DIDSBURY - About 160 grades 7-11 students and 40 teachers from Chinook's Edge School Division have taken part in a daylong conference at Zion Church in Didsbury.
The Headstrong conference, which is a partnership between Chinook's Edge Youth Empowerment and Support (YES) program and the Mental Health Commission of Canada, featured different speakers talking about mental health and wellness, as well as small group activities.
Raelynn Notley, YES program director, said the event went very well and the feedback she's heard from the students has been very positive. She said it was great to see students and staff from throughout the school division come out and participate in the Headstrong program.
"Headstrong is an evidence-based anti-stigma initiative that was created by the Mental Health Commission of Canada," said Notley. "We partnered with them for this summit. We brought about 200 people from throughout Chinook's Edge including 160 students.
"What the summit is intended to do, is for inspiring youth between the ages of 12 and 17 to be brave, reach out and speak up about mental health to reduce the stigma of mental illness."
Notley said the day started with a keynote session and then students moved into breakout sessions.
"We had five different speakers throughout the day," she said. "They all took part in the keynote and then the breakout sessions. The (participants) heard stories from people who had been impacted by mental illness and their path to wellness.
"After lunch they were brought back into their community groups where they started developing action plans to go back into their schools and communities to promote mental health and wellness and to do anti-stigma campaigning."
Jaiden McClure, a Grade 11 student at Hugh Sutherland School (HSS) in Carstairs, was one of the students to attend the conference. She said the speakers and the event itself were very interesting and informative.
"I heard about it from Janet (Cornell), our school counsellor," said McClure. "It's a program for raising mental health awareness. I figured it would be a real good idea for me to go and gain more knowledge for myself.
"It's a good idea to understand what's going on around you. This was a good opportunity for me to understand people's own issues and how I can help them."
McClure said she learned a lot at the event about mental health and well-being.
"They had a couple of people come in and talk to us about their stories," she said. "Some were about addiction; others talked about depression and anxiety; fetal alcohol syndrome. It was very informative. I learned a lot about stigma and just overall things that people have gone through."
McClure said she found many of the sessions and speakers relatable.
"I think everyone on some level knows someone with mental illness," she said. "It was a really good way to learn about it and relate it back. When you can relate it back you understand it better."
McClure said that the group of students who went to the conference have come up with some ideas of how to promote mental health and wellness to their fellow students at the school.
"We want to raise awareness like they did for us," she said. "We're going to be doing a mural on our walls to represent how you can always grow and get through it. We also have a mental health day that we're going to put on for the students before exams."
Cornell told the Gazette she thought the conference was very beneficial to the students as well as the teachers who participated.
"I think what brings it together and furthers that greater awareness is that we had adults basically telling their stories, their journeys with mental health issues" said Cornell. "I think that really hit home for a lot.
"We do know that anxiety/depression is the number 1 referral amongst teens in this day and age. Through their lives, someone will experience that for sure."
Cornell said that they have a "Headstrong team" at HSS with their agenda set for bringing the ideas of the program forward to other students at the school.
"With Jaiden and the other students who attended, we have an agenda set," she said. "With presentations and some awareness gigs, we're going to spread the word that it's OK to feel that way, it's OK to be anxious and get help.
"Find that trusted adult and get help. It's about breaking down that wall of stigma. It's OK to feel that way; it's OK you're going through this. There's help out there for you."
