Mental Health Wellness

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Welcome to our peaceful place for Children, Youth & Families. We are so excited to work with the clients by offering a unique way of Healing. Throughout the summer, they will move forward with pride and confidence, showing them new skills, helping, and supporting them with life-long learning and pride in their accomplishments and success to become Resilient.

Facing Mental Health barriers is difficult for any person at any age is a struggle. For children & youth, peer pressure is enormous and those with Mental Health barriers yearn to be just like other children and youth. They can be just like other children & youth, with help from Focus on the Family. Roughly 48% percent of students in grades 7 to 12 surveyed in Saskatchewan, have a Mental Health disability.

Focus on the Family helps children & youth develop their own unique coping skills to allow them to grow into their full potential. Each client that comes to the Awaken Our Spirit Retreat has their own individual Mental Health struggle, making each one’s response and ability to compensate unlike another child or youth. We know this and work to bring their best abilities to the forefront. Everyone of our clients has an ability to develop coping skills, we help and support them while at the retreat; skills they can continue to work on when they return home. Our training gives them the tools to move forward with their lives with confidence and resilience.

In a survey done with Saskatchewan students from Grade 7 to 12 in 2016:

“Mental health is an integral and essential component of health. Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which individuals realize their own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively, and are able to contribute to their community. Schools can promote positive mental health and resilience, and thereby provide youth with resources to thrive.” Saskatchewan Provincial Report (2016)

The demographics for those that were surveyed is as follows:

  • 4% – On Reserve
  • 16% Rural or Farm
  • 39% Regina & Saskatoon
  • 41% Other Cities

Out of those surveyed 48% felt Hopelessness.

“Persistent hopelessness is a predictor of clinical depression, though is insufficient for a diagnosis of depression by itself. Constant sadness and hopelessness in youth is associated with suicidal behaviour, drug and alcohol abuse, unsafe sex, and academic and social deficits.” Saskatchewan Provincial Report (2016).

With that in mind, there is a need to develop a retreat such as ours to support our children, youth & families. There was only 4% of representation of reserves in the survey, imagine if all On Reserve Schools were surveyed. The numbers would be high in terms of Mental Health Illness.

Parents of these children & youth will also learn alongside their children, offering a strong family connection for them. A parenting program called Strengthening First Nations Families will be offered to the parents, so they can support and nurture their children in the best possible way.

We want to help other individuals develop coping skills and grieve using methods to overcome loss.

The Mental Health Wellness Program includes as follows:

Mental Health Therapists are present at the camp for participant assistance and referrals. They are registered Mental Health Therapists and had provided care and support for our children and youth last summer.

A Mental Health First Aid instructor will use the Medicine Wheel Model and provides 2 one hour in class settings to provide guidance and instruction in:

  • Grief & Loss
  • Sharing Circles
  • Emotional Health
  • Healthy Relationships
  • Team Building
  • Self-Esteem
  • Behavior Management
  • Meditation
  • Strengthening First Nations Families

The Mental Health Instructor will work with the Mental Health Therapists in providing as much support for the child/youth/family’s needs.