Tag Archives: youth

Mental Illness a Major Election Issue as More Millennials Report Poor Mental Health

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The federal election campaign is more than half over, but that hasn’t tipped the scales for Brittany Young, 25, a social work student at Nipissing University. A major factor is weighing on her mind: mental health.

It’s a growing concern among a growing group of voters. Last federal election saw the largest increase in young voters on record. According to an analysis of Statistics Canada’s annual estimates of health characteristics, 58% more 18-35 year-olds reported poor mental health last year, compared to 2015. What’s more, the percentage of 12-17 year-olds reporting the same problem grew by 63%.

However, these numbers take a dramatic turn in older age ranges. There was no increase in the proportion of seniors (age 65+) reporting poor mental health in 2018, versus 2015.

Young was diagnosed with depression and anxiety in 2011. She was 17-years-old, and getting help quickly came with a price she and her family couldn’t pay. She waited months to attend OHIP-covered therapy instead. At one point, she went to her doctor weekly to receive free seven-day sample packs of the medication she needed. “I felt overwhelmed by the world.”

Young, (who remains undecided, but has voted for NDP in the past) said people her age are struggling with stress related to their financial situation, and then can’t afford to access mental health support. She said they’re left trying to schedule their crises around when their paycheques come in or their insurance resets. “It’s a very mandatory need they have and they’re having to budget.”

Brittany Young, 25, hasn’t decided who she’ll vote for yet in the 2019 federal election.

Young said ever since she turned 18 she’s voted in elections at all levels of government. She even makes sure to vote in student elections. “I know that one vote can make a difference.”

She said she also encourages her peers to be politically involved. “Even saying to your friends, ‘I’m going out to vote, do you want to come with me?’ can help breach the barrier, because they might be afraid to go by themselves. ”

This election, she’s been considering the parties’ promises carefully. She said she wants to know what health-related things each party is planning to do.

The NDP’s platform said access to medication shouldn’t depend on your credit card. They’ve also stated, “Mental health care should be available at no cost for people who need it.”

But Young said she’s not sure making services free will address people’s needs. “You need to make sure you have people who can provide it, so people aren’t waiting.” A 2018/2019 report from the Mental Health Commission of Canada concluded that over 12 million Canadians pay for private services or join long waitlists for publicly funded services.

“If you just put everyone in one streamline, that’s going to have a large line-up,” said Young. She said tailored solutions could reduce wait times for the whole community. The Liberals have promised to help veterans access mental health care, and double disability benefits for families with mentally ill children.

The Green party has promised to create a national mental health strategy and prioritize mental health care expansion. Young said she worries a single national strategy won’t play out the same across Canada. “Each province has its own party, and that skews the results.”

In contrast, the People’s Party of Canada has promised in its platform to make provinces and territories “fully responsible for health care funding and management” and remove federal involvement from these decisions. “But what happens if each province, under the PPC, says, ‘Let’s make it municipal?’” asked Young, “Just further pushing the responsibility onto someone else, and dividing the funds more?”

The Conservative platform will not be released until October 11.

Young said she’s not convinced any party will deliver on their promises. She said she wonders if politicians are simply making promises because mental health awareness is a trendy topic. “Are [they] just saying this to appeal to us?” she asked.

“Because I want someone who’s genuine.”

Still, she’s certain some progress has been made. She said since she was in high school attitudes towards both politics and mental illness among young people have changed. “I think we were a lot more quiet about it. We felt like we had such a small voice.”

“For young people today, they feel like their voice counts. I think they’re talking about it a lot, but they’re also trying to get resources, and they’re advocating to get this help now.”

“I think they’re actually trying to make a change for themselves, so they can survive.”

Facebook Advertisements by Major Political Parties About Climate Change Are Being Directed to Primarily Young Females

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Facebook Advertisements by Major Political Parties About Climate Change Are Being Directed to Primarily Young Females 

By: Leanna Trister

More young females are being targeted overall by the major political parties than males with climate change related advertisements on Facebook. Approximately 72 per cent of the distribution of all major parties’ advertisements are aimed at a female audience, while male distribution is about 46 per cent and unknown is two per cent, according to an analysis of Facebook’s Public Ad Library.

“This is the election of climate change” says Jean-Luc Cooke, a Green Party candidate in Nepean. He says that advertisements targeting youth are focusing on how the party plans to make everything okay with minimal change to the economy.

Photo from Twitter @VoteJeanLuc

 

Climate change is a topic that is discussed heavily among all demographics, gathering thousands of people in Ottawa for the global climate strike protest last week. Yet, on Facebook, the messages about the parties’ stances on environmental issues get directed towards young women. “I think they target these groups because, for some reason , they believe that males see climate change concern is effeminate and un-masculine” Cooke says. 

Scott Edward Bennett, a political science professor at Carleton University explains they focus on people in their twenties because of the nature of the issue as well as because of current technology. “The young are more engaged with the environment as a key issue on a consistent basis. So, if the targeting relates primarily to that issue, you target the young.” he says.

Merylee Sevilla, a candidate for the People’s Party says, “It’s important to target younger adults as they are the ones who are often impacted by the policies, the taxes and initiatives of government. It’s about engaging the younger adults into seeing how these policies impact them”. 

Also, the young are more likely to be on Facebook, technology wise, than some other groups, says Bennett. However, it is also true that there are a lot of young people who have moved on to other kinds of social media, but it requires a bit more sophistication to get at them. “The under 25s will be concerned with climate change and the environment,” says Bennett. 

“For the first time in 50 years Baby Boomers are no longer the largest voting demographic. This is a seismic shift in our country’s politics.” says Cooke. As the largest demographic, young people are also being targeted with these advertisements, despite voter turnout from the previous election demonstrating that youth are the demographic who have the biggest difference between eligible voters and those who actually vote. About 29.8 per cent of eligible voters between 25 and 34, did not vote in the last federal election. 

“The parties on the left are kind of hoping that the environment can become a mobilizing device. They might be able to latch on to the current global push for climate change policy that is focused on the young. Not sure how well it will work, but people like a good march or demonstration even if they don’t understand the related issue and its implications” says Bennett. On the other end, the Conservative Party has also acknowledged the threat of climate change with the putting forward “A Real Plan To Protect Our Environment”.

Ultimately, regardless of political stance, climate change seems to be a relevant topic for most voters, but the messages still get directed at young women for various reasons. It could be that caring about the environment could be seen as more feminine, as Cooke proposed, or that there is hope for a higher young voter demographic this upcoming election. 

Criminal Activity of Cannabis Related Crimes and Youth Decreased by Half

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According to the Incident-Based Crime Statistics Database, cannabis crimes associated with youth decreased by half in the last five years in Ontario.

The majority age associated with cannabis production, trafficking and distribution is between 12 to 21 in Canada. By 2017, the rates of cannabis-related criminal activity committed by youth and adults was almost equal.

In Ontario, the crime rate for youth cannabis crimes dropped to 15.27 in 2017. In 2013, the rate was 37.45.

Despite this decrease, charges were laid on youth three times more than adults. However, these numbers do not include juveniles who were not charged.

In October, people who are nineteen and older will have legal access and possession of cannabis. It will still be illegal to sell cannabis to adolescence.

However, experts and substance and health specialists predict youth will be more open to discuss using cannabis to get the help they need.

Eugene Oscapella, a professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa, says drug policy is a human rights and justice issue.

“We are taking people, we’re stigmatizing them, we’re criminalizing them, we’re impairing their ability to earn a living, we’re impairing their ability to travel, we’re intruding their privacy and their private behavior, so there’s all sorts of human rights issues involved,” says Oscapella.

Oscapella says most pot sales are made by juveniles. The common age of first using cannabis is 16 or 17, and the heaviest consumption is between 15 to 24.

He adds there will be a reduction of some parts of crime one cannabis becomes legal, but there will still be a black-market targeting youth. However, he adds they will not likely be accessing cannabis through typical organized crime.

The Wellness Centre has access to a list of resources for counselling for substance abuse and mental health. Fa’Ttima Omran referred to the Amethyst Women’s Addiction Centre and the Distress Centre Ottawa for cannabis addiction. Photo by Katie Jacobs.

“It might be somebody’s older brother going into a store and buying cannabis … and selling it to younger kids and taking a small profit,” says Oscapella.

Oscapella says the most fundamental solution is to understand why people use drugs, why do some use it in a problematic way, and how do we help them.

Health specialists, such as Jessica Brett, a nurse at Ottawa Public Health (OPH) for three years, is working on putting together public education and policy analyses in preparation for legalization.

She says OPH supports legalization, specifically using regulations for the public’s best interest in health.

Brett says that criminalizing cannabis leads people, particularly youth, to experience social harms.

“Legalizing … hopefully will be able to address negative effects associated with cannabis use and hopefully minimize those social harms that we currently see,” says Brett.

Brett adds OPH will be encouraging youth under the age of 25 not to use it since it can change functions of the brain during adolescence, and can lead to mental health problems.

Fa’Ttima Omran, a second-year master’s student in legal studies, says with legalization, there may be more opportunities to have interesting discussions on cannabis addiction.

“There is a climate of change that … is making sure that individuals that are very vulnerable will not get caught up in the criminal justice system just because of their usage,” says Omran.

Omran is the administrative coordinator of the Wellness Centre at Carleton University. She says it’s more important to understand the social, political and mental health aspects behind cannabis use rather than criminalizing the person.

“People do seek counselling for using alcohol, for using all different substances, and it just brings into the conversation what addiction has within our society …and making sure that people that are experiencing that feel they are supported in any way possible in the most non-judgmental ways,” says Omran.

Omran says the Wellness Centre is designed to be a safe, non-judgmental space where information is confidential. The centre also has access to counselling resources outside the University.

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Suicide rates remain stagnant for youth in Ottawa

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Trying to help someone with mental health issues only when they show signs of self-harm isn’t proactive — it’s reactive.

Counsellor Nathaniel Jewitt equates this problem to a focus on preventing suicide —but only when a person is at the edge of a cliff.

“If somebody is starting to acknowledge that they’re suicidal, there’s already been a lot of pain and suffering and that’s been going on for a while,” said Jewitt, counsellor for Carleton’s Health and Counselling Services.

More has to be done for those facing mental health issues before they reach a point where self-harm and suicide is a thought, said Jewitt, who is one of three counsellors specifically allocated to Carleton’s residences.

“Counselling isn’t the only solution for all of that. It’s how we build communities, how we teach people to make decisions and coach themselves and others through their lives,” he said.

Nathaniel Jewitt, a counsellor for Carleton's Health and Counselling services helps students in residence who might be dealing with anxiety and depression. He's pictured here in his office. Photo by Olivia Bowden.
Nathaniel Jewitt, a counsellor for Carleton’s Health and Counselling services helps students in residence who might be dealing with anxiety and depression. He’s pictured here in his office. Photo by Olivia Bowden.

While services like counselling and crisis hotlines work to prevent suicide, the suicide rate in Canada has remained relatively stagnant since 2000 with suicides making up about 1.5 per cent of all deaths, according to data from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey compiled by Statistics Canada.

Tableau Graph

The above data was compiled via the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey published by Statistics Canada. Click here to view the graph in full. 

For those aged 15 to 24 the average is similar and has also remained fairly stagnant.

For Ottawans in that demographic, the average rate between 2005 and 2009 was six per 100,000 for men and four for women, according to Ontario Mortality Data extracted by the City of Ottawa.

According to Ottawa Public Health Data, about 600 women per 100,000 aged 15 to 24 were admitted to emergency rooms for self harm in 2012, with the rate being about 195 for men.

As a counsellor for students in residence specifically, Jewitt’s office is in Renfrew House on the first floor. Posters in the offices advertise for Tuesday afternoon therapy dog visits and it’s not far from where students live on the floor above. He’s one of three counsellors allocated for that office.

He said common issues among students include depression and anxiety, often related to being away from home for the first time or navigating new social environments.

Interacting with others and reminding each other that it’s normal to be imperfect tends to reduce anxiety, he said.

He said the key to preventing someone from reaching a crisis point with their mental health is to first reduce stigma surrounding valuing emotional well-being.

“It’s about taking emotional needs seriously, but also learning how to manage expectations and deal with hard times,” he said.

The above graphic was compiled using data from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey published by Statistics Canada and The State of Ottawa’s Health 2014 report published by the City of Ottawa. 

Finding resources to help develop those abilities and navigate challenging environments can be difficult-especially for youth, said Charissa Feres.

Feres is an undergraduate student at Carleton University and Vice-President of Student Issues at the Student Alliance for Mental Health (SAMH).

Dealing with her own experiences with mental illness and trouble accessing services caused her to get involved with SAMH to help others going through similar concerns.

Recognizing that a discussion can be had about self-harm without rushing to call 9-1-1 is important, she said.

“There’s different levels to suicidality. A large amount of people who are suicidal aren’t necessarily at that level of intent,” she said.

Charissa Feres
Charissa Feres from Carleton’s Student Alliance for Mental Health says suicide prevention needs to be more proactive. Photo by Olivia Bowden

Spaces where there isn’t fear of being sent to an emergency room are important —unless there is an imminent threat to that person’s life, and then 9-1-1 is necessary, she said.

Recognizing the core reasons for someone reaching a stage where self-harm is considered is crucial, she added.

There can be issues of secure housing, financial instability and multiple oppressions and discrimination that cannot be ignored.

“It’s not always about restricted means,” she said.

“When we talk about suicide prevention, often we are talking too late in the spectrum. We need to talk about preventing suicidal thoughts to begin with.”

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