project report - Health and Social Services - Government of Yukon

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
“Drugs and
alcohol are not
the problem...they
[have become] the
solution to peoples’
problems”
(counsellor)
Wake and Bake, an Illicit Drug Awareness Project funded through Health Canada, was
developed in partnership with the Health Promotion Unit and Alcohol and Drug Services of the
Department of Health and Social Services, Government of Yukon, and Yukon Educational
Theatre. The overall goal of the project was to reduce substance use among Yukon youth. The
project consisted of four main components: a theatre production, a post-play audience
discussion, a health fair following each performance, and a supplemental learning resource. The
idea of using theatre to raise awareness about substance use came from a previous theatre
health initiative, Diabetes: A Love Story, which had proven very successful in engaging
audiences in health matters.
The Health Promotion Unit, Yukon Educational Theatre, and Alcohol and Drug Services
worked directly with at-risk Yukon youth to develop this original theatre production on the
topic of illicit drugs. The original play was developed with input from the target youth
population through focus groups held at both rural and urban Yukon high schools. The play,
entitled Wake and Bake, was written by Dean Eyre, a local playwright, and produced by Yukon
Educational Theatre, using professional actors from Yukon and across Canada. Two drafts of the
script were reviewed by the focus group youth and a working group of professionals, with their
input incorporated into the final script. The play was performed in both Yukon schools and
community locations in order to reach as many youth (aged 12-15) as possible, including those
who might not be attending school, as well as parents and community members. In order to
have a dramatic impact, the play used themes related to high risk factors associated with illicit
drug use, as outlined by the program priorities of the Drug Strategy Community Initiatives Fund,
and as identified by the focus group youth.
The play was meant to engage members of the audience with the main characters and
the dangerous situation they are in. The play toured to 11 Yukon communities over a five-week
period and there were 26 performances. Teachers were provided with discussion guide
materials to share with their students when preparing them for the play as well as for postperformance
classroom discussions. Wake and Bake was seen by 1, 968 Yukoners, (1, 426 youth
and 542 adults).
Following each performance, Health Promotion and Alcohol and Drug Services staff
facilitated an audience discussion with students and community members to engage the
participants in discussion about substance use: the influences, risks, and consequences as
shared by Yukon youth and viewed in the play.
In conjunction with each performance, staff from Health Promotion and Alcohol and
Drug Services and other interested government and community resources, including FASSY,
RCMP, Victims Services, Community Nursing, Many Rivers Counselling & Support Services,
CYFN, RPAY, and Mental Health, set up a health fair. Participants were able to attend the fair
after the play, discuss the issues with their community support organizations, and receive
handouts and additional factual information on addictions, illicit drugs, and community
resources. At each performance, participants were provided with a listing of community
support resources specific to their community/school.
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