DEH CHO
Three days of workshops in Fort Simpson and Fort Liard aimed to educate young people on relationships, sexual health and making healthy life decisions.

Youth at Thomas Simpson Secondary School in Fort Simpson attended a FOXY workshop on Jan. 25 and 26. - photo courtesy of FOXY

Facilitators for Fostering Open Expression Among Youth (FOXY) and Strength, Masculinities and Sexual Health (SMASH) presented school-based workshops at Echo Dene School in Fort Liard on Jan. 24 and at Thomas Simpson Secondary School in Fort Simpson on Jan. 25 and 26.

Nancy MacNeill, FOXY's project co-ordinator, said this was the first time the group has been able to bring SMASH to the Deh Cho region. SMASH was launched in the summer of 2016 as the male counterpart to FOXY.

"The SMASH sessions are kind of based off the FOXY sessions. They do include conversations around sexual health, healthy relationships, that kind of thing, but they also have conversations and activities surrounding breaking down masculinity and maybe unfair expectations of men," MacNeill said.

"(It's) about ways guys can relate to each other and take care of themselves and their partners better."

It also gave young men the opportunity to have a frank discussion on topics they may not otherwise be comfortable having in class or among their peers, she added.

"Those kinds of conversations really need to happen, and everyone benefits from (them). This was just the starting point for those talks, I think."

The organization brought in Jeff Dineley, peer leader Jacob Schiller and a third facilitator for SMASH, while the FOXY sessions were run by MacNeill and Brianna Shae.

The FOXY workshop, MacNeill said, focused mostly on sexual health, including issues such as sexually transmitted infections, birth control, establishing boundaries and communicating needs to a partner.

The sessions also gave the youth themselves an opportunity to drive discussion by having them identify priorities.

"(We covered) everything from where do babies come from to what does LGBTQ stand for," she explained.

"In different communities, we might hear about things like, being a good friend, helping a friend through an unhealthy relationship or how to deal with somebody in your life who's making you uncomfortable."

Many of the young women and girls who attended the sessions were familiar faces for MacNeill, who said there have been youth from Fort Liard and Fort Simpson at every one of FOXY's peer leader retreats.

"We had a lot of fun. We have some really awesome girls in those communities, and it was really nice to see them again," MacNeill said.

"The girls are always just really fun and super empowered, and really up for a good time learning."