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Youth Development

A list of mental health resources available for our youth

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BY PAUL JUNOR

The aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant emotional, mental and psychological effect of students. Since the closure of schools from March break until now, over two million Ontario public school students have been confined to their homes. Now that most of the province is in Stage 3 of the reopening schedule, there will be opportunities for them to enjoy the outdoors. There is much help that youth can avail themselves of during this time of lockdown, isolation and confinement.

On the Ministry of Education website (ontario.ca/page/learn-at-home) information is available not just for made-in-Ontario activities and courses but also for mental health support. School Mental Heath Ontario (smho-smso.ca/covid-19) has mental health advice for educators, students, parents and families. For students, there is an online hub of COVID-19 youth-focused mental health resources, which resulted from a partnership between Jack.org, and Kids Help Phone. It is intended to ensure that youths practice self-care and others.

There is a Reaching-Out PDF students can access that has practical tips that can help students initiate conversations about mental health issues. Students can reach out to Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868 or by texting CONNECT to 686868 if they need to talk to someone, or The Hope for Wellness Help Line geared to Indigenous peoples across Canada at 1-855-242-3310. They have online chat counselling service available 24/7. There is Self-Care-101 PDF for students that provides useful informaton. In addition, Children’s Mental Health Ontario (CHMO) and Child and Youth Mental Health Centres provides: COVID-19 resources for kids, supports family’s mental wellness, talks to anxious children, and helps children through grief.

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) started a Black Student Support Group which it advertised on its website (tdsb.on.ca) as, “A space for TDSB students, grades 9-12 that identify as black to share in a community to support each other and stay well.” It is a virtual support group where TDSB students can drop in every Tuesday and Thursdays at 3:00 p.m. Students who are interested can register at the flowing link: https://bit.ly/blackstudentsupportgroup.

Once students register, a Google meet link will be sent to them. The drop-in sessions run until July 30th. It is expected that the sessions will continue throughout the month of August.

Peel Catholic District School Board (PCDSB) has launched a Summer Mental Health Support Line for students at www.pcdsb.org. Students can call or text 1-833-340-7067 or email mentalhealth@dpcdsb.org between Monday to Friday, and a mental health professional will return their call by the next business day until September 1st.

“In recognition of the significant impact of our current realities, the Ministry of Education has made it possible to provide short-term social work and psychology support to students and parents/caregivers between July 13th to August 28th. These services are open to any students and their parents/caregivers registered with the PDSB.” (pdsb.on.ca)

Any student who needs short-term counselling, well-being check in, and knowledge on how to access community resources can get help. They can obtain the help of a social worker or a psychology staff member by contacting 905-890-1010 ext. 2608 or summersupport@peelsb.com. They will be able to help students between 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday.

In addition, black mental health experts will be able assisting and talking with black students. The Peel Children’s Centre Crisis Response Team is available at 416-410-8615 for any student in a crisis. Students who require non-crisis children’s mental health services can contact WhereToStart.ca or call (905) 451-4655 to request an intake appointment.

With a last name that means “Faithful and loyal,” it is no wonder that Paul Junor has become a welcomed addition to the Toronto Caribbean Newspaper Team. Since 1992, Paul has dedicated his life to become what you call a great teacher. Throughout the years, he has formed strong relationships with his students and continues to show them that he cares about them as people. Paul is a warm, accessible, enthusiastic and caring individual who not only makes himself available for his students, but for his community as well.

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Youth Development

Understanding the multiple layers involved in navigating education spaces Parents of Black Children launch Navigating the Education System

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BY PAUL JUNOR

The work of the advocacy group Parents of Black Children (PoBC) has made a significant and revolutionary difference by bringing issues to the forefront that help Black families at all levels.

For over two years now, it has organized events, workshops and initiatives that have provided important information to the Black community to bring empowerment, knowledge and deep understanding of the multiple layers of the complex dynamics involved in navigating education spaces.

There are five core principles that underlie PoBC understanding of racism:

  1. Racialization
  2. Racism is about power
  3. Critical racial theory
  4. Our stories matter
  5. Racism is founded on White supremacy

On Tuesday, November 23rd, 2021, they launched the document Navigating the Education System,” which was a very empowering, enriching and inspiring tool for diverse Black families. Kearie Daniels, one of the cofounders of PoBC and author of the document, moderated the launch. Furthermore, Claudette Rutherford, one of the cofounders of PoBC and author gave an extensive presentation of the details of the document, sharing useful insights, practical knowledge and interesting information.

PoBC shared a pdf document subsequent to the launch, which provided additional details in a fifty-three-page package. It contained relevant, contextual and vital resources. PoBC’s Advocacy Team supported the document, which includes Charline Grant and Xavier McLaughin.

In the introduction to the document the mission of PoBC is to “Provide support to parents of Black children across Canada and the United States. We advocate and work towards change and concrete action in our education system and adjacent systems such child welfare and the justice system.”

The launch of this vital document is a culmination of all the advocacy and activist work that PoBC has been extensively involved in. It serves to remind members of the Black community that there are resources, tools and supports available to ensure that Black children are able to thrive academically, excel mentally and flourish intellectually in spaces that may not be welcoming to their presence.

The document states that the navigate guide is “Geared towards families in Ontario, but the information can be applied to any jurisdiction where there are Black children and families.”

The document “Table of Contents” is useful and helpful. There is vital information on:

  • School board terms you need to know
  • Education organization you need to know in Ontario
  • Black families and the Child Welfare System
  • Black families and the education system
  • Black students and Individual Education Plans (IEPs)
  • Black students in High School.
  • Developmental delays in learning exceptionalities
  • Supporting students with learning exceptionalities
  • Selecting a school system
  • System abuse

PoBC presented a webinar on “System Abuse”. The document states,

“The system is not neutral. These systems were designed as part of a colonial framework that must be dismantled.” Furthermore, the document “Serves as a means to demystify the pitfalls within the education system and light a path towards a decolonized education system.”

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Youth Development

Toronto prepares families for COVID-19 vaccination of children

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Photo by Charles Deluvio Library on Unsplash

BY PAUL JUNOR

There have been concerns, fears and anxieties as parents, caregivers and guardians anticipate the possibility of having their children under twelve vaccinated.

The Boston Globe reported on Friday, October 29th, 2021, that the FDA approved the administration of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to children between the ages of five to eleven. These children will receive one-third of the dose administered to teens and adults.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention met on Tuesday, November 2nd, 2021, in order to finalize details with respect to which children should be vaccinated first. In anticipation of these developments, Team Toronto has initiated a series of outreach and education sessions, as well as town halls in order to inform the Toronto community.

Parents of children between the ages of five to eleven who attend public schools will be receiving an email and an invitation to respond to a survey to “Support vaccine planning.”  This invitation will also be extended to parents whose children attend private independent schools as well. The survey will be administered by Toronto Public Health (TPH) and the City of Toronto VaxTO in order to “Better understand parents’ intent to vaccinate their children, how they would prefer to have their children receive their COVID-19 vaccine, and to obtain critical information on socio-demographic factors such as race and income.”

John Tory, Mayor of Toronto, is optimistic and positive about this development. He states in the press release, “While our work to get 90% of eligible residents vaccinated is continuing, we are also readying for when the vaccine will be available to protect kids five to eleven. We want to hear from parents, so we made sure we designed a vaccination program that works for kids and their families. This is just one more example of the outreach we are doing to prepare for this effort. This work is so important and will help us get kids vaccinated so they have the best protection against COVID-19 and so our schools can be as safe and as open as possible.”

Councillor Joe Cressy, Chair of Toronto’s Board of Health who has been at the forefront of advocating for the vaccination of margnizalied and at-risk communities is supportive of this campaign. He states, “At every stage of our immunization campaign, connecting with people on the ground has been critical to our success. Now, as we prepare for the rollout of vaccines to children aged five to eleven, we’re committed to engaging directly with parents, families, and community leaders to have active conversations about vaccinations for kids.”

In addition, Dr Eileen De Villa, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health is a strong proponent of this campaign. She states,” When vaccines are approved for use and when we have supply we will ensure that we bring every resource to bear on this critical component of the vaccination campaign.”

The survey will be available as of Sunday, November 7th, 2021. It consists of fifteen questions that will be available online at s.tphsurvey.chkmkt.com in multiple languages. Parents and guardians will receive them from their children’s public school boards. In addition, there will be town halls for specified multilingual communities as well as neighbourhood-based telephone halls to ensure that the public has access to timely, necessary and relevant information for informed decision-making.

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Youth Development

Act as if what you do makes a difference. IT DOES

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BY SABRINA S. – 12 YEARS OLD

The school year is coming to an end, I’m sure that this year was hectic for everyone. Last year, we had a pandemic strike in the middle of the year and the world was sent into lockdown.

We didn’t get to go to school for the rest of the year.

Many students got to choose if they wanted to do school in-person or online, I chose online since I didn’t feel safe.

First day of school was very weird, most people don’t turn their cameras on, don’t even get me started on the wifi issues. I would lag out of the google meet many times and miss most of the instructions on the assignment. That is when friends come in handy, though I don’t get to see my friends that often, we still connect with some online games and phone calls through snap chat.

I don’t know where the time went, it just flew by. Last month was September and suddenly, I feel like we skipped eight months. I only have a week of school left! Because it is the last week of school, I have a lot of homework and final assignments to do but I know I’ll get through them and finish the school year.

I haven’t had time to go outside as well, I’ve been too busy with my assignments.

If my school year was this hectic, imagine the teacher’s year. I’m very grateful for everything my teachers have done for me and my classmates this year, they definitely deserve the three-month summer break. I’m sure my teachers doubted teaching online, but everything went okay and I learned lots.

“No matter how hard it is, or how hard it gets. I’m going to make it!”

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