provide Canadian teens with the same opportunities he had growing up in Markham, Ontario. Mediaplanet spoke to Andre on his commitment to inspire Canadian teens and how his foundation is helping him change lives.

Tell us about your foundation, The Andre De Grasse Family Foundation.

I created the foundation to help provide youth with the kinds of opportunities that were essential to me in making me who I am. The goal of the Andre De Grasse Family Foundation is to inspire and empower youth through access to sports, education, and health care.

We develop partnerships to deliver sports programs, to help teens secure scholarship opportunities to post

secondary education, and to positively impact the physical and mental health of kids.

easier to do that now while I’m competing, and when I finish my career, I can expand it.

Why was it important for you to start this foundation?

Have you always been passionate about supporting youth?

I wanted to be able to have a foundation and be able to pay it forward and give back. I was able to get the resources and be able to make it to that next level. If other kids could have that opportunity I had, you will see to see a lot more kids in Canada being able to run fast and jump far. I want to help create that kind of future.

A lot of people wait until the end of their career to do it, and I said, "Why not just start it now, while I’m hot and I’m relevant in the world?" It will be

Growing up, I was always on the basketball court with my friends and on weekends, I volunteered at the Yonge Street Mission helping out and organizing activities for kids. It gave kids a place to come in and stay away from trouble, work on their homework, play sports … they could play video games, or cards, or whatever they wanted to do. It’s a way for them to get away from the outside noise. I saw that sometimes even the smallest things can make a big difference in their futures.

Read the full interview with Andre De Grasse on truenorthliving. ca.

Publisher: Hunter Veltri Business Development Manager: Melanie Kosev Country Manager: Nina Theodorlis Content & Production Manager: Raymond Fan Designer: Giuliana Bandiera Content & Web Editor: Karthik Talwar All images are from Getty Images unless otherwise credited. This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve the Toronto Star or its editorial departments. Send all inquiries to ca.editorial@mediaplanet.com.

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Spending Time in Nature is Proven to Boost Teenage Well-Being Teens can develop crucial mental, emotional, and physical skills through outdoor adventure and education, preparing them for a bright future.

Katherine Cappellacci

B

eing a teenager has never been easy. A time of momentous growth, teenage years are full of change and transformation. They’re when people truly begin to discover who they are, what they believe in, and who they want to be.

But the COVID-19 pandemic has left teens dealing with unprecedented circumstances: months of isolation from their peers, a lack of physical a c t i v i t y, a n d incomprehesible amounts of screen time. In a world riddled with technology, the way in which today’s youth interact with others, themselves, and their environments is unlike anything humanity has ever experienced before.

It’s a fact that the pandemic and increase in the use of technology will have long-lasting effects on young people. That’s why the maintenance of teens’ physical and mental health is more important now than ever. Fortunately, there’s an accessible way to help youth reconnect to themselves, others, and their surroundings: spending time in nature.

This article was sponsored by Outward Bound Canada.

Building lifelong skills Away from screens and thrown into the physical world, it’s well-known that time spent in nature is healing for anyone. At Outward Bound Canada

(OBC), the team believes that outdoor adventure is a way to equip teens for the future, no matter how it may look.

“The wilderness is a natural teacher.

It allows you to take a step back and provides an opportunity for self-discovery,” says Jill Zeppa, OBC’s Director of Admissions. “Teens can reconnect with nature and their peers, and learn to make decisions on their own while being supported.”

OBC offers a variety of programs across the country, including sea kayaking, backpacking, surfing, and white-water canoeing. It’s committed to helping Canadian youth change the trajectory of their lives by building important skills like problem-solving, collaboration, and conflict resolution.

“Teens build self-confidence by overcoming challenges,” says John McAlister, Head of Marketing and Philanthropy at OBC. “But they also gain adventure and excitement, whether they’re camping under the stars or hiking in the Rocky Mountains.”

Experiencing the great outdoors As a world leader in outdoor education, OBC helps its participants experience incredible growth, including an 80 percent increase in self-confidence development and the ability to step out of their comfort zones. Participants have also seen a 65 percent improvement in personal resiliency.

Plus, OBC’s programs help promote environmentalism, with participants being 70 percent more likely to make eco-friendly choices throughout their lives. “The more time they spend out-

side, the greater appreciation they’ll have for the natural world,” explains McAlister.

With internationally-acclaimed risk-management and COVID-19 protocols in place, OBC is committed to making outdoor adventure accessible to all teens, no matter their background.

“Newcomers to Canada who face social or economic barriers may think that these opportunities are out of reach, but they’re accessible,” says McAlister.

OBC offers subsidies for school programs, travel costs, COVID-19 tests, and more. It also provides all trip equipment and even has a clothing-lending program. A registered cha r it y, OBC ha s va rious f ina ncia l assistance options, including individual scholarships for BIPOC yout h leaders and the Yout h Acce s s F und for lowincome families requiring financial support.

Equipped for the future “We want to encourage youth from all backgrounds to take advantage of these opportunities,” says McAlister.

OBC knows that its programs positively impact the physical and mental well-being of youth, especially coming out of the pandemic. “Getting out into nature, they can think about who they want to be,” adds McAlister.

To take advantage of OBC’s early booking discounts on summer courses and to learn more, visit outwardbound. ca/courses.

YMCA of Greater Toronto Helping to Ignite the Potential of Youth From emergency shelter to mental health support to employment counselling, the YMCA of Greater Toronto provides critical on-the-ground programs for vulnerable youth.

Anne Papmehl

S

Jennifer White General Manager of Youth Outreach and Intervention, YMCA of Greater Toronto

ince the mid-1980s, the YMCA of Greater Toronto has been supporting vulnerable youth.

Between 1,700 to 7,000 youth in Toronto experience homelessness at any given time. “About 80 percent of young people that end up in our services come from some type of family breakdown, whether it’s violence, substance use issues, or mental health issues in the home, or 2SLGBTQ+ youth coming out and being asked to leave,” says Jennifer White, General Manager of Youth Outreach and Intervention at the YMCA of Greater Toronto. Sixty-six percent of these individuals don’t have a high school diploma and 77 percent are unemployed. Through dozens of programs offered at its locations across the GTA, the charity provides services to help young people build a brighter future for themselves.

Winter and COVID restrictions make youth homelessness more complex

This article was sponsored by YMCA of Greater Toronto.

The onset of winter, plus the impact of the pandemic, makes the issue of youth homelessness even more urgent. “One of the things that COVID-19 has brought out of the shadows is the many inequities, reminding us that different people have different chances of living a good life in the GTA,” says White. With the physical distancing needed to prevent the spread of the virus many homeless shelters have had to reduce their numbers and work with the City of Toronto and other partners to find alternate safe accommodations. “This has really highlighted that we don’t have enough places and spaces, not just for people in general, but especially for our young people to live,” says White. “With the colder months quickly approaching, it’s more important than ever that young people have access not just to shelter, but to affordable housing.”

The Wagner Green YMCA offers free drop-in programs, sheltering, and more In 2015, the YMCA of Greater Toronto opened The Wagner Green YMCA in Toronto’s Queen St West and Spadina Avenue community. Situated in an underserved area, The Wagner Green YMCA is an 11,400 square-foot facility providing critical on-the-ground programs for youth in need.“The goal of this program is to support young people in securing and maintaining permanent and affordable accommodation,” says White.

Located at 7 Vanauley Street, The Wagner Green YMCA is a diverse and 2SLGBTQ+ positive space, offering 40 shelter beds to young men ages 16 – 24, where gender is self-identified. In addition to providing emergency shelter and free drop-in services, The Wagner Green YMCA offers a range of support services around employment counselling, substance use counselling, and auxiliary housing, along with access to medical support, mental health support, identification clinics, legal services and other services.

Many of these services are offered one-on-one. As for success rates, White explains, “Ninety-five percent of the 70 to 80 young people who come through the employment program each year have a positive outcome, whether it’s getting back into employment, education, or a job training program or accessing mental health supports. From April to September 2021, we’ve supported 1,484 youth and housed 43 youth in that same period.”

As our communities recover and rebuild from the pandemic, the Y relies on public donations to ensure young people have access to these critical services. “The wraparound supports we provide to our youth are really important and can have a significant impact on our community,” says White. “It’s

70 - 80

young people use employment services at The Wagner Green YMCA each year

95%

have a positive outcome

whether it’s getting back into employment, education, or a job training program or into mental health supports

1,484

youth supported from April to September 2021

only with support from donors that our charity can continue providing these programs and in turn give more people opportunities to better their lives. I think everyone deserves a chance to shine and the YMCA works to promote equity and boost well-being in the GTA,” says White.

You can give youth at risk of homelessness across the GTA a chance to shine by donating to the YMCA at ymcagta. org/LightThePath.