Mental Health Literacy in School Communities

Accomplishments

Mental Health Literacy Outreach Workshops for School Professionals

400+

BC educators feel more confident talking to children and youth about mental health

Self-reporting an increased awareness of available local and provincial mental health resources and supports

School professionals attended tailored education workshops in the northern, interior, and island regions of the province to improve mental health literacy. The workshops presented valuable resources including Stop Wondering, Start Knowing: A Mental Health Video Resource for Schools, which contains a facilitation guide, video stories from youth with lived experience and links to additional resources. Thank you to the Keenan Foundation for supporting this knowledge exchange.

Click Here for: Stop Wondering, Start Knowing Video Resource

Summer Institute: Knowledge Exchange for School Professionals

1200+

Educators participated in the Summer Institute since its inception...

sharing ideas and making commitments to improving mental wellness in school communities

I have used the information from the SI to develop a student mental health group in our district and to include the youth voice in more of our work and planning on mental wellness in schools

BC Resource Teacher

The 7th annual Summer Institute was a two-day event that brought together teachers, school counsellors, school support staff, school administrators, district staff, health professionals, parents, students and school community partners from across BC to explore opportunities for action and change to improve mental wellness in schools. Thanks to the McConnell Foundation for their support with this event.

Achieving the vision

BC educators play a central role in increasing mental health literacy and decreasing stigma. Providing schools with the information, resources and support is an essential and highly effective way to ensure that students from all areas of the province receive the guidance they need. It also enables educators to feel comfortable talking openly about mental health and modelling this to their students.