A group of southern Alberta high school students has banded together to raise awareness about abuse and mental illness.
They are called Youth Champions, and they are part of a program led by child advocate Sheldon Kennedy.
“What I’ve learned from Sheldon is sometimes people experience really dark things in their life, but it doesn’t have to be terrible – you can take what you experienced and turn it into something beautiful,” said Brooke Anderson, a Canmore Collegiate Grade 11 student.
The students are from eight different high schools in and around Calgary.
They’ve been meeting with Kennedy about five times a year since the program started three years ago.
“What we’ve done is give them the education on the science behind the impact on the developing brain of kids impacted by awful things, and the connection to mental health,” Sheldon Kennedy, founder of the Child Advocacy Centre in Calgary, said.
The students have put together multimedia messages which they shared with Kennedy in Canmore on Friday.
The public awareness videos will be showcased at an event in Calgary next month.
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