Now, I think I can guess what’s going through your mind right now. You’re thinking, “Wow, another media ambassador!” and you’re absolutely right. Some of you might know me from past DTLs, some might have a vague feeling of familiarity as you stare at my photo, and some of you might have never seen me before at all. Since we’ve got a mix in the crowd, allow me to introduce myself!
My name is Dana and I’m going to tell you a little bit about what I’m doing here on your screen. Before I get to that, I want to share some things about me so that we can get to know each other. I’m a student in my last year completing a double major in psychology and kinesiology at one of Western University’s affiliated colleges, Brescia University College. I love to read, play tennis, bake, rock climb, run, longboard, watch TV (anyone a Brooklyn Nine-Nine fan?), and I have an obsession with dogs that could be called unhealthy. I love impromptu adventures, dancing when no one’s around, and exploring new skills/places. But my truest love is supporting others facing mental health challenges and being a youth mental health advocate.
My struggle with my mental health started in high school. It got to an incredibly low point and I had to stay in hospital for nearly a month. As difficult as it was, I’m grateful for that stay because it allowed me to get connected with a great care team there, as well as with a mental health agency in my community – Skylark (although, I think they have a new name now). It’s at Skylark where I began my journey with The New Mentality. I was having a tough time at home and my therapist thought it would be good for me to do some volunteering to get out of the house. I liked helping others and Skylark was just starting up their TNM group again, so I thought, “Hey, why not?”. It was one of the best decisions I’ve made. I met an amazing group of people and worked with them to make cool projects such as workshops, a pride event, and a podcast.
After those first months with my TNM group, I was lucky enough to attend my very first DTL. I had heard great things about DTL, that it was a magical place and there was no experience like it. It definitely lived up to the hype and I knew I wanted to come back the next year. Unfortunately, when I started university I moved away and couldn’t be as involved with my TNM group at Skylark as much as I wanted to be.
So, I went from being an active member to a TMN group alumni. I’ll always hold my TNM group close to my heart as it put me on a path of getting involved in leadership roles in mental health. Since then, I have worked on various youth engagement initiatives and research projects at CAMH. I am a peer supporter at my school, a Crisis Responder for Kids Help Phone, and I have been on the DTL Hosting Team for the past 3 years – all things I would have never done if not for my start with Skylark.
I’m excited and honored to start this role as a media ambassador. I want to share my knowledge and experiences to hopefully help anyone going through something similar. Thanks for tuning in and see you all again soon!
We are so excited to have Dana as our Media Ambassador! If you have any questions please email info@thenewmentality.ca
We are proud to announce that we will be launching our Rainbow Connections 2SLGBTQ+ Youth Leadership program this fall for youth in our network! Whether you are out and proud, not out yet, or don’t quite feel like labels are your thing, your voice holds a lot of power, and we want to hear from you. This program will be held by the founder of The New Mentality Cath Dyer, and TNM Youth Advocate Rachel Sparling.
We are looking for 10 youth who identify under the 2SLGBTQ+ umbrella (2-spirited, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, asexual ++) to join our newest 8-week leadership program where you will have the chance to share your stories, connect with other 2SLGBTQ+ youth in the network, and have fun, all while supporting The New Mentality Network. Over the course of 8-weeks, you will explore how your identity relates to your mental health, and what you think is most important for the network to understand about 2SLGBTQ+ youth mental health advocacy. One of the goals of the program is for participants to have developed and lead a training for Adult Allies and other TNM Youth to help them better understand how they can be advocates for 2SLGBTQ+ youth mental health
Pride is all about loving ourselves, creating change, and building spaces where everyone can exist as they are. That’s why this program is all about giving 2SLGBTQ+ youth a place to connect, build community, and make waves in The New Mentality Network! It’s our hope that over the course of the 8 weeks you’ll have together that you’ll feel supported to share your voice, stories, and knowledge with each other and with the Network in ways that feel empowering to you.
We know your voices hold power. We know that you have so much insight to share. That’s why we’re excited to build space for you to help your Adult Allies and other TNM youth learn about ways they can help be advocates for 2SLGBTQ+ youth mental health.
Qualifications:
Identify as a youth (13- 25 years old)
Identify as 2SLGBTQ+
Have experience with The New Mentality
Have lived experience of mental health challenges or substance misuse.
Commitments:
8-week volunteer role from September 15 to November 3, 2021.
2-hour meetings on Wednesdays at 5PM.
Providing feedback and encouraging open and safe communication that accommodates every member’s needs.
Prioritize their self‐care.
Listen actively, respect different ideas and express an opinion without judgement.
Identify the challenges and suggest potential alternatives and/or solutions to the Adult Ally.
If you are interested in this opportunity please reach out to your adult ally to apply! Applications close Monday, August 9th, 2021. If you have any questions or require any accommodations in the application process, please email Mary-Anne Leahy, Program Manager at mary-anne@thenewmentality.ca
Hello everyone, my name is Alisha and I am an 18-year old student from Burlington, Ontario graduating from high school this year! This summer I have been given the amazing opportunity to work with The New Mentality network as a policy writer, before I head off to McMaster University in the fall where I will be studying in their Life Sciences Program.
I’ve been involved in youth mental health advocacy since middle school, which is where I initially discovered what mental health really was and its significance among youth like myself. In hopes of learning a little bit more about the topic, I sought out a volunteer role with The New Mentality of Halton, my local TNM Group, in the fall of 2018. My passion for mental health only grew from there. As a youth volunteer I helped plan our Youth Minds Matter Podcast project, which covers a wide range of topics and issues, to connect with youth who share similar experiences. The following year I took on the role of co-facilitator to further lead and promote our podcast, which anyone can listen to on Spotify and YouTube! Additionally, just this year, in 2021, I joined the Disable the Label hosting team as a youth apprentice, became a member of the Youth Action Committee, and will now be working with the network as a summer student!
I am super excited to spend my summer with The New Mentality, where I will be working with TNM and Children’s Mental Health Ontario (CMHO) staff, as well as my wonderful peers from the YAC, to write the Youth Action Committee’s 4th youth-led policy paper focusing on race and mental health. From analyzing the data from the YAC survey sent out last year, to reviewing our consultations held just last week, I look forward to redefining what ‘equity’ stands for with the YAC, as well as identifying key issues and youth-led policy recommendations that will do no less than make a lasting impact in our mental health system. To learn more about the project click here.
Needless to say, the TNM network has always felt like a community in which I belong and has given me the opportunity to meet many like-minded individuals, learn changemaking skills and gain experiences that push me to become a better version of myself every day. While I continue to stay engaged with TNM and mental health advocacy, I make sure to spend some time with my family and friends as well. I love going on hikes (my latest adventure being Bruce Trail), dancing to the latest hip-hop or Bollywood music, and binge-watching the latest TV shows.
I can’t wait to work with the amazing changemakers at CMHO and TNM, as well as the YAC, to create this policy paper and continue to make a positive impact for youth across Ontario!
We are so excited to have Alisha as our Summer Student! To learn more about the Youth Action Committee click here.
We are incredibly excited to share with you all that we will be hosting Disable the Label this year from July 12th to the 15th! Disable the Label 2021 will be a four day virtual experience like no other. As we move through uncertain times, DTL 2021 will be space for us to come together a community to learn, grow, and express ourselves.
I don’t know about you, but this year has been… a challenge (to put it lightly). Managing school, work, friends, family, our mental health, a pandemic – AND EVERYTHING ELSE as been a whole new level of juggling and balancing. Disable the Label will be a virtual space for us to come together as a community to tend to our collective and individual needs – and have some fun while we’re at it!
This DTL we are creating space for us to explore our identities and all the layers that come with what makes us uniquely who we are like gender, sexuality, mental health, race, religion, geography, culture, and so much more. There will be skill-building sessions woven between rich discussion, self-exploration, and self-expression. We will be honoring our adult allies and they will be having their own parallel journey throughout this DTL. There will be space for joy, laughter, self-care, connection, and new friends.
Choose your own adventure by choosing sessions that you are curious about, inspired by, and that you have energy for. We will be hosting 4-6 sessions per day. Sessions last between 1-1.5 hours.
The Disable the Label 2021 Hosting Team is so excited to share with you our program for DTL where you will learn how to prepare your space, tips for using zoom, meet the DTL2021 Hosting Team, and see full session descriptions!
Hodan (she/her) is passionate about mental health advocacy, youth engagement, and health equity. She envisions a mental health system where youth across Ontario have equitable access to mental health services that meet their diverse needs. Hodan hopes to use her position on the committee to help elevate the voices of youth across Ontario.
Nneoma Achioso
22, London
Hi my name is Nneoma Achioso. I’m 22 years old and currently reside in London, Ontario finishing up my undergrad degree at Western University. It has only been a few years since I discovered that I have a strong passion for mental health. I realized mental health is something I want to not only learn more about, but I also want to contribute to breaking down the walls of stigma surrounding it. In recent years, I have also gained some lived experience with witnessing how the various aspects of the mental health system work, and sometimes not always for the best interest of the patient, specifically those from BIPOC community. As a black woman, I can understand how intersecting identities can disproportionately impact access to services and result in differential treatment by healthcare providers.
Being a part of the Youth Action Committee provides me with the opportunity to be a voice for my fellow BIPOC, while tackling the complex issues within our child and youth mental health system. I hope through our policy work we can commence the start to a more equitable and accessible mental health system for all youth.
Erin Park
18, Scarborough
Hi! I’m Erin, a 18-year-old youth mental health advocate currently based in Scarborough! My pronouns are she/her. I’ve lived in low-income, racialized communities with lots of stigma against mental illness for my entire life, and I particularly focus on advocating for dismantling system inequities that impact BIPOC, 2SLGBTQIA+, and disabled youth. Getting youth involved in the creation of policy and program development is also very important to me. Working with the YAC has given me the privilege to challenge those barriers and work to create change that will help youth, especially those with intersecting identities, access the services they need. Youth have so much to offer the system and through our policy work, I hope to encourage more to use their powerful voices, as well as use mine!
Aditya Thakur
18, Oakville
Aditya Thakur is an 18-year-old from Oakville, Ontario, who has been actively involved with Children’s Mental Health Ontario (CMHO) and The New Mentality’s youth engagement initiatives since 2018. He has leveraged opportunities to represent youth and voice their issues in the community. He shows tremendous passion for promoting equity in the mental health system and raising awareness for underprivileged youth. Aditya was a keynote speaker and panelist at the CMHO Annual conference in 2020, and had the unique opportunity to speak to mental health professionals about leadership equity. He has also advocated for youth mental health during the pandemic and published a research paper in an internationally recognized psychiatry journal. Aditya is committed to making a difference in the lives of children and adolescents by raising awareness about mental health issues and stigma surrounding mental illness.
As a member of the YAC, Aditya is eager to create change in the mental health system through youth-led policy recommendations, and amplifying the voices of youth across the province.
Gin Phillips
19, Kapuskasing
Hello, my name is Gin (although most may be familiar with Chy)! Properly going by they/them, I’m nineteen and aiming for a degree in psychology. I’m a youth advocate that’s been participating in the New Mentality since I was fifteen, and advocating for longer. I have particularly strong feelings regarding mental health and racial equality since both have always directly affected my life, and hope to use my experience to boost and help others, using my voice to make sure everyone within our communities is heard, and given an opportunity to speak. It’s important that cultural awareness is spread and resources are more accessible in a way that’s best fit for those with much different experiences. My goal is to create even the slightest difference and shed a much better light on the inequities of our youth, and the YAC seems like a perfect place to start.
Lewis Han
22, Ottawa
Hi, my name is Lewis. I’m 22 years old from Ottawa, Ontario. I’m a 2nd year medical student at the University of Ottawa medical school with a passion for advocating for health equity and mental health awareness. My experiences with mental health from a low-income background has shaped my advocacy initiatives. I believe youth need to have a say in policy decisions to create meaningful changes within the Child and Youth mental health system of Ontario. I am privileged to work with the YAC to share my experiences and work towards amplifying the voices of youth across Ontario.
Alisha Sharma
18, Burlington
Hi, my name is Alisha. I am 18 years old from Burlington, Ontario. I have always had a passion for mental health advocacy ever since I first heard about it in middle school. Having joined The New Mentality of Halton not long after, I helped co-facilitate the committee towards The Youth Minds Matter Podcast. We touched on multiple topics, and one that really stuck with me was racial equity in mental health. It’s important to me that other racialized youth like myself are informed and have access to mental health services, due to the stigma that surrounds it in certain cultures. So far, it has been a journey full of learning and improving for not only myself, but my family as well!
Working on projects that help reduce the stigma around mental health, and informing youth that they are not alone, is what I hope to continue working towards. Digitizing such resources in today’s world can also provide access to anyone who needs it, anywhere. I am super excited to be a part of the Youth Action Committee this year and do more wonderful things for our community.
Gregory Doucet
18, Vaughan
My name is Gregory and I am 18 years old. I live in Vaughan, Ontario and I am a strong advocate for children and their well-being. In particular, I focus on those who are often underrepresented in society, such as those with visible or invisible disabilities, and multicultural individuals. I am a part of the Youth Action Committee as I want to give a voice to those who currently aren’t able to advocate for change. Those who struggle with health related issues, whether they are solely related to mental health, or are intertwined with their physical health, everyone deserves the best support possible. I firmly believe that regardless of the perceived competency of a youth, they deserve to have their opinion heard and accounted for when making decisions that may impact them.
Diya Mohan
17, Scarborough
Hello! I’m Diya Mohan (she/her) and I’m a youth advocate and leader in the mental health system currently in Scarborough, Ontario. I’ll be eighteen this October, and I started volunteering at my local youth hub in freshman year, focusing on targeting systemic gaps affecting racialized youth in the community. As a leader of my own New Mentality group, part of the Provincial Youth Advisory Council, and a youth representative in the Advisory Board for our youth hub- I hold positions to speak for my lived experience as a POC in a low-income household and host a voice for a demographic that is underserved in the mental health system. After years of being part of the system, witnessing and experiencing the biases and discomfort surrounding race and culture, I am devoted to making the system more accessible, aware, and socially responsible. I’m invested in intersectional identities, such as BIPOC and 2SLGBTQ+ communities being prioritized and met with an equally beneficial experience with the services and systems offered currently. I hope to make and see change by being part of the YAC, and am so happy to have the opportunity to do so!
Murphy-Issac Boyse
21, St. Thomas
Greetings earthlings, my name is Murphy-Issac. I use they/he pronouns. I have been on this blue-green dot for 21 years and I have been involved with youth engagement since I was 14. I’m a proud Hufflepuff, and as such I strongly believe in hardwork, kindness, justice, laughter and loyalty. My current passion projects include activities related to: equity, accessibility, psychology and advocacy. I identify as non-binary, trans masc and queer, and reside in a small town; so I have first hand experience with discrimination and oppression, and hope to transfer my experiences and learned skills to improve equity within the new mentality and the mental health system as whole.
Madison Suh
17, Richmond Hill
Madison is a passionate advocate for mental health advocating with her New Mentality group based in Toronto and on the provincial Youth Action Committee. She has a fierce voice and is a strong advocate for more inclusive mental health services for the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
Eric Hendrick
18, St. Thomas
Hi my name is Eric!! My pronouns are He/Him/His. I am 18 years old and I have been on youth engagement committees for the past 4 years! I believe in using my outgoing and fearless personality to be a voice for youth across the board, I realized that some youth don’t have the resources or the contacts to voice their concerns and I want to be able to build my personal tool belt to help others build their own! In September I started my first year of the Child and Youth Care program and I have never been more excited. I can’t wait to work closely with youth to start a change.
We are so excited to have such incredible advocates from across Ontario joining our 2021 Youth Action Committee! To learn more about the Youth Action Committee click here.
I know it has been a while since you’ve read about my adventures visiting our TNM groups across the province!
A few weeks ago, I got to visit our TNM group in the Peel region with our partner agency EveryMind Mental Health Services. As many of you may know, I used to be a youth facilitator in the network prior to becoming the Network Coordinator…..and TNM Peel was my group! It was where my love and appreciation for the network first began.
As you can imagine, this was a very exciting group visit for me, being around someone who once was my adult ally and mentor, and other youth who knew me prior to my role as Network Coordinator. There was no need for introductions, as we just got straight into reconnecting and laughing.
The youth shared with me that they have been working on creating a series of podcasts discussing “A year since COVID”, self care and mental health. Which was so exciting to hear, since podcasts have been so popular amongst our TNM groups as a way to connect with youth virtually, especially after the very long year we’ve all had. The group will also be hosting a Virtual Wellness Discussion near the end of the month!
As one youth shared that they would be transitioning on from TNM, we spent the remainder of our time sharing the impact TNM has had on us! One of the highlights was hearing the impact the adult ally has had on the youth. Youth shared that the introduction to TNM gave them the opportunity to connect with others, find their voice and gave them the purpose they needed to advocate for themselves, their peers and their community. This reminded me of my own experience within this group, and how this adult ally had uplifted and believed in me, and all that I could bring to the network! Our adult allies are the anchors of TNM, without them we could not do the work we do.
Thank you to the youth and adult ally for welcoming me back to my TNM group and making me feel so special! I can’t wait to see you soon at DTL 2021!
