Projects

Rise Mental Health Guidelines
Project Summary

Background

Rise is the only national charity dedicated to helping people with mental health conditions or addiction, achieve financial independence through self-employment or small business ownership. We provide resources, mentorship and micro-financing to eliminate barriers, improve life outcomes and strengthen communities.

Through online and in-class training, education, and mentorship, Rise helps empower aspiring entrepreneurs by giving them added confidence and skills to succeed in the business world. Our programs range from 6-10 weeks and cover topics such as design thinking, market research, financial management and bookkeeping.

One of these training programs is the Youth Small Business Program (YSBP). YSBP is a 10-week education program geared toward youth (ages 16-29) who have a practical business idea but lack a business plan, guidance, support networks and access to traditional financing options.

The youth in these programs choose Rise because of our focus on supporting participants who have seen mental health and addictions challenges act as barriers to a successful future. At Rise, we know this should not be the case. In order to offer more effective support, we are seeking to increase the mental health capacity of staff and volunteers, resulting in mentorship and learning opportunities that are psychologically healthy and safe for the youth in our programs.

In general, program staff and volunteers have requested supports in the following areas:

1. Creating space for wellness during in-class learning
2. Potential accommodations for safe learning
3. Self-care and vicarious trauma for staff/volunteers
4. Professional boundary setting
5. Policies and procedures related to mental health and addictions i.e. crisis intervention, confidentiality, reporting, etc.

Desired Project Outcomes

a. An Interactive Learning Guide to support staff and volunteers in understanding how they can help create a culture of wellness for our participants.
b. Professional development training (virtual or in-person) that allows staff/volunteers to explore the practical applications of these mental health guidelines.

Scope of Work

1. Conduct audit of current training and policies related to mental health and addictions supports for staff and clients
2. Conduct focus groups/interviews with staff, volunteers and program alumni
3. Work in collaboration with the Training Programs Manager to develop policies and procedures that support Rise in building a culture of wellness and psychological safety
4. Design and produce an Interactive Learning Guide for use by Rise staff, contract facilitators and partner agencies delivering training programs. Contents of the guide to include, but are not limited to:

a. Equity and mental health
b. Understanding mental health challenges/disorders
c. Strategies for accommodating learning differences
d. Best practices for training/mentoring students with mental health/addictions challenges
e. Identifying resources for client support
f. Ensuring privacy and confidentiality of our clients
g. Self-care and strategies for avoiding/working through vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue and burnout

5. Deliver professional development training to introduce the new mental health guidelines and support staff and volunteers with practical application of policies and procedures

Rise Will Provide

• Access to existing mental health policies and resources
• Access to existing training program materials and delivery guides
• Access to Rise staff who have delivered training programs
• Access to past program graduates for interviews
• Access to some training program volunteer coaches for interviews
• Honoraria to youth, volunteers, or previous facilitators to participate in focus groups/interviews
• Evaluation & Data collected from previous programs

Budget

$8,000-$10,000 (including tax)

Timeline

Project start date: July 2020
Deadline for Deliverables: August 2020

Quote Delivery Instructions

Quotes should be submitted by e-mail in PDF or other digital formats to Jay Baker (jbaker@risehelps.ca) by June 22nd, 2020.