Nat Marilley-Bodner, a participant in last year's Talk at the Top, an annual youth-inspired and youth-driven leadership summit on mental health and wellness, walked away committed to leading by example and making positive change.
The Grade 12 student at St. Thomas Aquinas had been invited by a friend who was a member of the event's youth organizing committee, entitled North Shore Youth 4 Mental Health (NSY4MH). "It sounded like a great idea when he explained it.. .. I didn't really know what I was getting into but when I did get there I was pretty blown away. I mean it was an incredible day," says Marilley-Bodner, 17.
With that positive experience under his belt, this year Marilley-Bodner decided to join the youth council himself.
"The issue of mental health is something that seems to be somewhat discreet or hidden and it was for me until I attended Talk at the Top. That's the first time that I really had that opened up to me, or that I gained that perspective. Once I saw mental health from this different perspective and realized that it had much more magnitude than I had ever imagined, that's when I wanted to do something about it because I realized that not only are there a lot of people who are dealing with this but also that there's lots that can be done," he says.
"The measures that can be taken to help are not easy, but I would say that they're not as difficult as you would think either. There are very achievable things that we can do within the community that will make a big difference to help the big number of people that need our help with actions that we can do every day. That's why I want to help," he adds.
Marilley-Bodner is inviting his peers, in grades eight to 12 in both public and private schools from Pemberton to Deep Cove, to register for this year's event, the fourth annual, set for Jan. 23-24 in North Vancouver.
The free event is open to 120 students and will be kicked off with an Opening Night Jam Session, Saturday, Jan. 23 at the North Vancouver City Hall atrium from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Featured artists include Westwinds, Savvie, Greg Drummond and Dominique Fricot.
"(That's) an opportunity for everyone who's attending the event to get to know each other, to be in a really chill atmosphere and to have fun. The next day is when we'll be talking about mental health. It's going to be really fun and also a safe environment because I think everyone's going to be comfortable with one another after that first night," says Marilley-Bodner. "The next day is going to be really informative and I hope that people will be able to open up - as much as they would like to."
On Sunday, Jan. 24, participants will ascend Grouse Mountain for a full day of programming featuring presentations by guest speakers, including representatives of Jack.org, The One Project's Bryce Evans, and local youth and council member Nolan Querns. Workshops and outdoor recreation activities will also be offered.
Talk at the Top was co-founded as a leadership event in 2012 by Bell Canada's Loring Phinney and North Shore resident Deb Maguire in partnership with local high school students. Its name was derived from Phinney's affiliation with Bell Canada's Bell Let's Talk program, held annually around the same time, says Kerrie Watt, Talk at the Top's community liaison, recruitment and youth engagement lead. The event has continued to grow with more community partners coming on board and is currently made possible with the support of its founders, along with representatives of the Canadian Mental Health Association, North and West Vancouver branch, and Vancouver Coastal Health among others.
"It's had a tremendous impact and I think that it literally did it one student at a time," says Watt, who works as a prevention educator, youth mental health, alcohol and other drugs, for VCH.
"I think it's come down to individual students who came that first year or second year and became inspired to get involved in the youth council, that spread that message through their own social networks about it because they refused to bow down to the fear and shame of outing yourself around having a mental health issue and that has really created a huge momentum," she adds.
At Talk at the Top, participants are encouraged to generate initiatives to move forward and bring further awareness and education related to mental health to the community - either the bigger, broader community of Greater Vancouver, the North Shore, or their schools or neighbourhoods. Students' resulting initiatives typically take place around B.C. Youth Week, culminating on May 7, which is National Child and Youth Mental Health Day.
Mental health is something that we all have in common, says Watt.
"The more we pay attention to mental wellness as early as we can, the more preventative we are about it. I think that mental health itself, you need to take it out of the realm of deep dark secret and put it into the light," she says.
If someone had a broken arm, you wouldn't think about not going to the hospital.
"But when we start talking about depression and anxiety and some of the more serious mental health conditions, we really start isolating people and people begin to feel really alone. And I think that it's important that for youth who are in such a pivotal position in their lives, they're just about ready to launch into the world, carrying that message forth is very important and it sets the stage and it sets the tone. And from there, from a place of mental wellness, anything is possible. We can address things like the youth of technology and disconnection, we can talk about how we relate to our environment, but at the very beginning you have to start with yourself," she says.
Local youths interested in attending this year's event can register or find out more at nsy4mh.com.
