GUELPH – Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) will continue a pilot project to improve the mental health of students in the Upper Grand and Wellington Catholic school boards.
On Sept. 3, WDGPH staff members presented to the board of health the findings of pilot projects that ran during the 2023/24 and 2024/25 school years.
Kylie Alderson, supervisor of the health promotion team, said the 2022 Well-being Health and Youth (WHY) survey indicated that mental health had suffered for students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Key findings … identified a decline across all positive mental health indicators compared to 2019 data, including self-esteem, coping with issues and difficulties at school and feeling hopeful about their future,” states the accompanying report by manager of health promotion Anna Vanderlaan.
“Similarly, poorer outcomes related to self-perceived mental health, eating issues, being distracted, psychological distress and body image were reported in 2022 compared to 2019.”
WDGPH picked up on a program in Peel Region where public health partnered with school boards for student-led mental health initiatives.
Called Yes4MH (Yes for mental health), the program is designed to:
- empower students to identify school priorities around mental health and wellness;
- guide student leaders in the development of peer-led initiatives;
- improve mental health literacy and reduce stigma;
- increase awareness of resources and supports; and
- build capacity to create supportive and resilient schools.
While school and public health staff sat on the committees, students identified areas of concern and made their own plans to promote their mental health strategy.
Some schools made mental health literacy boards to help reduce stigma so students would seek help if they needed it. Some made welcome wall murals, so the school would feel welcoming and inclusive.
Others held school-wide mental health activities, like guided painting sessions, therapy dog visits and peer tutoring sessions, which built social networks and a sense of belonging to promote positive mental health.
And others created activity bins with games and activities so students could unplug from technology.
The program was deemed a success and public health intends to run it again this year with improvements, such as starting earlier in the year and allowing students and teachers to participate during class time rather than after hours.
Alderson said she has noticed a “bounce back” in student mental health from 2022 in general terms, but called an increase in gambling among teens a troubling indicator.
Vanderlaan said public health is doing another WHY survey this November that includes students from Grade 4 and up.
The hope is it will provide an understanding of how students are coping generally and also add to the longitudinal data.
