I agree with you. Prevention is critical to all the work we do. I talk about mental health because it's such an important thing we talk about. On the spectrum of mental health is also mental well-being. Thirty per cent of the young people who reach out to Kids Help Phone are reaching out because of a mental health challenge such as anxiety or depression. The other 70% are reaching out because something is difficult in their life. They're experiencing bullying, are having problems with a new relationship, or family problems. We hope that by reaching out to us and figuring out solutions, they start to understand how they're resilient, how they can take steps to take care of themselves, and that they learn better mental health coping so that hopefully we avoid some of the mental illness.
One other quick point is we have a program that has been in Saskatchewan and is currently in Nova Scotia as well. It is a school-based program that is teaching about mental wellness and about the fact that everybody has challenges. It is helping young people recognize whom they can reach out to in their life and help them better understand and break down stigma around mental health and reaching out and seeking help. We would love to see that in other places.
