Two North Battleford high schools were selected to be part of a mental health pilot project. (Brady Bateman/The Press) : Tyler Marr

By Tyler Marr

Mental Health

Two schools selected for provincial student mental health project

Feb 28, 2019 | 3:15 PM

Two high schools in North Battleford have received funding to deliver mental health promotion and prevention programs for students.

On Wednesday, the provincial government announced a pilot project called Mental Health Capacity Building (MHBC). It will promote positive mental health in children, youth, families and people in the community who interact with children.

The initiative focuses on early identification and intervention on mental health and will see staff work with youth to better manage their feelings and mental health, as well as increase awareness and where to find help.

North Battleford Comprehensive High School and John Paul II Collegiate are among the five schools selected.

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Erin Woytiuk, the MHBC initiative coordinator in the city, said the program will weave itself into the curriculum as it grows to bring a mental health lens to aspects of everyday life.

Currently, it runs in health and wellness classes, where one class a week focuses on healthy relationships, where the MHCB coordinators and teachers work together and learn. There are plans to expand it into to science, math and other classes.

“It is apart of everyday life for not only the students, but the administrators, teachers and families in the hope to eliminate or lessen that stigma in regards to mental health,” she said. “Mental health doesn’t equal mental illness.”

Within school hallways, different engagements are being done to get the coordinators known as trusted adults in the school.

Woytiuk said mental health expands well beyond anxiety and depression, and the program will teach how it can be affected by our nutrition and physical activity, among other factors.

As a promoter and coordinator, Woytiuk said her roll within the project will involve making connections within existing services to “collaborate and enhance not to take away.”

“How can we all work together to provide those programs for youth and families,” she said.

The program, she noted, is far from canned, adding it will bend to meet the needs of the students.

“It is not this is what we are doing so you conform to what we are doing, it is what do you need and lets build that together,” she said. “The initiatives are going to look similar but different in each high school, which is really a unique … and exciting thing.”

The pilot is a result of recommendations outlined in the Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan and will be led by the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and ministries of health and education.

Selected school divisions received funding from the SHA to hire mental health capacity building staff, including a school coordinator and wellness promoter to work in the schools.

The staff will be responsible for the delivery of mental health promotion and prevention programming, building capacity in those who work with children, youth and families, and supporting students to connect with community resources and supports.

Woytiuk said introducing mental health awareness to teenagers and young adults will give them the skills and tools they need to grapple with it into adulthood.

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tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr