A list of mental health resources available for our youth

BY PAUL JUNOR

The aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant emotional, mental and psychological effect of students. Since the closure of schools from March break until now, over two million Ontario public school students have been confined to their homes. Now that most of the province is in Stage 3 of the reopening schedule, there will be opportunities for them to enjoy the outdoors. There is much help that youth can avail themselves of during this time of lockdown, isolation and confinement.

On the Ministry of Education website (ontario.ca/page/learn-at-home) information is available not just for made-in-Ontario activities and courses but also for mental health support. School Mental Heath Ontario (smho-smso.ca/covid-19) has mental health advice for educators, students, parents and families. For students, there is an online hub of COVID-19 youth-focused mental health resources, which resulted from a partnership between Jack.org, and Kids Help Phone. It is intended to ensure that youths practice self-care and others.

There is a Reaching-Out PDF students can access that has practical tips that can help students initiate conversations about mental health issues. Students can reach out to Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868 or by texting CONNECT to 686868 if they need to talk to someone, or The Hope for Wellness Help Line geared to Indigenous peoples across Canada at 1-855-242-3310. They have online chat counselling service available 24/7. There is Self-Care-101 PDF for students that provides useful informaton. In addition, Children’s Mental Health Ontario (CHMO) and Child and Youth Mental Health Centres provides: COVID-19 resources for kids, supports family’s mental wellness, talks to anxious children, and helps children through grief.

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) started a Black Student Support Group which it advertised on its website (tdsb.on.ca) as, “A space for TDSB students, grades 9-12 that identify as black to share in a community to support each other and stay well.” It is a virtual support group where TDSB students can drop in every Tuesday and Thursdays at 3:00 p.m. Students who are interested can register at the flowing link: https://bit.ly/blackstudentsupportgroup.

Once students register, a Google meet link will be sent to them. The drop-in sessions run until July 30^th. It is expected that the sessions will continue throughout the month of August.

Peel Catholic District School Board (PCDSB) has launched a Summer Mental Health Support Line for students at www.pcdsb.org. Students can call or text 1-833-340-7067 or email mentalhealth@dpcdsb.org between Monday to Friday, and a mental health professional will return their call by the next business day until September 1^st.

“In recognition of the significant impact of our current realities, the Ministry of Education has made it possible to provide short-term social work and psychology support to students and parents/caregivers between July 13^th to August 28^th. These services are open to any students and their parents/caregivers registered with the PDSB.” (pdsb.on.ca)

Any student who needs short-term counselling, well-being check in, and knowledge on how to access community resources can get help. They can obtain the help of a social worker or a psychology staff member by contacting 905-890-1010 ext. 2608 or summersupport@peelsb.com. They will be able to help students between 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday.

In addition, black mental health experts will be able assisting and talking with black students. The Peel Children’s Centre Crisis Response Team is available at 416-410-8615 for any student in a crisis. Students who require non-crisis children’s mental health services can contact WhereToStart.ca or call (905) 451-4655 to request an intake appointment.