Making Waves for Good Mental Health
Posted on 11/20/2019
Making Waves for Good Mental Health
On Thursday, November 14, the "Making Waves" Youth Leadership Event was held at the Davidson Centre in Kincardine with a large complement of Bluewater District School Board students, staff, and community partners coming together to focus on mental health and participate in crucial conversations in advance of Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week.
Sponsored by Kincardine Youth Waves, a collaborative community youth and adult engagement initiative, the event brought together 150 elementary students and seven teachers from Kincardine District Senior School to hear keynote speaker Blake Fly, who delivered the same positive and impactful presentation to approximately 500 KDSS secondary students in the afternoon. Blake's presentation focused on anti-stigma/bullying, and challenged youth to “have a positive impact on peers, teachers, friends, and family along the way.” His message also included the importance of appreciating and being grateful to others, both in person and online. The event was also supported and attended by representatives from the local Kincardine police and public health.
A presentation by Community Foundation Grey Bruce highlighted the Vital Signs Focus on Youth report, which provides data that sheds light on how youth feel and experience living in Bruce and Grey Counties. This powerful resource will help to inform the important work that is being done locally by many to support and engage students.
During the afternoon, students and teachers participated in design activities to explore and develop ideas to take back to their school/classes on well-being initiatives.
Another highlight of the day included an RBC grant presentation of $30,000 to Melri Wright of Ledge Leadership/Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving (OSAID), who plans to use the funding to provide this same event for other Bluewater secondary schools (three in Bruce and three in Grey), as well as Blake Fly presentations for other groups.
The "Making Waves" Youth Leadership Event is yet another initiative which supports Bluewater's focus on youth engagement by empowering students to become mental health "champions", while ensuring wellness and mental health universal programming for all students.
