Youth health and well-being was the topic of a roundtable held May 29, 2023, during a visit to Canada by Iceland’s president. Attending were three young people from Lanark County: Payton Bell, Rowan Tunks and Rylee Gagnon. From left to right, front: Payton Bell and Guðni Jóhannesson (president of Iceland); back: Rylee Gagnon, Rowan Tunks, Governor General Mary Simon, Carolyn Bennett (Minister of Mental Health and Addictions), Rebecca Shams (health promoter from the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark Health Unit), and Eliza Reid (Canadian-born first lady of Iceland).

The Mach-Gaensslen Foundation of Canada is happy to announce that it will contribute to Planet Youth Lanark County’s innovative approach to prevent substance use among young people. Planet Youth is an international organization that helps communities adopt the Icelandic Prevention Model (IPM). The IPM was developed in Iceland and is being used in countries as far flung as Mexico, Finland and New Zealand.

“Lanark County is the first place in Canada to implement the Icelandic Prevention Model,” explains David Somppi, the volunteer chair of the steering committee. The Mach-Gaensslen Foundation of Canada joins the Graham Boeckh Foundation and Ontario Proceeds of Crime grants in supporting Planet Youth Lanark County, which has also applied for other grants to move the approach forward.

The county, southwest of Ottawa, Ontario, takes in rural areas and several small towns. It is about 3,000 square kilometres in area and has a population of 75,760 according to the 2021 census.

Bringing the approach to Lanark County had its genesis in a 2017 community meeting about the pressing problem of opioid use, says Somppi. Several hundred people attended, reflecting the community’s concern. One attendee spoke about the “Icelandic model” that has helped Iceland dramatically lower alcohol addiction — once a serious problem in that country.

The model involves “primary” prevention — preventing a problem before it even starts. Through a series of steps, the community improves the environment for young people, in families, peer groups, schools, and extracurricular activities. Somppi says that an environment “rich in protective factors” contributes to good mental health. Research shows that this makes children “much less likely to engage in activities that lead to use of opioids, alcohol or cannabis,” Somppi says.

“We want to do what we can to make sure kids grow up healthier,” he says.

As a Planet Youth partner organization, Lanark County benefits from standardized surveys that youth fill out online and are then analyzed by Planet Youth’s central office in Iceland. Planet Youth Lanark County has already carried out surveys through collaboration with local school boards. Lanark County also benefits from access to Planet Youth’s worldwide network of experts.

Planet Youth Lanark County is closely connected with Open Doors for Lanark Children and Youth, a community-based mental health service, which provides services throughout the county. Executive Director Kevin Clouthier is also vice-chair of Planet Youth Lanark County. Clouthier also leads a coalition planning to bring a Youth Wellness Hub to Lanark County. This will provide youth from 12 to 25 with a range of services (primary care, mental health and addictions, life skills, etc.) that are currently difficult to access because the system is fragmented. The holistic approach, often called “integrated youth services,” will “deliver immediate benefits for the well-being of youth,” explains Clouthier.

One of the benefits he sees to the connection between Planet Youth and integrated youth services is community engagement, and especially youth engagement. The survey data collected by Planet Youth will also be helpful. “These data tell us what is happening in our community. Our community then sets priorities for responding to the data. Local data is the key to determining local solutions,” says Clouthier.

Somppi and Clouthier say upstream prevention through Planet Youth will complement the services at the proposed Youth Wellness Hub. Bringing together primary prevention with secondary prevention and treatment available through integrated youth services will be another first.

To learn more about integrated youth services, see “Nothing about us without us”: Dr. Srividya Iyer’s research involves youth in services for their mental health | Mach-Gaensslen Foundation of Canada.

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