Meeting held to discuss youth mental health

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A conversation on loss, suicide and self-harm was held at the Medicine Hat College theatre thursday.

The public school division proposed this meeting a few days ago.

Although short notice, the school board felt it was necessary. The community seemed to agree, as a large number of concerned parents showed up, ready to listen and voice their concerns.

The meeting was hosted in collaboration with local school boards, and community partners including the Brandon Niwa Legacy fund.

It’s purpose was to address concerns about youth mental health and the knowledge there has been death by suicide this school year.

Superintendent Mark Davidson says question periods during the meeting will pinpoint concerns of the community.

“We’re wanting to see if there are things we can learn in a conversation with our partners and with community. Are there things we can do differently as individual organizations, are there different ways we can support young people and families in order to try and stem the tide,” he said.

We were not allowed to record any parts of the meeting, or talk with parents that attended.

However, there was a live-stream of the event that included a question session.

Each question was read anonymously, and this helped put together an understanding of what the community is actually concerned about.

One community member asked, “How can | as a parent help others in the community? I feel helpless but | want to support others and | don’t know how.”

Although parents wanted to know what actions the school board would take to support their children, parents also wanted to plan their individual action.

“What should | do when my child admits to me that they’re thinking about suicide?” an anonymous parent asked.

This allowed space for the mental health representatives to advise steps to take when a child comes forward with their struggle.

Erin Reeder, program manager with the Canadian Mental Health Association said her hope is to show parents that this is not an individual issue.

“l’m hoping that we talk about suicide in a very direct way, and have that understanding that suicide is a community issue, and we all need to work together to prevent it. It can’t be one person, one organization, one school. It needs to be everybody coming together,” Reeder said.

Reeder believes that the conversation is more about learning than teaching.

She says she wants to gain an understanding of how to create a community that knows how to talk about these issues.

Superintendent Mark Davidson stresses his concerns not only as superintendent, but as a parent.

“I’m a dad, I’m a teacher. We as human beings always, | think, want to find a way to be – more present for people. And so we as a community are trying to find a way to be more present for families and their children,” Davidson said.

He hopes the community is ready to help the school board create a united plan of action.

And that although change will be slow, that there is hope.

A link to the live-stream meeting can be found here.

by Lisa Parent

Meeting held to discuss youth mental health

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