Youth Mental Health Carnival student organizer Maia Peterson poses for a photo at Crescent Heights High School (Photo Courtesy Brendan Miller)

By Brendan Miller

Student-organized Youth Mental Health Carnival will bring supports under one roof

Jun 7, 2023 | 4:23 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Students at Crescent Heights High School have organized a Youth Mental Health Carnival for Thursday afternoon.

Student organizers say they’ve recognized the struggles many of their classmates are dealing with and want to do something to help.

Their goal is simple: connect students with the mental health resources in the community all under one roof.

Several organizations are expected to set up booths including Canadian Mental Health, Safelink Alberta, Our Collective Journey, McMan Youth Hub and Alberta Health Services.

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The carnival will also include live music performed by Crescent Heights students, as well as food trucks, games and a Pride booth.

The police accompanied by support dogs and school counsellors will also be on-hand to answer any questions.

One of the student organizers, Maia Peterson, says since the pandemic it’s been difficult for some students to find continual mental health support.

“It’s super important because they can see everything that they need. There are so many different kinds of support for so many different kinds of things and depending on what the person needs,” says Peterson.

“They might not know where to go for one specific thing but if we have them all together at once they can ask around and get information and find out where they need to go for what they need,” she adds.

The carnival will run Thursday between 4-8 p.m. and members of the public are welcome to attend.