PANEL - Supporting Youth Health: A Community Approach
Thrive - Nicole Deveau, CASEY Coordinator
Choices for Youth - Jen Crowe, Executive Director
Jacob Puddister Memorial Foundation - Kelsey Puddister, Director & Counsellor
THRIVE
Coalition Against the Sexual Exploitation of Youth (CASEY) is comprised of a group of concerned professionals and experiential voices in the community that work together to address issues pertaining to the sexual exploitation of youth. They are the only organization in the province with the mandate of addressing the sexual exploitation of youth. Every young person in our province deserves access to the same quality care after experiencing sexual exploitation, no matter where they reside in our province.
Nicole Deveau is the CASEY (Coalition Against the Sexual Exploitation of Youth) Coordinator at Thrive. She holds a BA with a major in Psychology and minor in Women’s Studies from MUN and a LLB with a Health Law Certificate from Dalhousie Law School. She has an interest in social justice and has worked and volunteered in many roles which support marginalized people. She started her legal career at the Legal Aid Family and Child Office in HV-GB, has trained as a restorative justice facilitator in NS, and currently volunteers with the St. John’s Youth Justice Committee. She is passionate about the work CASEY does to address youth sexual exploitation in our province.
CHOICES FOR YOUTH
Choices for Youth is a professional services, youth-focused, non-profit, charitable organization that creates spaces and conversations, and operates programs and social enterprises to help vulnerable youth secure stable housing, employment, and education while improving health and family stability. With a focus on prevention, intervention, and support. Choices for Youth help youth and their families break cycles of poverty and homelessness and transition to healthy, stable, and independent lives.
Jen Crowe is a graduate of both Memorial University and Western University, Jen holds an Honours degree in Political Silence, a Certification in Public Policy, and a Master of Public Administration. Jen represents Newfoundland and Labrador as a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Housing Renewal Association. Jen joined the CFY team as the Coordinator of Strategic Initiatives in March 2020, using her expertise to spearhead the development of a provincial Integrated Youth Services (IYS) model. In 2022, Jen’s role was reclassified to Manager of Strategic Initiatives. She led the development of CFY’s first pan-organization data and evaluation strategy and helped implement the inaugural comprehensive cross-organization client management system. Jen was promoted to Senior Director of Strategy, Fund Development, and External Relations in 2023, providing strategic direction for CFY’s fund development initiatives, communication needs, impact measurement strategies, and IYS efforts.
THE JACOB PUDDISTER MEMORIAL FOUNDATION
The Jacob Puddister Memorial Foundation was created by Jake’s family to honour the son, brother, grandson, and friend Jake was to so many. Although he struggled with mental illness for many years, Jake prioritized the needs and feelings of all those he loved and cared about. The mission is to provide mental health resources to youth in Newfoundland and Labrador and to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health through various fundraising efforts and community partnerships.
Kelsey Puddister is the team lead at The Jacob Puddister Memorial Foundation and holds a master’s degree in counselling psychology. She is a certified professional member of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. Kelsey has experience working in acute psychiatric care, addiction recovery, and informal clinical settings and enjoys working with people through a non-judgmental, compassionate framework. She enjoys listening to the stories of people’s lives and taking a look into how the story we tell about ourselves impacts our feelings and emotions. Kelsey is an advocate for social justice and self-compassion and aims to bring warmth, empathy, and thoughtfulness to each counselling session. Kelsey has additional training in narrative therapy, addiction, trauma, and queer theory. She is a trained birth and postpartum doula and Reiki Master and enjoys incorporating these ideas and teachings into her counselling work. Kelsey has been the managing director of the foundation since it began in 2017. Her brother, Jake, is the namesake and one of the main reasons she entered the field of counselling psychology. Since his death by suicide in 2016, Kelsey has been working to create suicide safer communities on the Avalon Peninsula. In her spare time, you can find Kelsey hanging out with their spouse and two Frenchies, Lucy and Violet. They love to read, listen to podcasts, write and send snail mail, and craft.