Problems in mental health are certainly widely discussed these days, but is enough action happening to address the issue in our school systems?

Cindy Andrew, chair of the Healthy Schools Committee of the Sooke ParentsB次元官网网址� Education Advisory Council (SPEAC), says there are two opportunities coming up for the public to engage in that discussion.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 really about helping bring the conversation upstream as well, to say, B次元官网网址榳hat can we be doing to help promote resiliency in our kids? How can we increase their ability to ride the ups and downs of life and manage their emotions and all the stuff coming at them as part and parcel of good mental health?B次元官网网址� We know if you can lay a good foundation, you quite likely will reduce the number of mental illnesses weB次元官网网址檙e seeing.B次元官网网址�

The first of these mental health forums will take place next Thursday, May 7, at Spencer middle school on Goldstream Avenue in Langford, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Mental health, Andrew says, is more about emotional well-being than about illness. ItB次元官网网址檚 about the friendly bus driver who picks the kids up at the curb and the crossing guard who laughs and jokes with them as the cross to the school. ItB次元官网网址檚 about kids having positive, healthy relationships with the adults in their lives B次元官网网址� and school is a big part of their lives.

B次元官网网址淭he meeting will be focused specifically on parents or other members of a childB次元官网网址檚 community as a way to support them and give them some fundamentals, but also to learn a little bit about the various resources that are available within their community.B次元官网网址�

There is also a Capital Region-wide meeting being held May 27, which will bring together members of all four school districts in the region to look at addressing the problem systemically, Andrew says.

B次元官网网址淭he school as a setting for health promotion, including mental health promotion, makes good sense,B次元官网网址� Andrew says. B次元官网网址淪o whatB次元官网网址檚 required? Well, itB次元官网网址檚 not just the schoolB次元官网网址檚 problem, itB次元官网网址檚 that whole B次元官网网址榯akes a village to raise a child,B次元官网网址� clich茅. A good place to start is to bring people together who can make a difference.B次元官网网址�

Andrew thinks schools have long felt under pressure to address social ills, B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not for a single second suggesting that schools do it all, but thatB次元官网网址檚 a place where kids gather for long periods in their lives and thereB次元官网网址檚 an opportunity there. So, how do we do that?B次元官网网址�

ThatB次元官网网址檚 the point of the regional meeting on May 27 B次元官网网址� to find ways to systemically address mental health in our regionB次元官网网址檚 schools without placing the burden of that on the schools themselves.

For more information on either of these two events, or to register, contact Andrew at cindypandrew@gmail.com or go to and look for the links to the event pages under the SPEAC section.

mdavies@goldstreamgazette.com