Presenters and slide deck
Michelle Dowling - Program Manager, Jack.org
Shayan Yazdanpanah – Program Coordinator, Jack.org
Key Learnings
- Youth are encouraged to share their struggles and ask for support, but when they reach out, often their friends and families don’t know how to respond. In a recent survey, 83% of students indicated that they’ve supported a friend struggling with their mental health, but only 39% of them felt they were prepared to offer the support that was needed.
- BeThere.org is an engaging and comprehensive digital resource dedicated to educating and empowering youth to be there for one another. Through accessible language and relatable videos, youth are equipped with the knowledge and confidence they need to recognize when a peer is struggling, lean into tough conversations, and maintain their own mental health while showing they care.
- While Be There’s framework of 5 Golden Rules applies in a variety of circumstances, memorizing these Golden Rules is not enough. The Be There workshop uses engaging activities, experiential learning and person reflection to teach the skills needed to put Be There’s 5 Golden Rules into action.
Identified Gaps in Research, Practice, and/or Policy
There is a need to prepare youth to support when supporting friends who are struggling with their mental health. An upcoming in-depth analysis of ‘Be There’ users’ confidence and knowledge can help agencies determine additional knowledge gaps and opportunities for skill development.
Quotes
‘You can learn the rules of hockey online, but to learn to skate or take a slap you have to pick up a stick and get on the ice! Learning to support someone struggling with their mental health is the same; online resources are great for knowledge transfer, but we need to do more to develop skills to be there for one another.’ Shayan Yazdanpanah
Contact Email of Presenter
Michelle Dowling – Michelle@Jack.org
Shayan Yazdanpanah - Shayan@Jack.org
