Hello TNM friends, 

Jay and I are really enjoying our visit to all of our TNM Groups across the province. Did you know we have more than 25 youth-led groups?! It has been such a wonderful experience hearing about all the amazing work our youth and adult allies are doing to destigmatize mental health in their communities. 

Last week, we had the chance to connect with our TNM Group in Huron Perth with our partner agency Huron Perth Centre. It was so nice connecting and laughing with the youth and the incredible adult ally who supports the youth leaders. 

We began our visit by hearing about the work the youth and adult ally have been doing and came to learn about the self-care kits they are creating to distribute in schools to encourage young people to prioritize self-care. The youth also have been very active on social media sharing resources and having Music Mondays where they share a song from their playlist. Check out their Instagram page here, and give them a follow!

Youth shared that they are looking forward to our annual leadership retreat, Disable the Label this summer and found the experience to be positive and uplifting even on Zoom! One youth even shared how Disable the Label has changed their life, and how they view the world.  

After hearing about the work the youth are doing, youth shared some of the successes and challenges their community faces when accessing child and youth mental health services. Youth shared that though there are not enough resources for transitional aged youth, school teachers have limited knowledge on mental health concerns and there are long waitlists for services, they have found that there is a lot of support with schools and mental health advocacy groups in their community.  

It is inspiring to hear youth share the importance of embedding youth voice in the child and youth mental health sector, which is needed more than ever now. 

Thank you to the youth and adult allies for the warm welcome! Jay and I are looking forward to visiting everyone again in-person and watching an episode of Téléfrançais with you all 🙂 

See you all soon on zoom, 

Fizza Abbas, Network Coordinator