Lead researcher : Eve Pouliot

Co-researchers : Danielle Maltais, Christine Gervais and Kristel Tardif-Grenier

Abstract. This project aims to better understand the psychosocial impacts of natural disasters on the life trajectories of adolescents and their parents living in contexts of vulnerability, while at the same time fostering their resilience and their sense of agency. Conducted with families in the Mont-Bleu neighbourhood of Gatineau, which was struck by the 2018 tornadoes, the study examines both the negative consequences of disasters and the positive transformations that can emerge from them — notably through social support, community engagement and the coping strategies participants deploy. Drawing on a participatory action research methodology and the use of Digital Storytelling, young people and their parents are invited to recount and showcase their experience through digital narratives. This approach seeks not only to document the factors that support individual, family and community resilience, but also to co-construct recommendations for adapting the services and interventions offered to young people and families in future disaster situations.