LINK PROGRAM COMPANIONS TRAINING Grand Falls Link Program Committee, 1999.

Session Plan  The LINK program  Video – “The Link – A Life Experience”  Your availability  Confidentiality and mandatory reporting  Consent  Active listening  Using your own judgment  Follow-Up

Goal of the program  Provide students in Grades 6 to 12 who are having problems of any kind with easy access to services available in the community, with the help of a Link companion.  Facilitate access to resources and enable students to solve their problems before they get worse and lead to more serious situations.

Background  Developed in the 1990s in the Grand Falls region following the suicides of 2 teenagers.  Implemented by health professionals and school and community stakeholders in cooperation with the local suicide prevention committee.  Partnership with Club Richelieu.  In 2001 and 2006 – recipient of the New Brunswick Suicide Prevention Recognition Award.

The symbol  Represents the relationship among individuals living in the same environment or society.  Each link is of equal importance. If one link is defective or broken, the whole chain is affected and cannot fulfill its role effectively. However, if each link is solid, the chain is as well.

Organizational chart Executive committee 14 regional Link committees Provincial coordinator Provincial committee Executive committee Provincial coordinator Regional committee chairs

Regions 1.Bathurst6. Grand Falls11. Acadian Peninsula 2. Campbellton7.Kedgwick/St- Quentin 12. Saint John 3. St. Stephen8. Kent13. Sussex 4. Edmundston 9. Miramichi14. Woodstock 5. Fredericton10. Moncton

Key components of the program Link card Link companion Posters Stickers Decisional tree

Link card  Each student is given a card and invited to write his or her name on it.  The card is a way for students and Link companions to communicate with each other.  The back of the card provides emergency telephone numbers.  The card means “I need help.” "THE LINK" PROGRAM Tu fais partie de la chaine! Nous avons tes préoccupations à cœur. Use your card! Un lien pour partager tes difficultés. Des personnes sont là pour l’accompagner.

Stickers  A sticker is used to identify Link companions.  It is placed in a visible and strategic location, e.g., classroom or office door. THE LINK PROGRAM USE YOUR CARD! Grand Falls Link Program Committee, 1999.

Posters  The program is identified by banners and posters displayed in various strategic locations around the school.

This is a guide for identifying the issues and accessing the various services available in the region.

Main issues generally included in the decisional tree:  Physical health and nutrition  Addiction (alcohol, drugs, tobacco, gambling, etc.)  Grief  Difficulties at school (academic, motivation, socialization)  Financial, employment, or housing problems  Religion – Spirituality

Main issues generally included in the decisional tree:  Support for young parents  Social isolation  Suicidal thoughts, mental health problems  Relationships, broken heart, peer pressure, blended families, parents’ separation or divorce  Eating disorders  Anger management and self-assertion

Main issues generally included in the decisional tree:  Sexual health and pregnancy  Sexual orientation and gender identity  Physical, emotional or sexual abuse, neglect, family violence  Threats, harassment, intimidation, bullying, dating violence  Legal problems  Social reintegration

Link companions  Helpers, not specialists in helping relationships.  Listen with empathy and offer support to the best of their ability.  Using the decisional tree, refer students in distress to the appropriate helping resources.

Your availability  Meet with students only when you are available and you feel comfortable doing so.  If not available right away, let the student know.  Explain that you would like to meet with him or her at another time when you can give him or her your full attention.  Confirm a meeting time.

Welcome Give the card back to the student or give him or her a card if he or she  does not already have one. Be natural and stay calm. Adopt a warm, emphatic approach. Take the individual seriously.

Confidentiality and mandatory reporting If the student asks questions about confidentiality, you must let him or her know that certain laws require you to ignore confidentiality if a life is in danger or in cases of abuse or neglect. Companions, like any citizen, are required to report cases of abuse or neglect involving children under the age of 19 to the Department of Social Development.

Consent  Companions do not need parental consent to direct a young person to a resource or service. However, certain resources or services may require parental consent.  Companions are not responsible for requiring parental consent to access resources or services.

Active listening  Definition: The ability to listen to and understand a person in need in order to strengthen the bond with that person.  Hearing is a natural involuntary process similar to breathing, whereas listening is a cognitive voluntary process. Listening is understanding.

Active listening  To apply active listening, two techniques are generally used:  1) Validation  2) Empathy

Validation  This involves rephrasing in our own words what we have understood and having it confirmed by the other person.  The more understood the person feels, the more he or she will feel comfortable continuing to share his or her concerns.  Here are a few phrases that make validation possible:  If I understand correctly, you’re telling me that… is that right?  To sum up, you’re telling me that… is that right?

Empathy  Means showing the other person that you understand how he or she is feeling emotionally by using the following expressions: I understand that what you’re feeling may be causing you pain… I understand you when you tell me that…

Using your judgment (decisional tree)  Before making a referral, and when possible and appropriate, encourage the student to talk to his or her parents about his or her problems.  Use your judgment (e.g., avoid referring a student who is experimenting with drugs for the first time to the Addiction Centre).

Follow-up  Follow-up is designed to ensure that the student has acted on the agreed-up approach.  It must be scheduled to take place within an appropriate interval of time.

Conclusion Remember that you are serving as a link in the chain and that your role is to help young people who are experiencing a problem access existing services in the community. By facilitating access to resources, they will be able to solve their problems before they get worse and lead to more serious situations.

Questions ?