COMMUNITY RESOURCES & ADULTING 101 SKILLS

In this section you can explore a range of additional resources to help you discover knowledge and strengths along the journey to adulthood. Get support to build your emotional regulation skills, grow your support network, and develop life skills for living more independently, advocating for your needs, and planning for the future!

REMINDER: YOU DECIDE WHERE TO START!

Everyone’s situation, background, and experience is unique – there is no one-size-fits-all trick or perfect instruction manual for growing up! We want to share with you several resources that may help you in different areas of your transition to adult life, so YOU can decide where you want to focus first.

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KNOWLEDGE & SKILL-BUILDING RESOURCES

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1. Personal Development

2. Self-Advocacy

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3. Getting Involved

4. Building Your Support Network

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5. Additional Resources

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1. Personal Development

Set a goal so big that you can’t achieve it until you grow into the person who can.

— Zig Ziglar

 

Welcome to Adulthood? A.k.a. Welcome to the world of lifelong learning!

Getting to know yourself, your needs, and what has worked well for you in the past helps you feel more confident when you are trying to find truly helpful support. When you feel confident that you know what is best for YOU, it is also a step in the right direction to effectively advocating for yourself.

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Check out the resources here to help support self-efficacy and positive growth!

What might personal development include?

  • Mental growth

  • More effective communication skills

  • Emotional growth

  • Setting boundaries

  • Engaging in healthy relationships

  • Goal setting

  • Getting to know your own needs

  • Increased self-awareness

  • Identifying your own values

  • Healing from past experiences

  • Spiritual growth

  • Building resilience

  • Acquiring new skills

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Get out of your comfort zone!

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Pushing ourselves to do things that are unfamiliar can be a great way to discover new skills, interests and hobbies. It can also confirm certain likes and dislikes

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Join a club, try a new sport, go on a first date, volunteer at a music festival! Whatever it is, try and take part in opportunities that may push you a little bit outside your comfort zone!

This is the way that we learn, grow, and really get to experience life at its fullest!

Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone!

Make S.M.A.R.T. goals & find resources that support them

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Setting small, achievable goals help us accomplish bigger tasks and bring us closer to our professional and personal goals.

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  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Achievable
  • Relevant
  • Time bound

If you use this model to set personal and professional goals for school, work or your own self-development, it might make it easier for you to achieve them!

Sometimes we may need tools to help us along the way so once you’ve set your SMART goal, consider who or what could help you.

Practice Gratitude

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A regular gratitude practice can help you be more present, lower stress levels, change your perspective and find joy in everyday moments.

A big part of getting to know your values, your passions, your boundaries and areas of development comes from the ability to be a mindful observer of our emotions, sensations, thoughts and behaviours

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Studies have proven that gratitude has a really positive effect on our well-being and relationship to ourselves.

It doesn’t have to be a long process and there are many ways to practice daily gratitude.

  • Keep a journal
  • Say thank you often to people and situations that bring you joy or help you grow
  • Keep a gratitude jar
  • Reflect and repeat in your mind something you are grateful for at the end of the day

This can allow us to find little moments of joy, lower our stress levels, build resilience and have better relationships

Check in with yourself every day

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A regular gratitude practice can help you be more present, lower stress levels, change your perspective and find joy in everyday moments.

A big part of getting to know your values, your passions, your boundaries and areas of development comes from the ability to be a mindful observer of our emotions, sensations, thoughts and behaviours

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Mindfulness is probably a word you’ve heard used a lot as you were growing up!

Information about mindfulness is popping up in classrooms, extracurricular programs and even on TikTok!

But why is it so important?

Being present with our sensations, thoughts, feelings and environment allows us to better understand ourselves and how we perceive the world.

We can start noticing our behaviour patterns and things that set us off. Becoming a mindful observer lets us respond rather than react and will let us discover areas that we need to explore (perhaps in therapy!)

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2. Self-Advocacy

Asking for what you need, what you want and what you’re worth requires practice. So practice self-love and start asking.

— Anne Marie Houghtailing

You don’t need to become an expert on everything, but it’s pretty important to become an expert on you, yourself and your rights!

Do your Research & Know your Rights: Whether you are advocating for a certain course of treatment, for a different kind of support for your mental health, or for accommodations in your school or workplace, it’s always helpful to have some good solid info to back up what you are asking for.

What kind of info helps, you ask? This can be as simple as asking others about what they have done or what kind of support they have received so you know what’s possible. Other times, it can involve looking up official websites that explain your rights on the subject.

Keep reading to find out about self-advocacy in different areas of life!

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 Your Health Rights

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Learn about your rights and responsibilities as a healthcare consumer in Canada.

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Each province has their own set of rules that regulate how you access and experience healthcare services and that protect your rights to dignity, privacy and fair treatment.

Tenant Rights

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Have you moved into your own apartment or are you planning to move soon? It’s important to know what rights landlords and renters have!

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As a tenant you have rights and responsibilities which are important to be aware of so you can live in a safe and comfortable environment.

School or Work Accommodations

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Accommodations for a disorder or disability are your right! Do your research to know what kinds of supports you can access.

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Everyone has the right to a learning and work environment that is free from discrimination and which offers them support for their unique needs.

  • Most universities or colleges will provide a service for special accommodations. This could include using transcription, longer exam times, interpretation services, or a smaller courseload. We encourage you to check with your post-secondary institute!
  • Read about the Ontario Human Rights Code that guarantees the right to education without discrimination. The OHRC also protects individuals from employment discrimination.
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3. Getting Involved

You may find that making a difference for others makes the biggest difference in you.

Brian Williams

Growing up, you may have had dreams about saving the world and making a difference and although those may now feel like big statements, with smaller steps, you can be well on your way to achieving those dreams!

Maybe you were that student who was involved in all the school or extracurricular activities and want to continue that as a young adult. Or maybe you always wanted to be involved but didn’t know where to start. Perhaps you didn’t feel comfortable but would now like to try something different!

Whatever the reason, getting active in your local, school, or broader community is a wonderful way to stay active, make a difference, learn new skills, meet new people and find your place in this world!

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Keep scrolling for ideas about involvement in your local and broader community!

Volunteer

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Seek out volunteer opportunities at your university, or college, religious institute, local community centre, or help out a neighbour!

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  • The City of Ottawa has many unique volunteer opportunities
  • Create a volunteer profile on Volunteer Ottawa and seek out cool opportunities that pop up.
  • Remember that many cities have festivals and events that come around every year that rely on volunteers. Stay tuned to social media, radio ads and postings on your community boards for opportunities!
  • Remember that a great place to start is your college or university or your own community!

Get involved in your school’s clubs & activities

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Find activities, social groups, student clubs, events and more social connection opportunities at your school today!

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  • Campus life can be vibrant and lively! Check out the clubs, events and activities that are available to you through your postsecondary institution.
  • University of Ottawa
  • Carleton University
  • Algonquin
  • Not presently in postsecondary? No problem! Remember that there are adult recreation programs (sports, art, etc) available in the community.

Mentor or Be a Peer Support

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Did someone help you out on your journey to adulthood and you’d like to do the same for someone else? There are lots of opportunities to give back if you feel like you are at a place to do so!

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Get involved in what’s going on in your neighbourhood

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Join an advisory group, a youth engagement committee, attend community meetings or get involved in local politics.

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4. Building Your Support Network

That horrifying moment when you’re looking for an adult and you realize that you ARE an adult. So you start looking for an adultier adult.

Jesse Oakley

We ALL need help, support and a sense of belonging. Taking care of yourself as an adult does NOT mean that you have to do it all alone!

Especially when advocating for yourself in your health care journey, find people who may be able to support you and your needs and get them on your team! Whether it’s having someone present at an appointment with you, someone you can practice with before the “real thing”, or someone to just be yourself with, the important thing is that you trust the person.

Because making connections and building trust takes time, life can get lonely sometimes, so it’s important to know where to go to gain social support and explore ways you can find and be part of a community.

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Check out some resources below to find connections, community groups and professionals that provide support or help expand your network!

Young Adult Peer Support (YAPS)

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Psychiatric Survivors of Ottawa (PSO) offers free groups for young adults (ages 16-24) to connect and find support.

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Psychiatric Survivors of Ottawa offers free Peer Support groups for adults 16+ living with various addictions and/or mental health challenges.

They also offer fun activities such as walking groups, games and trivia and craft nights.

Check out these services and more here :

https://www.pso-ottawa.ca/peer-support-programs

Post-Secondary Student Community Groups

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Find activities, social groups, student clubs, events and more social connection opportunities at your school today!

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From sports to hobbies, and whole student-run organizations to one-off social events, there is always so much going on across post-secondary campuses!

Dealing with Loneliness

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Feeling lonely sometimes or at different parts of our lives is normal. Finding ways to support yourself and find additional social support are both important.

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Website: cmha.ca/brochure/coping-with-loneliness/

It may sound strange, but if you feel lonely, you are not alone! 1 in 4 Canadians say they don’t have as many social connections as they’d like.

The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) offers tips and tricks to help better understand and overcome loneliness. This includes information on why we feel loneliness, what we can do to live with and be comfortable alone, as well as what we can do to build our social connections.

Building Healthy Connections

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Having people in your life that support you, allow you to be authentic, respect your boundaries and communicate well are all important parts of growing up!

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The prospect of losing your familiar classmates and friends as you graduate high school can feel really scary!

Just remember that even though your friendship may look different and you might not see someone as often, you can still share wonderful life experiences together!

This is also a really good time to look at the relationships in your life and ask yourself if they are supportive and healthy?

Though sometimes it is very difficult, letting go of unhealthy friendships as your enter adulthood can be the best possible thing for your self-growth and can allow you to make space for new people to enter your life!

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5. Additional Resources

I walk around like everything’s fine, but deep down … in my shoe, my sock is falling off.

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Yep, we’re not gonna pretend that adulting isn’t a whole new world of wants, worries and ways to go. So for all your other almost-all-grown-up needs, check out below for more general resources!

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Counselling Connect

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Free phone and video counselling through individual or group sessions. Available in English, French, Arabic and Mandarin.

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Through the Walk-in Counselling Clinic or Family Services Ottawa, access free walk-in counselling.

RideauWood Family Health

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Free Addiction Services for youth, young adults, adults and families.

What else can I do?

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