YOUTH INJURY PREVENTION PROGRAM · GRADES 9–12
Continuing the Conversation
Conversation starters and resources for parents, caregivers and educators.
The Youth Injury Prevention Program (YIP) gives youth opportunities to explore real-world risks, relationships, substance use health, mental wellness, emergency response and safer decision-making. Use the prompts below to continue these conversations before and after the program.
Keep the conversation open.
Youth may not always want a long discussion. A thoughtful question, asked without judgment, can be enough to open the door.
Before
What do you already think about this topic?
After
Did anything today change how you think about it?
A Helpful Approach
These prompts are not a quiz. Choose one or two questions that feel natural, listen without judgment and let the conversation develop from there. If a youth shares a concern or asks for help, use the resources provided to connect them with appropriate support.
Explore the YIP Rooms
Select a room below to review what youth explore, conversation starters for before and after YIP, practical ways to continue the discussion and trusted resources related to the topic.
Weed Out the Risk Cannabis & Impairment · Thunder Bay District Health Unit
Youth explore how cannabis may affect the developing brain and body, decision-making and driving, using practical activities that demonstrate the effects of impairment.
What Youth Explore
- How cannabis can affect the brain and body.
- Impacts on learning, judgment and decision-making.
- Possible connections with mental health and school performance.
- Impaired driving and roadway safety.
- Legal and safety considerations related to cannabis.
- Cross-contamination and unintended exposure.
- Ways to reduce harm and make safer choices.
Before YIP
- What kinds of messages do you hear about cannabis from friends, social media or other sources?
- How do you decide whether information about cannabis is accurate?
- What do you think influences someone’s decision to use or not use cannabis?
- Why might someone believe they are safe to drive even when they are impaired?
After YIP
- What stood out to you most from Weed Out the Risk?
- Did anything surprise you or change how you think about cannabis?
- How might cannabis affect school, sports, work or things someone cares about?
- What are some ways someone could say no without making it awkward?
- What did the impairment activity demonstrate?
- What would make it easier to call a trusted adult if something didn’t feel right?
Keep the Conversation Going
- Create a safe-ride plan before it is ever needed.
- Ask what cannabis information youth are seeing online and look at the source together.
- Let youth know they can call for help without having to solve everything alone first.
Helpful Resources
Rules of the Road Police, Legalities & Impaired Driving · Thunder Bay Police Service + Ministry of Transportation Ontario
Youth explore impaired-driving laws, enforcement, roadway safety and the real-world consequences of unsafe transportation choices.
What Youth Explore
- Impaired-driving legislation and investigations.
- Roadside screening and breathalyzer demonstrations.
- Vehicle impoundment, court processes and related consequences.
- Distracted-driving fines and other legal consequences.
- Ignition interlock programs.
- Recreational vehicles and micro-mobility.
- Helmet use and safer transportation choices.
Before YIP
- Have you thought about what a safe ride home would look like?
- Who are the people you feel comfortable calling for a ride, no matter what?
- What can make it difficult to speak up when a driver is doing something unsafe?
- What would you do if the person who was supposed to drive you home had been drinking or using cannabis?
After YIP
- What part of the impaired-driving investigation surprised you?
- What did you learn from the roadside screening demonstration?
- If someone offered to drive you home after drinking, what could you do or say?
- If a friend said they were a better driver when high or intoxicated, how would you respond?
- What consequences of distracted or impaired driving stood out to you?
- What transportation decisions are easier to make when you plan ahead?
Make a Safe-Ride Plan
- Identify at least two safe people to call.
- Discuss safe transportation options before a social event.
- Talk about ways to leave an unsafe ride without escalating the situation.
- Make it clear that getting home safely is always the priority.
Helpful Resources
Know the Signs Healthy Relationships, Digital Safety & Human Trafficking · Thunder Bay Counselling + Thunder Bay Police Service
Youth explore healthy and unhealthy relationships, digital safety, manipulation, youth exploitation and ways to recognize unsafe situations and seek support.
What Youth Explore
- Healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviours.
- Boundaries, consent and respect.
- Forms of dating violence, including digital and emotional abuse.
- Digital safety and online interactions.
- Manipulation, grooming and exploitation warning signs.
- How social media, gaming and messaging may be used to gain trust.
- Connecting with trusted adults and community supports.
Before YIP
- What are some examples of healthy versus unhealthy behaviours in relationships?
- What makes you feel respected by another person?
- What kinds of behaviours online might make you uncomfortable or suspicious?
- What are some ways someone might try to gain another person’s trust online?
- Who are trusted adults or resources you could turn to if you or a friend felt uncomfortable?
After YIP
- What warning signs of manipulation or unhealthy relationships stood out to you?
- What would you do if a friend told you they were feeling controlled, threatened or uncomfortable?
- How can someone safely exit an online interaction or relationship that begins to feel unsafe?
- How might stress, family conflict or wanting independence make someone more vulnerable to manipulation?
- What are realistic ways to protect yourself online while still staying connected socially?
- What is one thing you want to remember about boundaries or asking for help?
Keep the Conversation Going
- Talk about healthy relationships without requiring youth to disclose personal experiences.
- Reinforce that asking for help is okay even if something has already happened.
- Talk about privacy, location sharing and online boundaries.
- Identify trusted adults before a difficult situation occurs.
The Ripple Effect Choose Your Own Adventure – Addiction Science · Superior North EMS + HART Hub
Youth work through challenging real-world situations and see how individual decisions can create consequences that affect themselves, their friends and others around them.
What Youth Explore
- Scenario-based decision-making.
- Risk and decision-making under pressure.
- Substance use and addiction science.
- How choices can create short- and long-term consequences.
- Recognizing when a situation is becoming unsafe.
- Critical thinking and identifying safer alternatives.
- Knowing when outside help or emergency support is needed.
Before YIP
- What can make it difficult to make a good decision when you’re under pressure?
- Why do you think people sometimes continue with a risky choice even when things are starting to go wrong?
- How can peer pressure influence what someone does?
- What factors might influence someone’s decisions around substance use?
- What can make it difficult to step in when someone may need help?
After YIP
- What happened in the scenario your group worked through?
- Which decision had the biggest effect on what happened next?
- Was there a point where the outcome could have changed?
- Did anything about addiction science surprise you?
- What could make it easier for someone to choose a safer option when they’re under pressure?
- How could you support a friend without putting yourself at risk?
Try This Scenario
A friend makes a decision that puts them in a risky situation. What are some things you could do that support them without taking responsibility for solving everything?
Talk through options, possible consequences and when it would be important to involve an adult or professional support.
Helpful Resources
Ready to Respond Harm Reduction & Naloxone · TBDHU Superior Points
Youth learn practical harm-reduction information, how naloxone is used and how to respond when someone may need urgent help.
What Youth Explore
- Harm reduction as a respectful, non-judgmental approach.
- How stigma can make it harder for people to seek help.
- Education, advocacy, referrals and supplies.
- Recognizing possible signs of overdose.
- Naloxone and how it can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose.
- How naloxone is administered.
- The importance of getting emergency help quickly.
Before YIP
- What do you think the term “harm reduction” means?
- Why do you think some people begin using substances?
- How can stigma make it harder for someone to ask for help?
- What do you already know about naloxone?
- How would you feel if you needed to help someone who might be overdosing?
After YIP
- Can you explain harm reduction in your own words?
- What did you learn from Superior Points?
- What signs of overdose would tell you that someone needs urgent help?
- What did you learn about how naloxone works?
- Why is emergency help still important even when naloxone has been given?
- Did the room change how you think or talk about people who use substances?
Keep the Conversation Going
- Use person-first, non-stigmatizing language when talking about substance use.
- Talk about helping first rather than judging how an emergency happened.
- Review where naloxone and harm-reduction services are available locally.
- Reinforce that asking for emergency help can save a life.
Helpful Resources
Mindset Mental Wellness · U-TURN
Youth explore the relationship between mental wellness, substance use and risky behaviour while learning practical coping strategies they can use in everyday life.
What Youth Explore
- What mental health, mental wellness and mental illness mean.
- Recognizing signs that someone may be struggling.
- The relationship between mental wellness and risky behaviour.
- How substance use may interact with mental health.
- Healthy versus unhealthy coping strategies.
- Self-care and strategies for supporting wellness.
- Knowing when additional support may be needed.
- Local mental-health and wellness supports.
Before YIP
- What do mental health and mental wellness mean to you?
- What are some things you currently do to support your physical and mental wellness?
- What are some examples of self-care that actually feel realistic for you?
- How do emotions or stress sometimes influence the choices people make?
- Who can you go to when you need support?
After YIP
- What connection did the room make between mental wellness, substance use and risk?
- What coping strategy seemed most useful?
- What are some signs that tell you your usual coping strategies may not be enough?
- What is something you are already doing that supports your wellness?
- What could you do if you noticed a friend was struggling?
- Did you learn about a support or resource you didn’t know about before?
Build Your Coping Toolkit
- 3 people I can talk to.
- 3 healthy coping strategies that work for me.
- 1 sign that tells me I may need additional support.
- 1 support I could connect with if I needed more help.
Helpful Resources
The Recharge Room Wellness Room / Youth Support · Mental Health & Addictions School Nurses
The Recharge Room is available throughout YIP as a quiet, supportive space for youth who need a break, feel overwhelmed or would benefit from calming resources.
This Room Is Different
The Recharge Room is not a traditional presentation. Youth can access a quieter environment, supportive adults and calming resources such as fidgets, colouring, white noise, snacks, drinks and comfort items.
What Youth Can Experience
- A quiet place to step away from stimulation.
- Calming and grounding resources.
- Support from mental health and addictions school nurses.
- Permission to recognize when they need a break.
- Practical emotional-regulation strategies.
- A supportive response if a topic feels overwhelming.
Before YIP
- How do you know when you’re starting to feel overwhelmed?
- What helps you feel calmer when you need a break?
- Do you find it easy or difficult to tell someone when you need some space or support?
- What would make a quiet support space feel comfortable and useful to you?
After YIP
- Did you notice or use the Recharge Room during the program?
- What kinds of things help you regulate when you’re stressed?
- What signs does your body give you when you need a break?
- What could make it easier to ask for support at school or at home?
- Is there anything from the Recharge Room that you could use in your own coping toolkit?
Create Your Own Recharge Plan
- Identify one place where you can take a brief break.
- Choose two calming strategies that work for you.
- Identify one person you can tell when you need support.
- Remember that recognizing when you need a break can be a healthy self-regulation strategy.
Helpful Resources
Thank You for Continuing the Conversation
By talking, listening and supporting the youth in your care, you’re helping them build the confidence, awareness and practical skills they need to navigate risk, make informed decisions and seek support when they need it.
Questions About YIP?
Contact the TBRHSC Trauma Program Injury Prevention Leads.
Deanna Kroker, RN
Regional Injury Prevention Lead
Deanna.Kroker@tbh.net
Ashley Paglaro, RN
Regional Injury Prevention Lead
Ashley.Paglaro@tbh.net