“It should be a normal conversation”

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This article was published 05/06/2017 (3055 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg youth-led group proved how big of an impact school kids can have when given a chance.

Peace of Mind 204 has been fighting to end negative perceptions of mental health and mental illness since 2015, and on May 24 they were one of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society 20th Annual Young Humanitarian Awards recipients which highlights school students from Winnipeg, Gimli, Bird’s Hill and Moosehorn who have demonstrated compassion and caring for others.

“It feels amazing because it shows that there are people out there that want to be part of the difference and want to make a change. If they don’t know where to start we are here to give them the platform,” Institute Collegial Vincent Massey Collegiate Grade 12 student Loizza Aquino, founder of the group, said.

Aquino had the idea when she was in Grade 9 after a friend committed suicide. The incident encouraged her to reach out to students and the community to know that suicide can be prevented if attitudes toward mental health changed on a large scale.

“It’s disappointing that mental health is so relevant in everyone’s lives, whether it’s directly or indirectly, yet we refuse to talk about it, or we feel uncomfortable talking about it. I believe that just because it’s touchy, it doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be touched at all,” she said.

Peace of Mind 204 is made up of students from several Winnipeg schools and is the face behind the Youth Against Mental Illness Stigma event which happens two to three times a year and gathers hundreds of students from across Manitoba to speak about their experiences with mental health and navigating the school and health systems. Almost 700 people attended the latest YAMIS event on March 1.

River East Collegiate Grade 12 student Jayda Hope said the stigma around mental illnesses prevents young people from getting the help they need.

“If I tell you that I’m going to go to the gym, I should be able to tell you that I’m going to see a psychiatrist or a psychologist to take care of my mental health. It shouldn’t be something that’s weird to talk about or uncomfortable,” she said.

“We just want everyone to be able to ask for help when they need it without fear of what people will think of say because this should be a normal conversation.”

Peace of Mind 204 doesn’t let the conversation end after the event. They are active on social media and encourage people to use their hashtag #PeaceOfMind204 to share their experiences and feelings.

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“We started (this) hashtag, and within an hour it was trending in Manitoba. It starts a conversation with people who aren’t necessarily present but just creates this open dialogue that is so necessary when you’re trying to eradicate the stigma,” Hope said.

Aquino said schools are the best place to start conversations about mental health because sometimes students spend more time in school than they do at home. She added students feel more comfortable to talk about their feelings when they are surrounded by like-minded people who share the same experiences daily. 

“Students are always more comfortable telling each other than being in a room with adults trying to tell and explain to them how they feel. Because of that age gap, I think there are a lot of things that teenagers worry about these days that older people didn’t have to worry in the past,” she continued. “For example, social media and cyberbullying.

“(We are) a platform for people to show others that they are not alone in anything that they are feeling. It’s ok not to be ok, but you need to do something about it.”

To learn more about Peace of Mind 204 go to www.peaceofmind204.com or follow them on Twitter @204PeaceOfMind.