With an estimated 1 in 5 youth dealing with mental health issues, Cardinal Newman Catholic Secondary School in Stoney Creek has decided to help mitigate the issue by incorporating a peer support group. The program was implemented in 2009 and has gained quite a bit of momentum since its inception. Its program has been recognized and lauded throughout the province.
IMATTER aims to increase awareness, dispel myths, link students to resources and teach healthy ways of dealing with emotions. 60 students hold the role of “peer mentors,” or safe confidantes for students who believe they are struggling with personal issues. They table three sessions for each year’s Grade 9 religion classes where mental illness is topic de jour, they also bring in local guest speakers.
Mental health is not a compulsory part of the curriculum, so IMATTER is considered a unique alternative for present high schools. The program has included the training of 14 teachers to cope with students in mental health crisis. Teachers can sometimes be uncertain as how to respond to mental illness. It costs about $5,000 annually to sustain the program. That includes supplies and providing honorariums for guest speakers. Teaching others costs too. Training the staff at the St. Clair Catholic School Board resulted in a $2,000 expenditure.
Advocates for mental health in the new curriculum are urging the province to start implementing mental health into the school curriculum one way or another.
