Explainer:
How This Initiative Works: When someone is struggling with their mental health, they need to know where to go to get support. Do some research and find out what mental health resources are available in your area, then organize a walking tour of those services.
This initiative came together after the Jack Chapter at Englehart High School realized that many students wouldn’t have access to mental health support over the summer break. To help, they organized a guided walk of the town for students at their high school, highlighting resources in their community so that students knew where to seek help over the summer holidays.
Ideal for (but not limited to):
- Small, walkable communities like small towns or post-secondary campuses
- Groups that want to draw attention to services/resources that address the social determinants of mental health (e.g. education and literacy, gender, culture, race and racism, employment and working conditions, physical environments, childhood experiences)
- Groups of young people who may be facing holiday closures or long stretches of time when they won’t have access to in-school resources like guidance counsellors