Explore our youth project and find community resources.
Minds Matter - Project Snapshot - Continued
Wellness Spotlights with Mental Health Professionals
Taking Action and Reflecting
HYI Get Together
On Friday April 9 from 4:00-5:00 PM the Minds Matter Wellness team hosted an HYI Get Together. This get-together event was designed for youth volunteers of the Halton Youth Initiative as a way to relax, have fun and meet teammates from other breakout rooms. We played several Jack Box TV games, and the top three places won a prize!
Minds Matter Q&A Event
Who: We have invited 5 different mental health professionals (Lauren McCabe, Mehret Biruk, Jennifer Paton, Elizabeth Anstee, and Nikki Deschenes) to our panel. This event is open to any and all youth, mainly in the Halton Region.
What: The panel started off with an introduction to each panellist, and then the importance of talking about Mental Health. We then introduced our Main Questions which were answered by all panellists and anyone else in the audience. We then moved on to more specific questions, which all revolved around mental health, its importance, resources and steps to take if in distress. This was then followed by an audience Q&A, with questions submitted through a google form at the beginning of the Event.
Where: We held this mental health panel virtually, with guests, an audience and questions from all across the Halton Region.
When: This panel was held on Monday, May 10 from 4-6 pm.
Why: This panel event was hosted as a way to inform people about mental health. Topics covered included mental illnesses, treatment pathways, statistics since COVID-19, resources and wellness tips. It also allowed for people to meet professionals and submit questions directly to them.
Our Team Reflections
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Ekaterina - It felt great to be closely involved with mental health professionals in my community. Creating a panel is a lot of hard work, from brainstorming, to typing emails, to creating an outline and speaking in front of a large audience. I have learned a lot about leading a project, collaborating with other teammates, and taking the initiative to complete tasks. I am extremely grateful for this wonderful opportunity and its great turnout!
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Iman - It was wonderful to see how this project evolved over the course of two months. I really appreciated the support that was given by our mental wellness experts, they are the ones who made this event possible! So grateful to be able to organize this and learn about mental wellness from such amazing experts.
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Leah - I found that being a part of this group was such a great experience! I really enjoyed being able to create visuals to promote several organizations and bring awareness to youth mental health issues. Additionally, the panel was a wonderful opportunity to dive into more depth in these stigmatized topics and to create something of benefit to the community. I’m so grateful to have collaborated with some amazing youth peers and adult allies, and I’m proud of what we were able to achieve!
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Birva - Even though I was unable to attend the Mental Health panel, creating an event with people that shared the same passion to share information and reduce the stigma of mental illness was really refreshing. I am so glad to be able to have support from my teammates and adult allies like Lily!
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Sasha - Working with the Minds Matter team has given me a new appreciation for the volunteering community and all of the hard work that they do. It’s one thing to attend a panel like ours and an entirely different experience to organize and plan one! From this opportunity, I have witnessed what community outreach, creativity, passion, and teamwork can do!