CHEO program working with teens to destigmatize mental illness
A recent initiative out of CHEO's YouthNet program is working to destigmatize mental illness in the younger generation.
The organization has launched a Youth Advocacy Committee (YAC), which looks to better connect youth with its mental health programming.
- Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
The YAC acts as a peer-to-peer liaison. Its 10 teen members work to build trust with youth in schools and out in the community until they are ready to ask for help from professionals.
"We're still noticing youth are turning to their friends and their peers, rather than parents or other health care professionals," says YouthNet Program Coordinator Fiona Cooligan.
"They can help me and I can help them," explained YAC Leader Lilli Green. "It's such a good process and I'd say every organization who works with youth needs it."
While helping connect younger people with YouthNet's programs, the YAC also gives its members a head start in mental health-related fields
"We can do everything from hiring young people and giving them actual real experiences, to giving them mentorship opportunities and training them in areas where they otherwise wouldn't get that support," said Cooligan.
Sheata Ahmed is a former volunteer for YouthNet. She signed on after moving to Ottawa while still in high school.
"I knew I was interested in mental health-related things and it just looked like a lot of young people doing cool stuff," she said.
It was not long before she started accessing the organization's services – specifically its eight-week 'Mindfulness' program, which focusses on self-care through yoga and peer-to-peer conversations.
"I had really bad social anxiety, but this place helped me get through that and it was so welcoming. It was so easy."
Ahmed used her lived experience to join the YAC and help other teens on their own journeys – aiding YouthNet staff in their intervention programs.
"It was just super engaging," she said. "I had never come across something like this – an organization, a community where they really empower youth and give them a place to speak and express themselves."
The Youth Advocacy Committee is almost entirely funded through community donations. Your support helps the children and youth at CHEO. Visit cheofoundation.com and donate today.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Blaine Higgs 'furious' over sexual education presentation
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has shared his anger on social media over a presentation in at least four high schools.
Grayson Murray's parents say the two-time PGA Tour winner died of suicide
Grayson Murray's parents said Sunday their 30-year-old son took his own life, just one day after he withdrew from a PGA Tour event.
The dreams of a 60-year-old beauty contestant come to an abrupt end in Argentina
A 60-year-old woman saw her dreams of becoming the oldest Miss Universe contestant in history melt away in a haze of sequins and selfies Saturday at Argentina’s annual beauty pageant.
At least 15 dead after severe weather carves path of ruin across multiple U.S. states in the South
Powerful storms killed at least 15 people and left a wide trail of destruction Sunday across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas during the latest deadly weather to strike the central U.S.
2 died in plane crash near Squamish, B.C., police confirm
Two people died after a plane went down in a remote area near Squamish, B.C. on Friday, authorities have confirmed.
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
After more than 100 years, Newfoundland's unknown soldier returns home
An unknown Newfoundland soldier, who fought and died on the battlefields in northeastern France during the First World War, is back home this weekend for the first time in more than a hundred years.
Some birds may use 'mental time travel,' study finds
Real quick — what did you have for lunch yesterday? Were you with anyone? Where were you? Can you picture the scene? The ability to remember things that happened to you in the past, especially to go back and recall little incidental details, is a hallmark of what psychologists call episodic memory — and new research indicates that it’s an ability humans may share with birds called Eurasian jays.
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.