Stomping Out Stigma

DDSB students participate in the Annual Intermediate TAMI Summit

“We’re trying to create a culture of caring where students have an awareness not only for themselves, but also for others around them, to be more supportive,” explains Nicole Rands, Supervised Alternative Learning for Excused Pupils (SALEP) Facilitator at the Durham District School Board (DDSB).

Rands represented the DDSB at the annual Talking About Mental Illness (TAMI) Intermediate Summit, as DDSB is one of the organizations involved in the TAMI Coalition of Durham Region.

The TAMI Coalition of Durham Region is a group of community partners who are committed to providing mental illness awareness programs and events for intermediate and high school students. They do this by bringing together youth and people with mental illness to address the issues associated with stigma and mental illness.

On November 26^th, Grade 7 and 8 students from DDSB, Durham Catholic District School Board (DCDSB), and Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPRDSB) attended the annual intermediate summit, hosted at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences in Whitby. The main themes were “Attitude of Gratitude” and “Stomping Out Stigma.”

Paul Ranger Shares His Story

In the morning, special guest speaker and former National Hockey League (NHL) player Paul Ranger shared his story and experiences with depression.

In the 2009-2010 NHL season, Ranger requested a leave of absence from his team, the Tampa Bay Lightning. He says the symptoms of depression began after having two major shoulder surgeries, two summers in a row. At the time, Ranger told only his coach Rick Tocchet, leaving his teammates in the dark about his struggles.

Ranger spoke to students about three key takeaways he learned along the way, “The first is to learn and understand the signs and symptoms of mental illness. The second is to be brave. Act with courage and speak with courage. And the third is to fully commit to improving your mental health. Never give up because I promise you, the negative feelings are temporary. You can change the bad at any time.”

After sharing his story, students asked Ranger questions about his mental health journey, and he was more than happy to answer questions.

Ranger was asked if he had any regrets with the way he left his teammates without explanation, “I did the best I could with what I had. I absolutely learned from things, but no, I don’t have any regrets.”

Stomping Out Stigma

For the students in attendance, the balance of the day involved opportunities to meet and speak with TAMI speakers (people who have experienced mental illness and now deliver messages of hope), a forum to share ideas amongst one another, breakout sessions, and gathering resources to take back to their schools.

In one of the breakout sessions, students participated in the Mental Illness/ME Porcupine activity. A porcupine was drawn on a whiteboard with the letters “M I” written in the centre, which stood for mental illness. Students were asked what words they’ve heard to describe mental illness, and those words were then written around the body of the porcupine. Words included “crazy,” “attention seeking,” and “weird.” Then students were asked if the “M I” was changed to “ME” how they would feel if those words were directed towards them. Students then started another layer of words around the porcupine, which included “embarrassed,” “scared,” and “too much to handle.” The final layer of words surrounding the porcupine consisted of words they would use to change the language and reduce the stigma. Words such as “empathetic,” “courageous,” and “hopeful” were written in this layer.

Normalizing Mental Health and Mental Illness

Rands says the goal of the TAMI Summit for both the intermediate and high school students is to provide hope and resources, “Starting it at a young age, and normalizing mental health and mental illness helps to get rid of the stigma. The younger we can do that, the more equipped young people will be to support each other moving forward.”