Each year, the month of February is dedicated to celebrating the history and accomplishments of people of African descent. As well as, acknowledging systemic racism and organizations working to create change. Black History Month honours people from all periods of history including the slaves that were first brought over from Africa, stretching to those living…
In our world, racism plays a large impact on our society. Racism is the belief that humans can be divided into a hierarchy on the basis of their race. This belief has has led to prejudice and discrimination that has manifested in not only individuals “but also through societies and institutions”(J. S. Frideres, 2006). Racism…
Free Your Mind Mental Health Society is a youth-led grassroots not-for-profit organization based in Calgary. Free Your Mind was founded by four youth who are passionate about mental health awareness and advocacy. One in five Canadian youths will experience a serious mental health struggle in any given year, and only a quarter of them will…
1 in 5 Canadians are impacted by some sort of mental illness in their lives.
Why is it that I was born in a safe country, embraced by my parent’s loving arms While another like me was born and soon abandoned in a dirty orphanage? What was the difference between him and I? Why is it that I had the privilege to scamper my beautiful streets, wildly laughing and carefree,…
How many times have you or someone else you know claimed to be “so OCD” for meticulously colour coding their school supplies? Or insisting that their friend is “being bipolar today” for saying hello to them in the morning but not responding to their text later that afternoon? Or having a “panic attack” when they…
On a sunny Tuesday morning, four enthusiastic students sat down for an interview about WHOLE Churchill. WHOLE Churchill is a community created by Haroon M., Megan C., Rahul A., and Sidharth S., to promote awareness of mental health for all youth, starting with the students of Sir Winston Churchill High School. Shruti: What is…
How many of you know individuals who have quietly battled through a mental illness? How many of those individuals are yourselves? Having a mental illness can be as detrimental to your health just as much as a physical illness can. Your mental health is important and it’s about time the stigma around your unhealthy organ (aka your…
1 out of every 5 Canadians will personally experience a mental health illness in their lifetime. That amounts to 20% of the population – a whole lot of people! Stigma or discrimination attached to mental illnesses presents a serious barrier, not only to diagnosis and treatment but also to acceptance in the community. There’s stigma surrounding mental health,…
The battle between the advocates for mental health awareness and the prevalent stigma surrounding the issue has become clearer than ever. I’d just like to take a moment and ask – why the stigma in the first place? While the habit to classify and categorize things is helpful in understanding them… taking the next step means acknowledging the…
For this weeks blog, I will be talking about depression. This mental illness is common in today’s society, and it can lead to scary outcomes if people don’t get the help they need in time. Actor Robin Williams passed away during the summer of 2014 as a result of his lost battle with depression. His…
The physical impact of the flooding in Calgary remains yet to be fully seen, but the awareness for the bond we have to our city is an aspect growing more prominent day by day. Let this video be a source of hope that’s needed to carry out the recovery – All credits go to Robert…
Now now, what is this thing you speak of? – Hunger is an issue that may lead to homelessness, but also wider in scope. Through Food Banks Canada‘s HungerCount 2012 report, 53,512 people received food from Alberta’s food banks in the one-month survey period, 44.1% of those being under 18 years of age. Only 1.1% of those accounted for are living on…
Normally, they say there are three things you shouldn’t discuss in the presence of polite company: religion, money and politics. I’m sure that following in line with the “proper” rules of conversational etiquette, it probably wouldn’t be considered socially acceptable to burst into the topic of rape and rape culture suddenly in the middle of dinner. There…
By now I’m pretty sure you know who that man is. He’s known as the “father of confederation”, after all. Wait, why are we bringing him up? No, I don’t mean to make youthareawesome.com seem like your Social Studies classroom if you really hate history. There’s a reason why we’re bringing up such an important…