The Yukon Child and Youth Advocate Office, along with support from Shakat, has produced a video with a young person who grew up in government care in the Yukon. It was launched in late September.

Carrie Davis, 31, is currently a student of digital media communications living in Nanaimo, B.C.

She lived in foster care and residential care (group homes) for most of her childhood.

“We lived it, and I want to tell our story without exploiting young people,” Davis said.

She asked Annette King, the Yukon’s child and youth advocate, to assist her in producing the video to amplify the voices of young people about their experiences with leaving care.

King said the documentary-style video is intended to model an approach of engaging young people in telling their experience.

“Often on large systemic issues regarding young people, their perspective is not respectfully portrayed,” she said.

Although aging out of care continues to be one of the systemic theme that need addressing, King said, the video is not specifically part of the systemic review of group homes her office is currently conducting.

The group home review is focused on the experiences of children and youth over a three-year period while the aging out video reflects on past experiences of children and youth leaving care.

“The issue of how young people transition out of care is a longstanding issue,” said King.

“It is important to hear from the past to validate those experiences and observe what has changed, and what still needs to be changed, to create the best possible outcomes for children and youth living in care.”

The link to the video, along with a feedback survey, is available online at www.ycao.ca.

King’s office is an independent office of the legislative assembly.

Its operations are guided by the Child and Youth Advocate Act.