The McCreary Centre Society
The McCreary Center Society is a BC-based charity that conducts community-based research, evaluation, and youth engagement initiatives to improve youth health and well-being. The charity is probably best known for the BC Adolescent Health Survey (BC AHS), a population-level provincial survey administered to youth aged 12-19 every five years since 1992. Adapted versions of the survey are administered to youth whose experience may not be captured in the BC AHS including youth in custody, and homeless and street-involved youth.
McCreary is seen as a leader in meaningful youth engagement. The organization includes youth in all its work, including a thriving Youth Action and Advisory Council which use the results of the BC AHS and other research to develop projects to improve youth health including organizing ‘by youth for youth’ workshops and events. The Council also facilitates a granting program that supports youth in communities across the province to develop and deliver projects that address findings from the BC AHS. For example, in early 2022 the Council supported youth across the province to address BC AHS research findings relating to school connectedness, mental health, and physical activity.
