“Mental health is a state of well-being in which you can realize your own potential, cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, and make a contribution to your community.” It is possible to have positive mental health even with the presence of a mental health issue with active recovery. This is especially important for youth who are still developing, given that 70 per cent of young adults with mental illnesses report that their symptoms began in childhood.
Community mental health services, and online resources to better understand mental health issues.
Promoting Positive Mental Health perspectives and practices in the school context.
Individual and community resources to prevent and cope with suicide and self-injury, including crisis lines.
Website provides a directory of Mental Health and Addictions Services available in Saskatchewan and a map searchable by location or type of service. There are four main types of mental health services provided in Saskatchewan: adult community health services; community recovery services; child and youth community mental health services; and inpatient mental health services.
Jordan's Principle makes sure all First Nations children and youth living in Canada can access the products, services and supports they need, when they need them. Funding can help with a wide range of health, social and educational needs. Jordan's Principle Call Centre: 1-855-JP-CHILD (1-855-572-4453), open 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
The First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum (FNMWC) is a national framework that addresses mental wellness among First Nations in Canada. It identifies ways to enhance service coordination among various systems and supports culturally safe delivery of services. The FNMWC Framework was developed through collaboration between the Assembly of First Nations, Health Canada’s First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, the National Native Addictions Partnership Foundation, the Native Mental Health Association, and other community mental health leaders.
The CMHA is creating a national youth advisory council, working directly with the CMHA national office, to serve as an authentic means of youth engagement. The national youth advisory council will support CMHA National’s goal of facilitating access to the resources youth require to improve their mental health and support their recovery from mental illness.
The national youth advisory council will serve in an internal advisory capacity, making recommendations on matters that impact youth, family and community mental health. The youth council’s mandate will include: Providing feedback on organizational strategic planning and decision making; Collaborating on the development and evaluation of CMHA National initiatives (including programs, research and policy, fund development, operations and communications-related projects); Empowering youth through self-directed, self-initiated projects; Building relationships and supporting allyship with Indigenous communities; Contributing to CMHA’s mandate of helping to increase youth mental health literacy and to contribute to the elimination of stigma or negative stereotypes around mental health.
The Federation's Emma Stewart Resources Centre has resources and links to publications and associations to support school counsellors in areas such as anxiety disorders, depression, grief, and mental health.
The Mental Health & High School Curriculum Guide is an evidence-based Canadian mental health literacy curriculum resource designed for use in schools (grades 7-10). Delivered by classroom teachers, the Guide includes six interactive web-based classroom-ready modules, a teacher self-study resource, lesson plans, print and video resources, PowerPoint presentations, evaluation options, and supplementary materials. It provides a complete set of educational tools proven to increase mental health literacy of both students and teachers. A one-day face-to-face professional learning session for classroom teachers, and a two-day train-the-trainer workshop for Guide workshop facilitators build capacity for program sustainability, regardless of jurisdiction. The Guide can be downloaded free of charge or hard copy purchased through Amazon. The online, classroom-ready modules are freely available on the website.
Teach Resiliency is an online library that has practical and evidence-informed resources and tools to support mental health in our classrooms and schools - for students as well as educators. It’s also a place to learn from one another: to exchange ideas, create new resources, and share important perspectives and ideas.
The Positive Mental Health Toolkit has been designed to promote positive mental health practices and perspectives within the school environment. In the second edition of the Toolkit, the resource has been divided into a series of online modules, presenting information and materials that are manageable and user friendly. The toolkit has been updated to reflect recent Canadian research, and to identify promising practices occurring in diverse contexts across the country. In addition, the Toolkit provides a means of measuring positive mental health practices, with results generating a series of individualized strategies for enhancing healthy school environments for students, educators and staff members. These assessment measures can be used in conjunction with the JCSH Healthy School Planner as a means of evaluating overall school environments.
Canada's only charity training and empowering young leaders to revolutionize mental health in every province and territory. Through Do Something, Jack Talks, Jack Chapters, and Jack Summits, young leaders identify and dismantle barriers to positive mental health in their communities. And through ambitious innovations in youth mental health like Be There, we give people the mental health resources they need to educate themselves.
Being there for someone is an art, not a science. There’s no formula or instruction manual because every situation is different. Be There Basics will help you learn how to recognize when someone might be struggling with their mental health and gives you 5 Golden Rules to help you support and be there for them.
A two-day face-to-face workshop where you learn how to prevent suicide by recognizing signs, provide a skilled intervention, and develop a safety plan to keep someone alive. The ASIST model teaches effective intervention skills while helping to build suicide prevention networks in the community.
A program which offers workshops about mental health, workplace wellness, and suicide prevention. It is designed to provide awareness and knowledge to communities, schools, educators, students and the general public. The workshops enhance people's skills to help them to be a support and resource to those encountering someone with mental health concerns.
A non-profit outreach initiative providing information and resources about self-injury to those who self-injure, those who have recovered, and those who want to help. There is a section for school professionals to support learning how to help students who are self-injuring and how to educate students about self-injury.
This website provides information and resources to reduce the suicide rate and minimize the harmful consequences of suicidal behaviour. Includes awareness, prevention, coping, grieving and advocacy resources.
Kids Help Phone is Canada's only 24/7 national support service which offers professional counselling, information and referrals; and volunteer-led text based support to young people in both English and French. Youth can connect by phone, text, mobile app or through the website whenever they want. Service is completely confidential.
Referral to crisis services that are available in Saskatchewan.
Call 1-866-888-8988
Crisis intervention counselling support is available to all Indigenous people across Canada and is available 24/7. Experienced and culturally competent counsellors are available if you are experiencing distress, having strong emotional reactions, are triggered by painful memories, or just want to talk. You can reach them by calling their toll free number or by visiting their website to connect with a counsellor online. Phone and chat counselling is available in English and French, and upon request, phone counselling is also available in Cree, Ojibway, and Inuktitut.
National suicide prevention support line available 24 /7.
Call 1-833-456-4566
A directory to help find a crisis centre.
PFLAG has a variety of ways for LGBTQ youth to find help and choose the level and type of support that is right for them. Youth can call the support line, send an email, engage via social media, connect with a local chapter, and view online resources.
A crisis line for transgender people and those struggling with their gender identity.
Call 1-877-330-6366
HealthLine 811 is a confidential, 24-hour health and mental health and addictions advice, education and support telephone line available to the people of Saskatchewan. It is staffed by experienced and specially trained registered nurses, registered psychiatric nurses and registered social workers. HealthLine 811 is free. Services are offered in English, with translation available in over 100 languages. Information and support is also available on their website.
Call 8-1-1
211 Saskatchewan is a free, confidential, 24/7 service that connects individuals to human services in the province by telephone, text, or web chat, plus a searchable website with over 5,000 listings of social, community, non-clinical health, and government services across the province. Over 175 languages, including 17 Indigenous languages, are available over the phone.
211 Saskatchewan also has information on provincial emergency / crisis hotlines, such as: child abuse lines; children; crisis units; domestic violence; gambling; general crisis counselling; seniors abuse and neglect; sexual assault; and suicide prevention.
PREVNet is a national network of leading researchers and organizations, working together to stop bullying in Canada. It is the first of its kind in this country and a world leader in bullying prevention. Through education, research, training and policy change, PREVNet aims to stop the violence caused by bullying - so every child can grow up happy, healthy and safe.
An anti-bullying action plan for Saskatchewan. Contains resources for schools and communities.
Anti-bullying resources including courses for educators, child-and-youth service organizations, parents, youth and Aboriginal communities.
A comprehensive website with information and online resources related to cyberbullying; experience of cyberbullying; know someone who is being cyberbullied; know someone who is cyberbullying; cyberbullying prevention; and understanding the potential legal consequences.
Learn about violence and abuse, its prevention and how to get help if you are being abused. Also access funding for prevention programs.
The BULLY Project is the social action campaign inspired by the award-winning film BULLY. A national movement to stop bullying that is transforming kids’ lives and changing a culture of bullying into one of empathy and action. Resources help prepare educators to lead a discussion with their students that focuses on developing empathy and taking action. The film is available on DVD and they have created an Educators DVD Activation Toolkit. The kit includes many materials designed to ignite honest, meaningful dialogue.
The website also includes resources on bullying and tools for students, parents, educators, and advocates.
Toolkits (elementary and secondary students), activities (e.g., Student Action Guide), and a portal to learn more about what stigma is and how you can stop it.
A storytelling site by and for people with lived mental health experience. Helping to break down stigma by educating through stories and experiences.
A campaign-based initiative in Regina that encourages youth to share their stories of mental health and recipes for coping to promote vulnerability, sharing, and understanding. Schools can contact them to take part, or have their students take part on social media.
HEADSTRONG is an initiative to reduce the painful stigma experienced by Canadian children and youth living with mental health problems and illnesses. It is also intended to reduce the stigma experienced by their families. HEADSTRONG is giving Canadian youth the encouragement, knowledge, and tools they need to fight against this serious problem that threatens the wellness of so many young Canadians.
Information to help youth manage anxiety plus information and self-help strategies for several disorders. The website includes educator resources.
A smartphone app designed to help teens and youth to cope with anxiety - promoting a shift in thinking about anxiety using scientifically proven strategies based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
A smartphone app to help users deepen their awareness of their feelings, settle and manage their emotions and reactions, and approach others and situations with kindness and compassion. Includes ways to integrate into the classroom, extracurricular activities, etc.
The Commission advocates use of peer support to offer hope and encouragement, and to connect youth and families with those facing similar challenges to them. The document is comprised of two sets of guidelines.
Part 1 - Guidelines for the Practice of Peer Support - provides an overview of the elements for the practice of peer support, along with the guiding values, principles of practice, and skills and acquired abilities to be respected by all involved in peer support programs.
Part 2 - Guidelines for the Training of Peer Support - focuses on the training of peer support workers and outlines the skills and knowledge to be in included in training programs designed to prepare someone to provide peer support.
Support youth and community well-being through the collaborative action of community partners working together. Through evidence, tools and resources, SAYCW supports stakeholders to turn the knowledge gained through the youth health survey into health promoting action.
Youth-focused Mental Health Action Report shines light on challenges and ignites movement for solutions
A new report released this week is bringing attention to mental health challenges faced by more than 10,000 youth across the province—and actions at the grassroots level to ignite change.
This report provides a brief review of the scientific literature on COVID-19 and its effects on youth health, with particular emphasis on mental health. SAYCW shares relevant data from the pre-pandemic, 2019 SAYCW survey – these findings show how stressors and unhealthy behaviours that have been worsened by the pandemic (e.g., worry, connection with others, screen time, etc.) had impacted Saskatchewan youths’ health and well-being prior to the pandemic. Suggested health promotion actions to help mitigate the effects of COVID-19 and improve youth health and well-being are also shared.
