50p
Unleash the Change
Three years ago, Jack Windeler was a rower and a hard-working first-year student at Queen’s University. In March 2010, the promising young man tragically and unexpectedly took his own life. As the ripples of his death spread, his family began a massive movement advocating the promotion of mental health through their group, fittingly named ‘The Jack Project’. Their goal was and remains to advocate for mental health awareness to prevent suicide. From this initiative was born the Unleash the Noise Conference, the first ever student-led mental health summit in Canada.
After months of planning, the selected delegates from across the country met in Toronto, Ontario on March 15th and 16th. Among the 215 selected were five Brentwood students, eager to be a part of this movement.
The two-day conference saw several question and brainstorming periods centered on combatting the stigma surrounding mental health. The entire event was charged with an indescribable passion for the cause; it was overwhelmingly clear that every person in the room truly believed in making our communities, our provinces and our country a more accepting and aware society.
No one deserves to feel alone. Suffering silently through generalized anxiety, severe depressive periods, anorexia, bipolar disorder and countless other serious health problems is killing too many of Canada’s young people.
After accidents, suicide is the leading cause of death of 15-24 year-olds in Canada. Approximately 3.2 million Canadian youth are affected by mental health. Almost half of those who believe that they have suffered from depression or anxiety have never seen a doctor about it, choosing instead to shy away from the fear of being ostracized. Similarly, it is believed that only one in five Canadian children who need mental health services receives them.
This needs to change.
Grassroots programs have already begun to grow across the nation, educating and helping our youth - The Jack Project being one of them. Unleash the Noise’s main organizers, Justin Scaini and his dedicated crew, worked tirelessly to plan this particular event in the hopes that the students involved (mostly university aged, with a handful of high schoolers) would bring back new insight, ideas and thirst to change their schools and their communities. This passion has been brought back to Brentwood’s campus by Sophia T, Danielle A, Kathleen C, Sarah H & Lindsay BE, the five Brentonians who attended.
Suggestions to solve the issue and better the campus have already been set in motion in the hopes of helping those in need. Though the process may be daunting, the prospect of saving lives will always outweigh the challenges.
It’s time for change. It’s time to unleash the noise.
Lindsay BE, Alex ‘14
After months of planning, the selected delegates from across the country met in Toronto, Ontario on March 15th and 16th. Among the 215 selected were five Brentwood students, eager to be a part of this movement.
The two-day conference saw several question and brainstorming periods centered on combatting the stigma surrounding mental health. The entire event was charged with an indescribable passion for the cause; it was overwhelmingly clear that every person in the room truly believed in making our communities, our provinces and our country a more accepting and aware society.
No one deserves to feel alone. Suffering silently through generalized anxiety, severe depressive periods, anorexia, bipolar disorder and countless other serious health problems is killing too many of Canada’s young people.
After accidents, suicide is the leading cause of death of 15-24 year-olds in Canada. Approximately 3.2 million Canadian youth are affected by mental health. Almost half of those who believe that they have suffered from depression or anxiety have never seen a doctor about it, choosing instead to shy away from the fear of being ostracized. Similarly, it is believed that only one in five Canadian children who need mental health services receives them.
This needs to change.
Grassroots programs have already begun to grow across the nation, educating and helping our youth - The Jack Project being one of them. Unleash the Noise’s main organizers, Justin Scaini and his dedicated crew, worked tirelessly to plan this particular event in the hopes that the students involved (mostly university aged, with a handful of high schoolers) would bring back new insight, ideas and thirst to change their schools and their communities. This passion has been brought back to Brentwood’s campus by Sophia T, Danielle A, Kathleen C, Sarah H & Lindsay BE, the five Brentonians who attended.
Suggestions to solve the issue and better the campus have already been set in motion in the hopes of helping those in need. Though the process may be daunting, the prospect of saving lives will always outweigh the challenges.
It’s time for change. It’s time to unleash the noise.
Lindsay BE, Alex ‘14
75p
