YouthTALK aims to smash the stigma around mental health in Guelph schools

A program in schools around the Guelph area is trying to address the stigma surrounding youth mental health, and educate students on suicide awareness and prevention.

YouthTALK is an initiative through the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) that was created in 2004 following a school play that led to a call for a followup strategy on suicide prevention and mental health promotion.

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There are in-school teams in the Guelph-Wellington-Dufferin area made up of students and teachers, and they create projects around their schools, said YouthTALK facilitator Jessica Schumacher.

“They create and deliver projects for awareness and education, such as mental wellness kits around exam time to relieve stress, T-shirt campaigns, positive message murals, running activities in their schools, and provide educational information within their schools,” Schumacher said in an interview with CJOY News.

The groups meet once every week during the lunch hour in an informal meeting to discuss their own well-being, but it is here where they also come up with these projects and initiatives.

At John F. Ross High School, the YouthTALK team sent home candy canes with positive messages for the Christmas break, which can be a challenging time for some.

“Mental health is the thing we don’t talk about as much and it is a thing that is very common in a lot of teenagers,” said Grade 11 student Clara Pilote.

“I even have some friends who are affected by it, so I feel like it’s something important to spread around the school.”

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According to the CMHA, suicide accounts for 24 per cent of all deaths among 15 to 24-year-olds.

“I feel like it’s really important to talk about it because it’s something that a lot of people just try to put away and not talk about,” said Grade 10 student Lydia Brown.

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There are currently six in-school YouthTALK teams running in the region and Schumacher hopes to have another three teams soon.

Along with the in-school teams, there is a regional team that has members from the Guelph-Wellington-Dufferin area and Kitchener-Waterloo.

The regional team organizes a conference each spring where students organize workshops and speakers.