We create spaces for youth to engage and support other youth.
Over the past year we have formed a working group of youth who are keen to address what they have experienced in cultural communities and explore ways for their cultural communities to be actively engaged in reducing the stigma of youth mental health.
While there are already many services available, the concern is that due to the enduring stigma around mental health, communities have not identified the need to support mental health and wellbeing for youth as a priority.
We know that mental health organizations generally agree that there are a number of ways to work towards reducing stigma including but not limited to:
- talking openly about mental health;
- educating oneself and others;
- being conscious of the language one uses in these discussions;
- encouraging conversations that include physical and mental health;
- focusing on positive wellbeing in addition to mental health challenges;
- and reducing the psychological safety experiences of community members, etc.
We believe that CMCCF has a role in its engagement with a number of cultural communities and allies to incorporate these various strategies into the approaches we take to train community engagement facilitators and mental health navigators. We strive to create safe spaces for community engagement cafes, where youth will be able to engage and support other youth in a culturally safe and affirming context. We also aim to collaborate with cultural communities to create messaging that will convey positive and factual information about youth mental health and wellbeing.
Connecting Youth for a Discussion on Mental Health
Watch the video below of a recent youth panel discussion on mental health.
This is the panel of young folks that we formed to present opinions, ideas, challenges and possibilities after our AGM in November 2020. The focus was to discuss current and future approaches to strengthen supports for cultural community youth striving to attain their wellbeing and mental health in times of COVID and disruption.
