Listening to Intergenerational Stories: A Narrative Inquiry Into the Experience of At-Risk Youth

• In Event: 26.080 - Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: 26.080-14 - An Ontological Consideration of Experience and Identity

Abstract

In this paper we focus on the intergenerational stories told by at-risk youth, aged 12 to 22, who have experienced mental health issues and live in precarious housing situations. We came to know the youth, as part of a visual narrative inquiry that that took place from 2012 to 2013 in a large urban Canadian city. Many of the youths’ experiences called forth stories of their parents and grandparents. Stories included experiences of belonging, the value of educational engagement, sustaining cultural stories, as well as stories of mental health issues, poverty, abuse, substance use, and lack of adequate housing. The realization that difficult intergenerational stories can be retold in hopeful ways and with new possibilities was important.

Authors

• Margot Jackson, MacEwan University

• Vera F. Caine, University of Alberta