Youth Voices on Substance Use
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Time to Listen: Youth Voices on Substance Use highlights the urgency of youth substance use in B.C., noting the alarming rise in overdose deaths and serious injuries among young people. The report centralizes youth voices, drawing on focus groups, surveys, and case file reviews to understand their experiences. It argues that substance use is shaped by interconnected influences – personal history, relationships, community, and culture – rather than simply individual choice. Many youth reported using substances as coping mechanisms for trauma or emotional distress, emphasizing the need for accessible harm-reduction supports and honest information. The report identifies system-level challenges, including service gaps, wait-lists, cultural unsafety, and a lack of training for adults who support youth.
Ultimately, it proposes coordinated government action to improve youth-specific services, embed meaningful youth engagement, and expand culturally safe and harm-reduction-focused supports.
Instead of asking, ‘How can we stop this [substance-related injuries] from happening’ we should be asking, ‘WHY is this happening?’
Youth Voices
Case File Review: Avery
Avery was an Indigenous youth who struggled with mental health and substance use concerns. Avery experienced significant barriers to accessing services, including long wait lists, minimal outreach support and a lack of culturally safe and relevant supports.
When Avery started at a new school, they connected with the school’s Indigenous youth mentorship program. Avery’s mentor was an incredible support, often advocating for Avery and connecting them to extra-curricular programs and services. They graduated from high school with hopes to begin a law-enforcement career.
Following graduation, however, Avery expressed a great deal of fear about losing supports and spoke about using substances daily to cope with emotional pain. The following winter, Avery died from an unintentional overdose.
In 2017, B.C. experienced
drug-overdose deaths, including 24 youth aged 10–18 - which was double the previous year and more than the three years prior combined.
Time to Listen, 2018
In 2017, the RCY received
substance-related critical injury reports involving youth, nearly double the 78 such reports from the year before.
Time to Listen, 2018
of youth whose files (critical injury or death) were reviewed had experienced at least one known indicator of trauma in their lifetime.
Time to Listen, 2018
Key Themes
Time to Listen emphasizes that youth substance use is often driven by trauma, emotional distress and a search for relief, rather than simple recreational experimentation. It highlights that connection – to peers, trusted adults, community and culture – is a crucial protective factor, yet many youth struggle to find such supports. Young people describe encountering significant barriers when seeking help, including unclear pathways to services, long wait-times, and supports not designed for youth or specific identities. Stigma and judgment further prevent them from reaching out, creating a cycle of silence and isolation. This report also underscores the importance of centering youth voices and lived experience in designing services that meet their real needs. A key theme is the call for culturally grounded, trauma-informed supports – particularly for Indigenous youth – combined with youth-driven approaches to harm reduction and wellness.
Recommendations at a glance
Youth-Driven Service Design
- Involve youth in implementing and evaluating substance use services.
- Ensure engagement reflects diverse youth experiences (age, culture, gender, housing, etc.).
- Embed youth feedback throughout the Mental Health and Addictions Strategy.
Youth-Friendly Service Information
- Create a single, accessible source (e.g., website or app) for all publicly funded substance use services.
- Consult youth on what information they need and how it should be presented.
- Ensure the information is updated at least annually.
Inclusive and Culturally Safe Youth Services
Develop a comprehensive system of substance use services that meets the diverse needs of all youth.
Ensure Indigenous youth have access to culturally relevant and safe services that support healing and cultural connectedness.
Collaborate across ministries and partners, with consistent funding, to integrate services into the broader continuum of care.
Youth-Specific Harm Reduction Services
Develop a full spectrum of harm reduction services tailored to youth.
Include youth-specific supervised consumption spaces within wraparound support systems.
Engage youth in designing and implementing these safe, accessible spaces.
Foster Parent Training on Youth Substance Use
Develop comprehensive training for foster parents on supporting youth who use substances.
Training should build empathy, patience, and skills for open, safe dialogue with youth.
Include understanding of trauma and intergenerational impacts of colonial policies.
Ensure ministry policies support foster parents in applying the training.
