Mental illness is still a stigmatized and taboo subject with friends, family or coworkers but one UNBC group involved in a Canada-wide movement is hoping to break down some of those barriers.
Jack.org is the country's only charity training and empowering young leaders to revolutionize mental health in each province and territory through talks, summits, and other resources.
Prince George has two chapters: UNBC and another at Duchess Park Secondary School.
Kavita Parmar, a member of the UNBC chapter, says the idea to host a mental health panel on March 29 came from one of the movement's national events.
"As an organization, Jack.org has an annual summit that it hosts in Toronto, and during this summit, they have panel discussions," she tells PrinceGeorgeMatters. "That is where we got the idea."
The panel isn't just geared towards mental health per se, but has a main focus of the diversity in Prince George when it comes to mental health.
The panellists speaking next Friday are Mary Lu Spagrud from CMHA, Keith Egger and Annie Duchesne from UNBC, and Joshua Van der Meer from Foundry.
"We want people to know that everyone has mental health and that everyone struggles with their mental health," Parmar says. "Absolutely everyone! However, not everyone struggles with mental illness. There is a difference between these, just as there’s a difference between your physical health and having a cold. We want to normalize mental health in our society so that no one feels alone and, people know that if they need help, they can get that without feeling the stigma that currently surrounds the topic. We believe the first step in breaking the stigma is talking openly about mental health in all contexts so that it becomes just as common a topic as physical health."
The panel will take place at 5 p.m. in room 7-152 at UNBC.
Whether you've personally struggled with mental illness or you know a loved one who has, you can still make a difference, not only for them, but for also in the world that feel alone and they have no support or someplace to turn.
"I think everyone has had experience with a mental illness, whether it be themselves that struggled or a loved one," she says. "I do not have a mental illness but I have definitely struggled with my mental health at times. So I have dealt with mental distress which is when you don’t have an illness but your mental health is suffering. I also have people very close to me that struggle with mental illness. It’s for them that I joined Jack.org because they deserve to speak openly about their struggles and not feel that stigma."
If you would like to attend, the event is open to everyone. It's a no pressure event where people can engage in conversation, possibly find insights and ask any questions one might have about mental illness.
The event is free, but people are asked to RSVP through Eventbrite so organizers know how much food to have on hand.
Parmar has a comparison for those who may not understand that mental illness is a real medical condition or is different in the medical spectrum because of the stigmas associated with it in today's society.
"I always like to say “you wouldn’t treat a broken arm by yourself, you shouldn’t treat a mental illness by yourself either'."
