Youth have been uniquely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This youth-led project aimed to understand their views on the COVID-19 vaccine and empower them to make informed choices about their health.
Photography can be a powerful way to help people understand and connect with an issue affecting them. As that old quote says, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” We used Photovoice as a method to guide young people in observing the world around them and discussing their perspectives through the lens of their communities.
This website features photos taken by youth with mental health and/or substance use challenges from all over Canada, illustrating their perspectives on COVID-19 vaccine confidence. Here, we celebrate and share their photography to initiate dialogue. We thank all of the youth for sharing a part of themselves through photos.
We would also like to acknowledge the full project team: youth lead Shelby McKee, alongside Lisa D. Hawke, Jo Henderson, Rod Knight, Skye Barbic, Sean Kidd, Natasha Yasmin Sheikhan, Karleigh Darnay, Tanya Halsall, Jackie Relihan, Matt Prebeg, Shauna MacEachern, Karen O'Connor, Jill Shakespeare, Steve Mathias, Aileen O'Reilly, Cathy Blocki-Radeke, all past and present Youth Advisory Group members, and our project photographer, Sean Patenaude.
This project took place at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
