The New Mentality

Overview Information

The New Mentality is a youth mental health advocacy group. The New Mentality is a province-wide initiative by Children’s Mental Health Ontario, with groups all across the province taking on projects to reduce the stigma associated with mental health. We have a chapter here at Lumenus. Two youth facilitate the group and chair the meetings, with the support of Lumenus staff adult allies. The group chooses each year what kind of project they want to take on – it can be anything, as long as the goal is community awareness of mental health. This year, our group made a four-episode podcast and resources on mental health.  We put out a job posting each fall to hire the two youth facilitators, and then the youth facilitators start to look for new volunteers to join the committee. The group usually meets on Tuesdays, from 4pm to 5pm. Volunteer hours are provided. Need more information? Please e-mail yec@lumenus.ca to be added to the New Mentality e-mail list for updates.

Projects created by The New Mentality at Lumenus

In 2021, our New Mentality group created The Self-Care Series: COVID Edition, a podcast and accompanying resources that talk about how to practice self-care during the pandemic and cope with the changes it has brought on in a healthy way. Join us as we talk about finding ways to destress, work effectively during online school, use social media, and connect with loved ones. The podcast can be found on the Lumenus YouTube Channel. The resources are available here: 

In 2020, our New Mentality group developed two peer-created resources on the topics of making the transition into high school, and from high school. The group interviewed youth across Toronto, and compiled their responses into two resources: The Transition To High School
and The Transition From High School
 
In 2018, our New Mentality group created Growing Still: The Podcast. The podcast includes youth hosts interviewing youth across Toronto on how adults and caregivers can best talk to young people about mental health. Listen to the podcast on YouTube.

Delivery Partners:

• Children’s Mental Health Ontario
• The New Mentality