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From the very start, The Grove has been committed to examining our impact to ensure that we are improving youth well-being by providing space, services, and supports that were designed by youth, for youth. Part of this effort has been an ongoing collaboration with Homewood Research Institute (HRI). With our partnership, HRI has been able to perform routine check-ins on our status and impact. HRI is an independent national charity based in Guelph dedicated to research that transforms mental health and substance use treatment in Canada.
The Grove and HRI worked together from 2020-2021 to document The Grove’s early development and to understand the factors that contribute to the effective services and programs that continue to make a positive difference in the lives of youth. The initial evaluation engaged local service providers, youth, and families to ensure The Grove was giving the community the support they needed. The evaluation highlighted how The Grove and the Integrated Youth Services model were meeting the unique needs of youth in Wellington-Guelph.
Since then, The Grove has been able to open more physical sites and has continued to see increased youth engagement with clinical services and drop-in programming. To continue this growth, from 2023-2024, a second evaluation was undertaken to capture what impact The Grove was having today. Data were collected using interviews with The Grove’s team members, focus groups with youth at The Grove, and questionnaires completed with youth at The Grove and from the community.
A learning health systems model was used to guide the evaluation, which meant that HRI shared findings with The Grove in real time. Having this feedback allowed The Grove to make relevant and meaningful changes quickly to ensure that programs and services met the needs of participating youth.
A few key findings from this work included:
How youth are connecting with The Grove
While some older youth (ages 20-26) utilize The Grove’s clinical services, the majority of youth participating in The Grove’s programs and services were younger in age (average of 18 years).
When compared to youth surveyed from the community, youth at The Grove were more diverse when it came to their gender identity and sexual orientation.
“…I feel this is my one space where I can be like…authentically me…” – Youth (urban site)
Youth were drawn to The Grove because they felt cared for by the staff there. Other facilitators to youth participation included The Grove’s comfortable and welcoming atmosphere and their sense of ownership of the sites.
Youth (rural site): “They come up with like fun ideas and activities, and use your inputs, and actually put it towards something to do.”
Youth reported fewer experiences that discouraged them from participating in programs and services at The Grove. The most common barrier to youth participation was lack of knowledge on how to access professional help.
The Grove’s team members have built a strong rapport with youth; their caring interactions and investment in the youths’ well-being have made The Grove a valued safe space.
“It's not just like, you're here to get me food and then I'm leaving…I'm here to hang out with you. I can talk to this person if I need to talk to them. I can play basketball with them. They can set me up with resources, food, support. They’ve got my back.” - Youth Ambassador (rural site)
How The Grove’s programs and services are being delivered
The Grove offered 767 drop-in programs and services from August 2022 to August 2023. On average, The Grove offered 59 drop-in programs and services per month.
Social events made up approximately 28% of the life skills programming offered from August 2022 to August 2023. The attraction to the fun and social nature of these programs may be a further indication of the youths’ desire to have shared experiences following social restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The majority of youth believed that The Grove was an accessible, youth-focused space that contributed to building healthy relationships and learning how to cope with daily stressors.
“I struggle with being at home…So I come here, and I get attention from the staff and I feel loved and I feel welcomed” – Youth (urban site)
The majority of team members gave The Grove’s mental health programming a strong rating, expressing that The Grove provides support for different areas of wellness (e.g., physical, financial, spiritual, etc.). Team members were confident that they were guiding youth to the appropriate resources.
Over the course of the evaluation, youth were invited to share their suggestions for improving The Grove. Some of their suggestions related to raising brand awareness for The Grove through its website and youth-facing social media, increasing formal and informal mental health supports and services, and tailoring spaces and services for older youth.
In response to these findings, The Grove team is committed to adjusting and accommodating processes in order to improve services and better serve the youth in the community.
Overall, youth who participated in the evaluation consistently agreed that the spaces within each of The Grove’s sites continue to grow and develop in ways that are of benefit and value to them. “We are so grateful to everyone who came together to let us know their thoughts and how we can do better,” said Jeff Hoffman, Executive Director of The Grove Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario. “At The Grove, we pride ourselves on designing programs that are made by youth and for youth, so their feedback is extremely valuable.”
As for next steps, The Grove is addressing gaps that were identified through this evaluation, along with other concerns brought to light by youth and team members. In addition, HRI and The Grove are seeking opportunities to share these findings more broadly and to continue building evaluation capacity within The Grove.
Jean Costello, Cyndy Dearden, Kaitlyn LaForge-MacKenzie, Sidney Kennedy, and Heather Froome at The Grove
Disclosure: Funding for this work was awarded to The Grove Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario – Wellington Guelph, the Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington, and Homewood Research Institute through an Ontario Youth Mental Health, Substance Use and Addictions Grant, funded by Knowledge Institute on Child and Youth Mental Health and Addictions and Mental Health Research Canada.
For more information about Homewood Research Institute, visit hriresearch.com.
For more information about The Grove Wellington Guelph and how we are supporting youth, visit thegrovehubs.ca.
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