Our project using digital storytelling to explore young adults’ experiences with cannabis harm reduction is featured in an episode of the Co-Created podcast, hosted by my colleague Kritsy Wolfe: Empowering Youth Through Digital Storytelling
Top 5 Key Messages
1. Focus on Health Inequities 1:29 Rebecca explains her sociological training and how she focuses on health and social services, particularly how inequitable access impacts people using substances. Her work aims to improve care access through a harm-reduction approach.
2. DST Project on Cannabis Harm Reduction 6:20 Rebecca highlights receiving her first grant for a digital storytelling workshop focusing on cannabis harm reduction for young adults. She emphasizes harm reduction as a strategy to improve health and safety for substance users without requiring abstinence, offering compassionate support to meet individuals where they are.
3. Youth and Digital Storytelling Competency 14:51 Rebecca discusses how young adults are tech-savvy, navigating digital storytelling by leveraging online image resources. They naturally adapt to crafting visual narratives due to their familiarity with platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
4. Adapting to Personal Strengths in DST Facilitation 17:16 Rebecca shares her realization that her strengths lie more in conceptualizing projects, grant writing, and producing, rather than hands-on technical work. She notes the importance of different roles, such as technical and executive, in making these projects successful.
5. The Power of Youth Voices in Policy Discussions 27:18 Rebecca emphasizes the need to involve young people in policy-making, particularly on issues that affect them, such as cannabis legalization and education reforms. Digital storytelling is positioned as a tool to amplify youth voices, ensuring that policies reflect their real experiences and needs.
Read the full blog post on this episode
Learn more about Rebecca’s work
Register for the Nov 6th Virtual Screening
If this episode resonates with you, we would love if you would tell a friend or a colleague about Co-Created or share one of the digital stories we were talking about.