Mental health is important to all of us, and fundamental to student mental health and well-being. Schools are ideal settings for mental health promotion, addiction awareness education, resiliency development, and connecting those in need to care pathways.
We have a Mental Health and Addictions Strategy that sets out actions to foster mental health and well-being. Our approach to mental health focuses on promoting positive health and well-being, and providing a tiered approach to supporting students.
Join us on Twitter! The @MH_YRDSB Twitter account is managed by the YRDSB Student Mental Health department. Please see our Twitter Protocol for more information.
Student Mental Health Twitter Protocol
The @MH_YRDSB Twitter account is managed by the YRDSB Student Mental Health department. We may occasionally use some automation (such as tools that generate tweets), but intend that this will not dominate the messages being posted.
If you follow us, you can expect posts about the following:
Information and professional development about Mental Health and Well-Being;
Information from departments within Student Services (i.e., Regulated Health Professionals, Psychology, and Social Work Services);
Alerts about new content on our website;
Information regarding special events or recognitions received by YRDSB students/ employees;
Occasional information from the Ministry of Education or our community partners.
Following
If you follow us on Twitter, we will not automatically follow you back. This is to avoid wasting resources and to handle spammers. Being followed by @MH_YRDSB does not imply endorsement of any kind.
Availability
We will update and monitor our Twitter account during regular office hours, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. Twitter may occasionally be unavailable and we accept no responsibility due to this downtime. Student Mental Health reserves the right to change, suspend or terminate its Twitter account at any time.
If you are a student in crisis, please call 911 or Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868.
@Replies and Direct Messages
We welcome feedback and ideas from all our followers and will endeavor to join the conversation when possible. However, we may not be able to reply individually to all messages received on Twitter. Student Mental Health will not respond with details regarding identifiable individuals, including students and staff. Community members looking to resolve individual concerns regarding their children are encouraged to contact us through our email at mental.health@yrdsb.ca.
All @replies and direct messages are read and emerging themes or suggestions are passed on to the appropriate staff members at Student Services.
Any material deemed to be illegal, hateful, offensive, and/or threatening is reportable and can result in serious consequences. Please think before you tweet.
Disclaimer
The YRDSB Student Mental Health twitter account is not a mental health crisis service. The account is not monitored regularly. Please contact community mental health crisis response services such as 310 COPE, Kids Help Phone, Black Youth Helpline, or Indigenous helpline Hope for Wellness or proceed to your local hospital emergency room should a need arise.
Student Mental Health is not responsible and does not endorse the privacy practices of Twitter or any linked websites. Your use of Twitter is at your own risk.
Student Mental Health will record all information posted to our account for the purposes of monitoring, evaluating and improving its online presence, and to address any comments or suggestions made.
Views expressed by any accounts/users other than the official Student Mental Health account are not the views of Student Mental Health. Student Mental Health is not responsible for any non-Student Mental Health content. Student Mental Health does not endorse or control any advertising that may be displayed in association with its Twitter account.
Please review Twitter's Terms of Service.
Resources
Promoting Positive Mental Health
There are things that we can all do to benefit mental health:
Exercise and eat healthy.
Maintain good sleep habits.
Practice gratitude and mindfulness.
Encourage daily face to face time with family and friends.
As a school board, we are providing training, resources and protocols to support mentally healthy classrooms, to help students develop resilience, and learn to identify and manage stress. To learn more about what’s happening at your child’s school, speak to your child’s teacher, guidance counsellor (in secondary school) or principal.
Providing Support
It is also important to learn how to recognize the signs of mental health problems and indicators of stress that can contribute to mental health problems. There is no one factor that causes mental illness. Understanding the signs can be helpful to get help early and avoid more significant problems.
Families play an important role in supporting your child’s mental health. Families can model and encourage healthy behaviours. If you are concerned about your child’s moods, behaviours, or substance use and misuse, speak to your child and the staff at your child’s school. You may also want to take your child to see your family physician.
Speak to the staff at your child’s school. They may be able to connect your child with:
School guidance counsellors (in secondary schools), social workers or psychologists.
Community agencies that have formal partnership agreements with the school board to serve the diverse needs of our students.
Other available resources.
The school board also has a Student Suicide Intervention Protocol to help keep students safe in the event of suicidal thoughts or actions. Youth suicide is a complex, emotionally charged and sadly prevalent problem in Canada. It is the second leading cause of death amongst young people. It is important to recognize that those who struggle with mental health have personal strength and resilience and the potential to overcome difficulties to ultimately thrive. Our Student Suicide Intervention Protocol is designed to address the six steps involved when responding to current and present thoughts of suicide, as well as actions related to suicide.
Mental Health Newsletter
Read our monthly newsletter for timely tips, resources and more.
Student Mental Health and Addictions Newsletter - February 2023
Mental Health
Feeling the Warmth in Winter
Dear Families,
Student Mental Health and Addictions Newsletter - January 2023
Mental HealthManaging Stress during Exam Season and the Winter Months
Dear Families,
In this edition we will focus on student mental health for the upcoming exam season, and winter months. The tips and strategies offered in this newsletter edition can also be beneficial for younger learners/elementary students.
