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St. Joseph’s High School bringing awareness to mental health all week

Published

6 years ago

5 minute read

For the first-time ever, St. Joseph High School students will be participating in a Grad Service Project. This year, students will be raising funds for the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation. The Foundation is geared at providing financial help to those with mental illness, as well as supporting the youth showing signs of, or experiencing a mental health crisis. The founders Cindy and Rick More, have continued to advocate for mental health awareness after losing their daughter, Lindsey, to suicide

The Grad Committee chose the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation, because students saw and continue to see, the daily effects that mental health has on people and how it affects the school community. Their hope is to leave behind a legacy of encouraging students to make positive and healthy choices, while creating a “ripple” effect throughout the school and The City of Red Deer. 

Mental health was a huge topic of conversation amongst the Grad Committee when determining where they wanted to focus their fundraising efforts for their inaugural year. Driving factors also included St. Joseph High School’s sense of community, inclusiveness and acceptance of others. 

“We are striving to work towards a culture where we can break down the barriers related to mental illness and make it easier for our students to talk about. A primary focus for our Grad Service Project week will be to spread awareness about mental health problems among students and come together as a school community. Many of the events we have planned stem from the notion of ‘togetherness’ and how the hands of many have the potential to create change and positively impact youth struggling with these illnesses,” said Event Coordinator, Ashley Visscher at St. Joseph High School. 

This week, the Grade 12 students and staff will participate in a series of events focusing on healthy ways to improve overall mental health, and aim to not only raise funds, but awareness about mental illness. 

Some of the highlights include: 

Today, April 16 – Unplug for Mental Health Cellphone-Free Day

To kick-off our Grad Service Project week,  students and staff are being urged to disconnect to connect! The hope is that the school community can “unplug” for a day (only one!) by giving up their cell phone to help raise awareness for mental health and open themselves up for real, face-to-face conversations with their teachers, friends, etc.

Students will get to be a part of creating a “ripple” effect throughout the Red Deer community to disconnect to connect.

Why?  The Unplug for Mental Health event aims to provide a safe community where students and teachers can engage in meaningful conversations with one-another, rather than sending an email, text or phone call as well as learn how to manage the amount of time they spend on social media in a healthy way.

TUESDAY, April 17 – Restaurant Takeover at State & Main (South Location 5-8 PM)

Tickets are becoming limited but a few remain at $10.  Please visit the St. Joseph’s HS front office to purchase tickets)

All are welcome! This event is open to the general public!

All money from ticket sales and 10% of all food sales will go towards the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation.  There’ a great Silent auction with awesome prizes and some Celebrity servers including some uniformed members of our community;  Red Deer RCMP Supt. Ken Foster, Honourary Lieutenant Colonel (Lloyd) Lewis of 41 Signal Regiment (and President of Todayville),  a Captain from Westjet, School Principal Mr. Graeme Daniel and others.

April 18 –  A Smile A Day Keeps the Doctor Away – On-site photobooth and smile wall

April 19 – Movin’ For Mental Health Exercisathon

April 20 – Let It Ripple Day

You can find out all about this week’s events and the Grad Service Project week by clicking here: https://stjosephhigh.ca/graduation/grad-service-project. 

For more information, please visit the school website at https://stjosephhigh.ca/. 

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Community

Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis condemns MAiD in Parliament as targeting nation’s most vulnerable

Published on December 3, 2023

By

From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

‘I call upon with government to reverse its course and instead provide help and hope for Canadians suffering with mental health conditions’

Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis condemned the Trudeau government’s treatment of Canada’s most vulnerable, revealing that 36 Canadians are euthanized every day.  

On November 28, Dr. Leslyn Lewis, Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Haldimand-Norfolk, Ontario, addressed Parliament on the dangers of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), the euphemistic name for Canada’s euthanasia regime.

“The poor, homeless, the abused, veterans, seniors, youth, adults suffering with disabilities, those suffering with depressions, and mental health conditions,” Lewis said. “These are among the most vulnerable in our society that are falling through the cracks of Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying regime.”  

“They are the ones who will be at risk when the MAiD laws in Canada are expanded in March 2024,” the pro-life MP added. “Last year, death by euthanasia increased by 30 percent from the year before. Every day in Canada, 36 people use MAiD to end their lives, which is the highest in the world.” 

“I call upon with government to reverse its course and instead provide help and hope for Canadians suffering with mental health conditions,” Lewis appealed.    

On March 9, 2024, MAiD is set to expand to include those suffering solely from mental illness. This is a result of the 2021 passage of Bill C-7, which also allowed the chronically ill – not just the terminally ill – to qualify for so-called doctor-assisted death.  

The mental illness expansion was originally set to take effect in March of this year. However, after massive pushback from pro-life groups, conservative politicians and others, the Liberals under Trudeau delayed the introduction of the full effect of Bill C-7 until 2024 via Bill C-39.

The expansion comes despite warnings from top Canadian psychiatrists that the country is “not ready” for the coming expansion of euthanasia to those who are mentally ill, saying expanding the procedure is not something “society should be doing” as it could lead to deaths under a “false pretense.” 

“Unfortunately, there is no reprieve in sight as think Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) becomes a national horror and the ‘professionals’ sharpen up their needles,” Ireland told LifeSiteNews. 

“We have reached the point where we must all protect each other from MAiD,” she noted. 

Euthanasia deaths have gone through the roof in Canada since it became legal in 2016. 

According to Health Canada, in 2022, 13,241 Canadians died by MAiD lethal injection, which is 4.1 percent of all deaths in the country for that year, and a 31.2 percent increase from 2021. 

The number of Canadians killed by lethal injection since 2016 now stands at 44,958.

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Community

MNP steps in to help youth “Move Your Mood” at the Sheldon Kennedy Centre of Excellence

Published on November 30, 2023

By

Ribbon Cut at the Newly Named MNP Move Your Mood Studio in the Sheldon Kennedy Centre of Excellence

The ribbon has been officially cut, and a new name announced for the MNP Move Your Mood Studio inside the Sheldon Kennedy Centre of Excellence.

The MNP Move Your Mood Studio held its naming ceremony and ribbon cutting on Tuesday, November 21st. Move Your Mood, an Alberta Health Services program, occupies a portion of Floor 2 inside the new Sheldon Kennedy Centre of Excellence on the main campus of Red Deer Polytechnic.

The new MNP Move Your Mood Studio has a large space for classes and physical activity, complete with a climbing wall, physical activity gaming wall, and kitchen.

A significant contribution was made on behalf of the partner group from MNP’s Central Alberta region. This contribution reflects their commitment to investing in the communities that they are a part of.

“On behalf of the Central Alberta partner group and our entire team across the region, we are elated to celebrate the MNP Move Your Mood Studio,” says Patrick Wigmore, Regional Managing Partner for MNP in Central Alberta. “At MNP we truly believe that making a positive difference in the communities where we live, work, and play is a fundamental part of who we are. Our partners throughout the region believe that pooling our efforts together to create a greater impact for organizations like Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre and in turn, Move Your Mood, will leave a lasting legacy of positive impacts in Central Alberta. The decision to support the CACAC was unanimous.”

Move Your Mood is a research-based program that promotes physical activity and healthy lifestyle practices to improve the mental and physical well-being of participants. The MYM program provides opportunities for participants to experience how to move their bodies, fuel their bodies, practice mindfulness, and build positive coping strategies.

“We would like to thank MNP for their generous donation to the Sheldon Kennedy Centre of Excellence and helping make this dream come true for children and youth in our community. We are grateful and honoured to share the name of the MNP Move Your Mood Studio and look forward to the opportunities this space will provide our entire community in the future. The space will be up and running in the New Year.” – Denise Fredeen, Health Promotion Facilitator at Move Your Mood.

The MNP Move Your Mood Studio will be a shared space for all children and youth accessing services at the Sheldon Kennedy Centre of Excellence. The Studio will be a place where children and youth can learn positive coping strategies to improve their mental and physical wellness through interactive opportunities. There will be opportunities for them to play, practice mindfulness, be physically active, learn how to make healthy snacks and take part in creative activities.

The space will provide professionals in the building an opportunity to create positive connections and teach children and youth skills they can continue to be active and healthy for life. The space will also provide opportunities for prevention work with students in the community and a space for future training of RDP students and MYM Coaches.

To learn more about the MNP Move Your Mood Studio and its programming, please email
[email protected] or visit www.moveyourmood.ca.

About MNP: National in scope and local in focus, MNP is one of Canada’s leading professional services firms — proudly serving individuals, businesses, and organizations since 1958. Through the development of strong relationships, we provide client-focused accounting, consulting, tax, and digital services. Our clients benefit from personalized strategies with a local perspective to fuel success wherever business takes them. For more information, visit www.mnp.ca

About CACAC: The Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre is a not-for-profit organization rooted in the protection and recovery of today’s most innocent and vulnerable – our children. The Centre is comprised of a collective that is driven by the courage to support children, youth, and their families affected by abuse, enabling them to build enduring strength and overcome adversity. We work in a collaborative partnership with the Alberta Children and Family Services, Alberta Health Services, Alberta Justice, Alberta Education, Red Deer Polytechnic, the Central Alberta Sexual Assault Support Centre and the RCMP. Together we harness our collective courage to provide children with
supported recovery. For more information on CACAC and the Sheldon Kennedy Centre of Excellence, please visit: centralalbertacac.ca

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