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Helpsheet
Sources & Resources
ADHD
Sources
Resources
This YouTube channel is packed full of short, insightful videos to help a youth figure out ADD and live well with it.
Tons of helpful and positive resources to understand and ADD and its impact on teens.
Search ADHD for great insights into understanding the challenges and strengths that come from ADHD as well as recommended careers for ADHD teens to consider.
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Abuse
Sources
Resources
This resource will connect you with the numbers you need to call in your area and the process you need to follow.
A set of compassionate and rich online devotionals for those who have suffered abuse.
A wealth of information about abuse and online exploitation including a number of online training opportunities. Also includes a free 23 minute foundational training video on Safeguarding Children from Sexual Abuse
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Standing Up for Children: A Christian Response to Child Abuse and Neglect - These free training videos talk about walking with abuse victims in the church.
Acting out
Sources
Resources
Blogs and resources for living and working with troubled teens.
An informative video about how to handle youth who are acting out.
Practical steps for dealing with aggressive teens in a group environment with helpful and compassionate steps for managing acting out youth.
Search “troubled teens” for help with recognizing troubled teens vs typical teens.
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Anger
Sources
Resources
Practical guidance for understanding and managing anger.
5 ways to help teens manage big emotions.
Useful strategies for controlling anger.
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Anxiety
Sources
Resources
Mindshift - An app for teens to work through anxiety when it hits.
Information and links to more resources.
A step by step “course” to help teens understand and make a plan to manage their own anxiety.
A step by step “course” to help teens understand and make a plan to manage their anxiety.
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Autism
Sources
Resources
This toolkit for youth groups will give you everything you need to plan for and welcome ASD teens to your group.
A great list of questions to ask a caregiver to help you best support and include their teen.
A short and helpful interview helping us better understand the inside world of one ADS teen.
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Broken Homes
Sources
Resources
Search “divorce” for 3 podcast episodes guiding parents in helping their children navigate their family’s breakup.
(search: divorce) - Helping youth think about the feelings they are dealing with around family break up and custody.
It’s not Your Fault: A Practical Guide to Navigating the Pain and Problems from Your Parents' Divorce by Joey Pontarelli. A practical and personal book, guiding teens and young adults from broken homes as they navigate the challenges they face - both emotionally and spiritually.
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Building Relationships
Sources
Resources
Search the article “10 Tips for Building Relationships with Youth” for simple everyday practices to grow relationships.
Building relationships of trust with vulnerable teens.
An excellent research-based framework from the Search Institute, highlighting 5 elements that make relationships powerful in young people’s lives.
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Building Relationships with Geeks & Gamers
Sources
Resources
This website exists to be the love of Jesus to nerds and nerd culture. A great place to gain understanding of this culture.
A church that meets gamers where they are - online.
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Building Relationships with Indigenous Youth
Sources
Resources
Filled with tools and guidance for mentoring Indigenous youth.
Engaging and Empowering Aboriginal Youth: A Toolket for Service Providers. This comprehensive guide is both educational and practical.
Joseph Bob & Joseph Cynthia A. (2019) Indigenous Relations, Insights, Tips & Suggestions to make Reconciliation a Reality. Indigenous Relations Press.
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Building Relationships with LGBTQ+ Youth
Sources
Resources
An informative website to help understand terms and definitions
Understanding Sexual Identity: A Resource for Youth Ministry - A helpful book by Mark A. Yarhouse.
The Centre for Faith, Sexuality & Gender - faith-based tools for journeying alongside those questioning sexuality
Research & articles from a Christian perspective.
A video by Christopher Yuan focusing on patiently meeting people where they’re at
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Building Relationships with Transgender Youth
Sources
Resources
Understanding Gender Dysphoria. Mark Yarhouse invites the church to come alongside the vulnerable and listen to their stories. This book is a rick combination of research, counselling practice, theology and compassion.
Understanding the Complexities of Gender. This TedTalk introduces the idea of gender on a spectrum through the eyes of gender minorities.
A visual guide that offers clarity on the common words used around gender and sexuality.
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Bullying
Sources
Resources
Check out the tip sheets for youth, youth workers and parents.
Search “bullying” for a wealth of information including responding to cyberbullying.
24 hour text support line from bullyingcanada.ca. - Text 877-352-4497 to talk with a trained support worker. The support person typically stays involved for 2-4 weeks to help the teens learn skills and make choices for dealing with the situation.
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Creating Belonging
Sources
Resources
Belonging: Reconnecting America’s Loneliest Generation - A report based on recent research from Spingtide Research on the impact of belonging.
Belong - A podcast featuring the thoughts of teens around why belonging and relationships with adults matter to them.
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Creating Conversations
Sources
Resources
Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital World by Sherry Turkle
Focused on starting conversations in youth ministry.
Helping us understand the impact of losing face-to-face communication with teens.
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Deeper Conversations
Sources
Resources
Search “The Skill of Listening” for a helpful overview of essential listening skills to learn and practice.
Search “Relationship Skills” for 3 steps to attentive listening in ministry.
Search “The Most Important Part of any Conversation” to recognize the spiritual importance of being intentional in a deeper conversation with another person and with God.
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Depression
Sources
Resources
A faith-based article on naming and navigating depression in teens.
Signs and guidance on the difference between adolescent moods and depression that requires greater intervention.
An excellent description of what is going on inside the mind of someone struggling with depression.
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Disordered Eating
Sources
Resources
The only non-profit in Canada offering residential treatment for eating disorders as well as free online support from trained volunteers.
A great overview to help understand the complexity of the issue.
An informative quick look at the signs to watch for.
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Drugs
Sources
Resources
Practical articles and podcasts from a faith-based perspective. Search “drugs”.
Search “motivational interviewing” to learn about having conversations that open the door to change.
A helpful resource for parents and youth workers, helping to focus our care.
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Grief & Loss
Sources
Resources
An excellent resource to answer the question: “What can I do to support a grieving teen?” Insightful, practical and creative ideas.
Search “grief” for a site you can look at with teens to help them understand what is going on inside.
Search “grief” for excellent articles on supporting the youth and their faith in times of grief.
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High Conflict
Sources
Resources
With a focus on prevention, this training program gives proven strategies for safely defusing anxious, hostile, or violent behaviour at the earliest possible stage
Lots of articles and wisdom for understanding teens with difficult behaviour.
A practical guide for managing aggression in a group setting.
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Leading Small Groups
Sources
Resources
An interesting format for stirring group conversations.
128 small group conversation questions.
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Loneliness
Sources
Resources
A wealth of practical ideas and tools for developing coping skills with teens.
A practical and helpful article for understanding and approaching conversation with lonely youth.
Jean Twenge - This researcher has studied and written extensively on the link between loneliness and social media with teens. Here’s her most recent research.
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Losing Faith
Sources
Resources
Four ways to respond to young people walking away from their faith.
Becoming a safe place for teens to doubt.
A collection of great resources to direct teens to before they shut the door. Also a good place to honestly explore some of our own faith questions.
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Managing Emotions
Sources
Resources
This book offers a great set of skills to help young people deal with fears, doubts and intense emotions. Available in teen workbook form as well.
A great set of questions you can ask to help young people explore what they are feeling and how that’s affecting them.
This website created for teens helps young people become aware of their emotions and what they can do to manage them well. It’s filled with simple content and powerful tools.
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Mental Health
Sources
Resources
Toolkits and training to equip you to walk with youth through a variety of mental health challenges.
is where you'll find info about a 24/7 crisis text line from Youth Help Phone. Teens can text CONNECT to 686868 to start a conversation with trained crisis responders.
is a mental health app developed by teens and young adults. It teaches coping skills for a variety of mental health challenges, helps manage meds, and supports them on the journey. Download for free in your app store.
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Mentoring
Sources
Resources
Building Relationships: A Guide for New Mentors. A good resource for training volunteers and equipping first time mentors.
Search Institute: “Get to Know You” Questions for Mentoring. A list of helpful questions for getting a good overview of your mentees strengths and struggles.
Learning the Language of a Growth Mindset. A great place to start in understanding how important a growth mindset is for mentoirg.
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Online Sexual Behaviour
Sources
Resources
Support with clear and specific instructions on things such as how to remove images online or how to help a youth in crisis.
Good guidance for how to start and continue important conversations about sexual behaviour with teens.
Canada's national tip line for reporting the online sexual exploitation of children with info to help you better understand the breadth of the issue.
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Pornography
Sources
Resources
a comprehensive fact-based site on the impact of porn on our brains, lives, and world.
Search “recovery” for an entire podcast series to help understand/respond to porn/sexual addiction.
Looking specifically at the impact of ports on teens. This link will introduce you to paid accountability plans for devices for accountability.
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Resilience
Sources
Resources
Use these reflection questions to consider how your program is doing at developing the 7 C’s that youth need to be resilient.
A good overview for understanding resilience and how we can contribute to it.
A practical starting point for building the relational environment for resilience to develop.
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Self-Harm
Sources
Resources
Offers practical ideas for how to cope with the urge to self-injure and an information guide for friends/parents/professionals.
Search “cutting”. An article on how to feel better without hurting yourself.
An excellent PDF to work through with a youth who is open to quitting.
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Sexual Exploitation
Sources
Resources
Info on how to remove and report images from online platforms and apps while also learning how to support exploited teens.
An non-threatening site for youth to direct youth to if they are open to getting more information.
A free online video training package about sexual exploitation for youth workers with an accompanying youth curriculum called “Exposing Exploitation”.
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Stress
Sources
Resources
A great place for teens to start understanding and managing their own stress.
A short and helpful video for teens.
Four principles helping teens release, root and receive from Jesus in their stress.
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Suicide
Sources
https://yourlifecounts.org/organization/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/coping-with-suicidal-thoughts.pdf
Resources
The “Break the Silence on Suicide” episode offers compassionate guidance on what to do if someone you know is thinking about suicide.
Online training to equip you.
Suicide prevention information and a list of crisis centres to call in each province.
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Supporting Vulnerability
Sources
Resources
Encouragement is key to motivating vulnerable teens. This practical article will show you how.
Check out the toolkit for "Mentoring Youth Facing Barriers.”
Information for teens, parents, and professionals on the essential building blocks of resilience.
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Supporting vs Rescuing
Sources
Resources
Search "problem solving with teens".
A great site to send youth to, empowering them do the things that they are able to do and move through difficult situations.
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Talking About Jesus
Sources
Resources
A good article for checking common mistakes in talking about Jesus.
Search “Teaching as Jesus Taught” for some solid principles for engaging teens with Jesus.
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The Gospel
Sources
Resources
Clear and well made videos of the big story of the gospel in Scripture.
This Podcast focuses on the importance of Gospel conversations in youth work.
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Tough Questions
Sources
Resources
Search “doubt” for some great articles on walking with youth through uncertainty.
Simply communicated answers to10 Spiritual Questions.
Check out the podcasts and the free Thinking Series videos.
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Trauma
Sources
Resources
Search “teen trauma” for a comprehensive guide to understanding, recognizing and responding to trauma in teens.
A collection of brief videos, infographics and articles leading through the research and responses to toxic stress.
Search “trauma” on Youtube with Dr. Phillips’ name and find helpful videos that sit at the intersection of mental health, Christianity and culture.
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Understanding Gen Z
Sources
Resources
An excellent Gen Z infographic for a quick overview.
A guide to understanding and responding to the unique challenges and gifts of Gen Z.
Book: iGen by Jean M. Twenge.
Book: Gen Z Unfiltered by Tim Elmore with Andrew McPeak.
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Understanding Indigenous Hsitory
Sources
Resources
Helpful next steps for what you can start doing today.
An excellent free university course from Indigenous perspectives.
A good overview of the ongoing process of Truth and Reconcilliation.
“Working Effectively with Indigenous People” is an informative and helpful blog.
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ADHD
Abuse
Acting Out
Anger
Anxiety
Autism
Broken Homes
Building Relationships
Geeks & Gamers
Indigenous Youth
LGBTQ+ Youth
Bullying
Creating Belonging
Creating Conversations
Deeper Conversation
Depression
Disordered Eating
Drugs
Grief & Loss
High Conflict
Leading Small Group
Loneliness
Losing Faith
Managing Emotions
Mental Health
Mentoring
Online Sexual Behaviour
Pornography
Reading the Bible
Resilience
Self-Harm
Sexual Exploitation
Stress
Suicide
Supporting Vulnerability
Supporting Vs. Rescuing
Talking About Jesus
The Gospel
Tough Questions
Trauma
Understanding Geeks & Gamers
Understanding Gen Z
Understanding Indigenous History
Understanding Transgender Youth
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