This document summarizes the report called Working with Children and Youth in Challenging Contexts to Promote Youth Engagement, produced by the CYCC Network. It is important to understand youth engagement as central to any best practice intervention. Valuing youth engagement puts the focus on the positive contribution that youth make to programs and their effectiveness; this moves programs from being done “for” youth to “with” youth. There is a gap in the research in how to identify the source and implications of youth vulnerability for their engagement (Paterson & Panessa, 2008a; Poland, Tupker, & Breland, 2002). The purpose of this report is to explore how different youth engagement strategies are being used to help children and youth in the most challenging of contexts nurture resilience, prevent mental health problems and build a special place for themselves in the collective life of their communities.
