What an incredible 2023 Press Start CoLab Program it has been! As an innovation accelerator, the CoLab Program aims to support the next generation of youth changemakers in developing minimal viable solutions that address the Mental Health Crisis in Canada. Over the course of approximately 10-weeks in the summer months, our youth changemakers (ages 18-29) gained access to entrepreneurial tools, resources, and mentorship to collaboratively create positive social impact. Enhancements to this year’s program, including awards, an internal communication platform, further mentorship opportunities, community engagement, and in-kind partnerships have expanded the opportunities available to the 2023 changemakers.

Congratulations to this year’s Emerging Social Innovators and grant recipients who have gained access to a total of $61,000. A special thank you to our partners at OTIP for your generous donation of $11,000 in grant funding! Thank you to all of the outstanding contributors and partners who made the 2023 CoLab Program such a success. We could not be more thrilled to share the inspiring stories and collaborative accomplishments from the CoLab community.

Focus Area: The Mental Health Crisis in Canada

Based on a collaborative and critical discussion with an esteemed panel of mental health field experts and researchers, this year’s focus on the mental health crisis in Canada was categorized into four sub-focus areas for youth changemakers to ideate around. Thank you for the contributions made by Kathy Hay, Akela Peoples, Dr. Daniel Cox, Dr. David Klonsky, Jonathan Friedman, Emma Aiken-Klar, Chloe White, and Jessie Brar.

Four Mental Health Crisis Sub-Categories 

1. Accessibility and navigation of mental health services 

2. Stigma and misinformation around mental health 

3. Diversity and cultural sensitivity in mental health resources 

4. Invlusive and evidence-based research on mental health 

2023 Program Enhancements  

CoLab Program Awards 
In addition to a total of $61,000 in grant funding, participants were given access to three esteemed awards to recognize their hard work. The People’s Choice Award, The Community Choice Award, and the Teachers Life Award each provided a $500 honorarium to the video proposal with the most votes from the public, the CoLab community, and Teachers Life staff members, respectively.

Congratulations to Keerat Sandhu (People’s Choice Award), Maria Khandaker (Community Choice Award), and Lanise Lywood (Teachers Life Award) for their incredible accomplishments and for being selected as 2023 award recipients. 

Proposal Video Submissions 
This year, participants were asked to submit a 3-minute video pitch of their proposal, in addition to a written proposal. These video proposals were instrumental in the award voting process and provided participants with the opportunity to share their stories and ideas with their community publicly. Click here to watch all of this year’s incredible proposal submissions! 

In-Kind Partnership Opportunities 
To expand the mentorship and entrepreneurial opportunities within the CoLab Program, our generous partners have offered their resources to selected participants, following the end of this year’s program.  

• Common Good Solutions: Internship or research and communications volunteer position for the Fall of 2023 
• The Journal That Talks BackTM: Certified coaching and mentorship from CoLab Program mentor, Jonathan Friedman 

• The Sandbox Project: Free 1 month access to Common Good Online – a set of searchable online resources to supplement entrepreneurial learning; Free access to the Business Basics Bundle – 50 comprehensive business videos, valued at ($3,950 + tax) 

The CoLab Program Hub: The Hub is Press Start’s unique and interactive platform from which we run the CoLab Program. It includes exclusive access to innovative tools, resources, and tutorial videos that support participants through the ideation process to bring their social enterprise ideas to life. The Hub is private to CoLab Program community members, including our participants and mentors, and is where members communicate and collaborate throughout the Program. 

2023 CoLab Program Grant Recipients

After approximately 10 weeks of incredible hard work and collaboration, participants submitted their proposals to be reviewed by a distinguished panel of judges. Congratulations to this year’s grant recipients: 

• Frog Pockets by Chey Kidd ($10,000 Grant): Designed for Canadians with sensory needs, Frog Pockets is a sensory-friendly clothing company that features innovative designs such as a hoodie with a large front pocket with snap-in custom liners such as soft fur or beaded ropes and an extra-large hood to accommodate sensitive necks, among other sensory-friendly options. 
• Our Safehouse by Sierra Patey ($10,000 Grant): A not-for-profit “recovery café” that provides onlineservices to help those struggling with suicidal ideations navigate mental health services and social support systems to reduce suicide attempts. 
• Reset by Alexander Lam ($10,000 Grant from OTIP): An app that guides individuals to take control of their mental wellbeing and to manage anxiety through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, transforming the way mental health care is delivered by combining the latest software development methodologies and evidence-based therapeutic techniques. 
• CogniLink by Matthew Gaiser and Nicholas Lor ($9,000 Grant): A platform for mental health researchers that features ready-to-go cohorts of potential study participants, reducing the time and effort required to identify and recruit study participants so researchers can stay focused on science.
• The Chronic Illness Group Program by Karima Leslie ($8,000 Grant): A virtual program customized for female creatives, entrepreneurs, and aspiring business owners with invisible, physical, chronic illness to improve mental wellbeing by addressing a broad range of mental, financial, emotional, physical, and environmental health issues. 
• Rural Queer Survival Guide by Mabe Kyle ($8,000 Grant): Making mental health resources developed by and for rural 2SLGBTQIAP+ (Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual) youth more readily available across rural Canadian communities. 
• jargon by Karen Huo ($3,000 Grant): Canada’s first virtual “science café” designed to connect young scholars and academics with their local communities to aid in disseminating and promoting mental health research in a social and accessible environment. 
• Trans Healthcare Database by Ilya Robinson ($2,000 Grant): The Trans Healthcare Database is a centralized transgender healthcare database providing more access to information and healthcare to deliver better mental health outcomes for trans youth. 
• Plan Gratitude by Eileen Danaee ($1,000 Grant from OTIP): Plan Gratitude is an online website in both English and French that allows middle and secondary school students in participating Canadian schools to send anonymous messages of gratitude to anyone within the same school community (teachers, friends, staff, etc.).

Thank you to the incredible CoLab participants, speakers and collaborators who made this year’s program possible. A huge thank you to our wonderful mentors: Emma Aiken-Klar, Jessie Brar, Cheesan Chew, Katie Fenn, Jonathan Friedman, Patrick Glinski, Krista Hajovic, Keosha Love, Faduma Mohamed, Jonny Morris, and Cher Peng, as well as our program emcee, Kwame Osei. A special thank you to this year’s partners, including Common Good Solutions, Inspiring Communities, Kids Help Phone, Loran Scholars Foundation, The Journal That Talks Back, and The Sandbox Project. 

To learn more about this year's program and to stay tuned for exciting updates on the 2024 Press Start CoLab Program, visit: https://nowly.ca/pressstart/colab/.