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'It just makes me so happy': Conference tells teens it's OK to get help, and not judge those who do

Keynote speaker shares how he struggled with mental illness as a youth, and the importance of seeking help

Sophie Tomlin wasn't officially supposed to attend the HEADSTRONG mental health conference at Lockerby Composite School Sept. 20.

But the Grade 12 student at Lockerby feels so strongly about the issue, she decided to spend her spare period at the conference.

Tomlin said she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and adjustment disorder over the past year.

“It just makes me so happy that the stigma is being broken down,” she said. “It's something that has affected me personally and my family, and a lot of people around me.”

The day-long HEADSTRONG conference was attended by about 100 students from all four local school boards, as well as the Wikwemikong Board of Education. 

Spearheaded by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, the HEADSTRONG movement educates youth aged 12 to 18 to recognize the signs of mental health problems, and to help them see that seeking help isn't a weakness.

Many of those attending the conference were student leaders charged with bringing back what they'd learned to their respective schools to implement mental health initiatives.

Hannah Golden, a Grade 12 student at Sudbury Secondary School who's also the student trustee with the Rainbow District School Board, said she has plans to expand a student-led conference on mental health.

The teen has lived experience of mental health challenges herself — she's been diagnosed with PTSD as well as anxiety.

“As someone who does struggle with mental health, I think just this conference really helps people to open up,” she said.

It's important to educate students about these issues when they're young, as 70 per cent of mental health issues in adults have presented before the age of 17, said Mary Jago, mental health lead with the Rainbow District School Board. 

“If we can intervene earlier, if we can support kids earlier and get them treatment, we might be able to help them live the rest of their lives in a better way and we might head off the serious mental illness,” she said.

The HEADSTRONG conference involved activities and an information fair from local mental health agencies. The goal to minimize the self-judgment those with mental health issues may feel and to minimize the judgment others can pass on those with a mental illness.

It also featured keynote speeches by Assante Haughton and Megan Potestio, who both shared with the teens how they survived mental illness in their own youth, and were eventually able to get treatment.

Haughton, who was born in Jamaica but has lived most of his life in Toronto, had a tumultuous childhood, which included the breakdown of his parents' marriage and living in a homeless shelter at one point.

When he was 14, his mom had “a pretty serious bout with suicidal ideation” that “changed the complexion of our family unit forever — different people went in different directions.”

Haughton said that was the trigger for his own mental health issues, which included depression and anxiety. When he was a 22-year-old university student, he contemplated taking his own life.

“I tried to go to my university,” he said. “They had services, but the wait time was just beyond what was going to work for me — six months for intake. I just couldn't do it.

“I hooked up with my family doctor and he hooked me up with a therapist. I was in the office two weeks later.”

Haughton said he wants to encourage youth who are struggling to seek help, as well as do what they can to support each other with mental wellness.

“Schools are a great place to build community, and I think sometimes as young people we neglect that, and don't recognize the kind of community we have around us,” he said. 


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