Helping Young Adults with Mental Health Issues with Peer Specialist, Mardi Daley

In this episode, Roxanne talks with Mardi Daley about her involvement with the Housing Outreach Project Collaborative. They discuss university mental health supports, the impact of technology on social isolation, and strategies for understanding youth homelessness. They also explore the importance of community resources for independent living and the role of work experience and empathy in today's job market.

Are there more mental health issues today or are we just more aware of them due to the stigma being lessened, more coverage in the media and more celebrities speaking out about their own mental health struggles? On this episode of Authentic Living with Roxanne, we welcome Mardi Daley who is a Young Adult Peer Specialist.

Mardi is a person with lived experience of the complexities of homelessness and mental illness. With a permanent smile and contagious laugh, she considers herself an anomaly within the system, determined to impact multi-level change by advocating for holistic youth engagement.

Authentic Touch Point

Mardi’s work and how she got her start. 1:30 The level of support available to post-secondary students. 5:00 Peer support – then and now. 8:50 Looking for a connection. 15:40 Key factors that contribute to homelessness in young adults. 21:10 Learning to maintain independence. 26:40 Education vs experience. 32:10 How to get involved. 39:00

Mardi recently founded the Lived Experience Lab, a by-youth, for-youth consulting firm to leverage the principle of co-design within the youth wellness system.

I encourage you to reach out at any time with thoughts or questions. Thanks!

Roxanne

Links:

Mardi’s email: [email protected] Mardi’s Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/mardi-daley-51263ba2 Roxanne’s LinkedIn profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/roxannederhodge/ Roxanne’s email: [email protected] Chat with Roxanne: https://roxannederhodge.com/chat/ Roxanne’s previous podcasts: https://roxannederhodge.com/blog/

(0:00) Introduction to Authentic Living with Roxanne and guest, Mardi Daley (2:00) Mardi Daley's involvement in the Housing Outreach Project Collaborative (5:01) Discussion on university mental health supports and pressures faced by students (10:17) The importance of human connection vs technology in socialization (15:36) Impact of technology on social isolation and changes in family structure (20:26) Strategies for building resilience and understanding homelessness among youth (24:07) Importance of community resources and system support for independent living (28:57) Limitations of short-term services and the future of employment (33:23) The significance of work experience and empathy in the job market (40:25) Roxanne's closing thoughts on the importance of connection and corporate responsibility (43:30) End of the podcast episode