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Youth homelessness represents a persistent and significant challenge for service sectors with limited best practice guidance. Housing supports, in particular, are widely deployed, with the practice-oriented literature providing little detail regarding service design beyond broad domains such as employment support and life skills coaching. The present multiple case study investigation was designed to develop a preliminary understanding of the guiding principles that attend the development of interventions that support youth exiting homelessness in the Canadian context. These case studies were conducted with a diverse group of five organizations recognized as sector leaders, with findings considered in light of practice standards from the better-established adult housing literature. Key findings with respect to service models included the strategies used to provide flexible, culturally responsive, tailored services with an emphasis on specialist support. Implementation factors included the navigation of strategic partnerships, the use of data in capacity-building, and the benefits and drawbacks of larger, centralized service environments versus smaller, dispersed environments. Youth-specific considerations in housing stabilization models are highlighted. This work contributes to a growing body of literature that seeks to articulate best practices in the effort to address and prevent youth homelessness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Low‐Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines (LRDGs) aim to reduce the harms caused by alcohol. However, considerable discrepancies exist in the 'low‐risk' thresholds employed by different countries. Argument/analysis: Drawing upon Canada's LRDGs update process, the current paper offers the following propositions for debate regarding the establishment of 'low‐risk' thresholds in national guidelines: (1) as an indicator of health loss, years of life lost (YLL) has several advantages that could make it more suitable for setting guidelines than deaths, premature deaths or disability adjusted years of life (DALYs) lost. (2) Presenting age‐specific guidelines may not be the most appropriate way of providing LRDGs. (3) Given past overemphasis on the so‐called protective effects of alcohol on health, presenting cause‐specific guidelines may not be appropriate compared with a 'whole health' effect derived from a weighted composite risk function comprising conditions that are causally related to alcohol consumption. (4) To help people reduce their alcohol use, presenting different risk zones associated with alcohol consumption instead of a single low risk threshold may be advantageous. Conclusions: National LRDGs should be based on years of life lost and should be neither age‐specific nor cause‐specific. We recommend using risk zones rather than a single drinking threshold to help people assess their own risk and encourage the adoption of behaviours with positive health impacts across the alcohol use spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a need for Indigenous-centered research to appraise culture’s role in wellness. Researchers described the development and validity of the Native Wellness Assessment (NWATM). The NWA has culture-as-intervention at its apex. Wellness, culture, and cultural intervention practices (CIPs) are explored from an Indigenous perspective. Indigenous clients completed matching self-report and observer versions of the NWA at three time points during addictions treatment. Statistically and psychometrically, the NWA content and structure performed well, demonstrating that culture is an effective and fair intervention for Indigenous peoples with addictions. The NWA can inform Indigenous health and community-based programs and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is an urgent need for culturally and contextually relevant mental health support for First Nations, Inuit and Métis youth. Objective: Our aim was to identify mental health and wellness services that are currently available to Indigenous youth across Canada. Methodology: As a first step, we conducted a web-based environmental scan of services tailored to Indigenous youth. Specific factors were examined for each program, including organization type and mission, types of services, and who provides services. Results: One hundred and seventeen programs were found, with 54% being non-profits and 34% being on-reserve. Four core features were identified. The first was a strengths-based focus, rather than a pathology/deficit-focus, in programs' vision and mission statements, reflected in words like wellness and resilience. The second (87% of included programs) was the integration of mental health services with a range of other services and supports (e.g., health, employment, housing). The third was the provision of land-based programming (in 34% of programs) such as camps or hunting. Such programs were framed as promoting wellness and healing and strengthening identity. The fourth was the role of community members without formal mental health professional training (in 42% of programs), for example, as youth workers or knowledge keepers. This stems not only from the dearth of specialists in many Indigenous settings, but also a valuing of Indigenous knowledge. Conclusion: These core features in mental health services for Indigenous youth may be promising avenues for communities seeking to strengthen the services they offer to First Nations, Inuit and Métis youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]