The New Mentality

Link:

http://www.thenewmentality.ca/aboutus/

Overview:

The New Mentality, created in 2007, is an Ontario based initiative designed in part with Children’s Health Ontario to give youth a public voice on matters of mental health. The group engages and connects with youth ages 13-25, who have had their own experience with mental illness and now wish to make an impact on the way mental health is handled in Ontario. Youth-lead groups from across Ontario work with children and youth mental health agencies in their communities to raise awareness of mental health issues, combat stigma, and improve local mental health services. The ultimate goal is to identify major issues in mental health that are faced by Ontario youth and find a collaborative solution to them.

The New Mentality has a Youth Action Committee that uses provincial wide youth consultations to provide policy recommendations on how to improve mental health issues that youth face. The organization facilitates skills building workshops and other collaborative events, such the group’s annual summer “Disable the Label” conference. The New Mentality has groups that meet across the province, with the Toronto chapter meeting at Delisle Youth Services.

Analysis

 The New Mentality provides a space in which youth who have dealt with mental health issues can meet and collaborate on helping to improve existing services that are offered for youth mental health. This type of youth driven resource is important, for it allows those who are using mental health resources to actively influence how those resources are structured and distributed. The perspective of youth is extremely important to mental health issues, as how they perceive specific issues can change what, where, when and how services are provided.

This type of open and welcoming community is also important as a means for youth who have dealt with or are dealing with mental illnesses to become a part of a support group, not just for themselves but for others as well. Community based groups can help provide structure for the afflicted, while providing education and awareness for those who are not.