Creative Care: Putting Youth Mental Health at the Centre of the Arts

Written By Quinten Sheriff

When we talk about the power of the arts for young people, we often focus on the final product, like the school play, the mural on the community centre wall, or the end-of-year showcase. But if you spend any time on the ground with youth workers and teaching artists, you quickly learn that what happens during the process matters far more than what ends up on display.

This is why the latest series in the Creative Care podcast was produced by the design coop, for the ArtistsInspire Grants (AIG) program. Hosted by the project management team, the podcast was designed as a living resource for educators, youth workers, and artists navigating the complex, intersecting emotional realities of today’s youth.

Our goal was to move past abstract theories and share practical, ground-level strategies for building safer, healthier spaces through creative expression.

Meeting Youth Where They Are

We kicked off the series with Philippe Koffi, a psychosocial worker and accredited mediator who brings over a decade of frontline experience to the table. Philippe broke down what it actually means to practice "trauma-informed facilitation" in a room full of young people. "Awareness is central to both mental health and teaching," he noted. For an artist or animator entering a room, this means learning to read the emotional climate of the space and being flexible enough to adapt the day's plan to the emotional state of the youth.

Process Over Product

Throughout the series, we sat down with an incredible panel of practitioners, including:

  • Kathleen (Kat) Charles (she/they): A queer, Haitian creative arts therapist, somatic practitioner, and community organizer based in Montreal.

  • Jillian Ritchie: A wellness director, mental health advocate, and leader in inclusive student well-being.

  • Storme Moore and Pat Dillon Moore: The team behind World By Storm, an inspiring initiative launched during the pandemic to support and empower young people with special needs through creativity.

A recurring theme across all these conversations was the necessity of prioritizing process over product. When youth feel pressured to perform or produce something "perfect," creativity stops being a tool for healing and becomes another source of anxiety.

Kat Charles reminded us that building true community is about offering a low-stakes space for curiosity. Especially for marginalized youth, including BIPOC and LGBTQ2+ individuals, wellness isn't achieved solely in individual therapy rooms, it happens collectively when they feel safe enough to express darker or more complex emotions without fear of judgment.

Redefining "Safe Spaces"

Creating an accountable space means understanding boundaries, both for the youth and for the adults supporting them. Jillian Ritchie, drawing from her deep experience building wellness programs and community care events, highlighted how essential real-life, human connection is for breaking down barriers, especially in an increasingly digital landscape.

Whether it's discussing mental health, navigating intergenerational gaps, or addressing community care needs like equity for marginalized students, the thread that ties it all together is collective care. As practitioners, looking after ourselves is the first step toward preventing burnout and remaining flexible enough to show up for the youth who rely on us.

Want to dive deeper into these conversations?

You can find our incredible guests and support their work here:

Special thanks to Tyler Rauman for technical production, The Hypnotyst for our theme music, and the Community Development Arts Hub (CDAH) for providing the studio space.

Quinten Sheriff
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