Last week I shared that I would be visiting our New Mentality groups across the province… virtually!
Well I haven’t stopped, yesterday I visited our New Mentality group in Toronto who are with our partner agency Lumenus Community Services!
It was so great getting to meet the youth facilitators, one of whom is also a part of our Youth Action Committee! It was so nice to hear about how the youth facilitators actually began as volunteers for the group.
This group has consistently been doing amazing work in their community, and actually launched two resources last summer to help students with the transition to high school, and the transition out of high school.
We were so incredibly proud to see resources created by youth for youth!
Click here to read – The Transition to High School
Click here to read – The Transition out of High School
We began our call talking about TV shows we’re watching, specifically The Office which I needed to get everyone’s opinion on before I really get invested.. I know I’m about 16 years or so late.
During the group visit, it was so nice to hear from youth why they joined the New Mentality. Youth shared that they wanted a space to be themselves, to get involved and be a part of a positive space. As someone who was a part of the network in the past as a youth facilitator, it was nice to hear that many of our experiences of starting in the network were similar. For myself, when I was joining the New Mentality it was important for me to see people that looked like, and see better representation in our network which is primarily reflective of the mental health sector.
We took time during the meeting to brainstorm ideas on recruitment and project ideas for the group as they begin the early stages of their anti-stigma project for the year. With everything going virtual, the possibilities are endless for projects, outreach and recruitment!
I could tell how eager the youth were to get started, and I can’t wait to see what the group does as they work to better the Child and Youth Mental Health system. Thank you to the adult allies and youth for such a warm welcome, and I cannot wait for the day when I can visit your group in person.
I Look forward to continuing to meet the changemakers that make up this incredible network, and seeing all the amazing work you’re doing across the province!
Ps. In between my group visit and writing this blog I visited another New Mentality group, which I’ll be sharing about next week…. can you guess where I visited?
See you all soon on zoom,
Fizza Abbas, Network Coordinator
