Our project is focused on changing the narratives of Mental Health in Regent Park. We hope to create a lasting change with our project by curating resources that are available in the community. With many early discussions in the class we started realizing that not many people were open to discussing their mental health, not until one person shared, some more people would be more open to it. This led to us drafting up a project that would incorporate people’s stories so more people could hear and may want to also speak up about their experiences. This allowed us to create a presentation style project which included stories of personal experiences, statistics for each topic and resources that are available in Regent Park. We thought a presentation would be best as people who view our project could choose which stories they wanted to hear from. We divided the project into four parts based on the stories that were told. The stories we presented in this project include depression with divorce, postpartum depression, stress with moving in or around Regent Park and a youth’s perspective on parents not being as open to mental health discussions.The stories are a mix of recordings of our team members, Ines and Annika who both tell their story with their mental health experience and other videos that have mixed media, statistics and audio recordings. By having different ways of showcasing stories we cater to those who want to be seen speaking about their experience and those who want to stay anonymous are able to have their story read by someone else, showcasing multimedia elements of videos and statistics throughout the experience. By having some videos with prominent people in Regent Park telling their stories we hope more people in the community will seek help and start talking about their own stories.
The Instagram page @heyladyumatter.
As the Regent Park community is diverse we wanted to translate some of the stories in different languages, highlighting some of the languages spoken in the neighbourhood. We have videos said in Spanish, Swahili and Bengali. We also created an Instagram page that has the posters and resources listed. Our hope is that if the posters are taken down the Instagram page will be a virtual page that has direct links to the resources that we have researched. The Instagram page is @heyladyumatter.
We showcased these real and important stories that people are experiencing in Regent Park. Our focus is geared towards women in Regent Park specifically due to their roles in the community and within the family of balancing the roles of caregivers, professionals and pillars in the family. These are important roles that women take up but many do not take the time for themselves due to being there for everyone else in their lives. We hope that this project will get more women discussing and thinking about what they can do for themselves, to take breaks and seek support when they need it. Our goal with this project is to ensure that the community is open to talking about mental health, as mental health is just as important as physical health and can affect physical health when not treated.
Research
We conducted our research through many different ways, word of mouth and research of mental health resources in the neighbourhood. We found statistics that would showcase that people are not alone in feeling a particular way. The statistics we used include:
Statistics for Youth: “39% of Ontario high-school students indicate a moderate-to-serious level of psychological distress (symptoms of anxiety and depression). A further 17% indicate a serious level of psychological distress. (CAMH)”
“50% of all mental illnesses onset by 14.5 years old” (CAMH)
“40% of youths in Regent Park do not know where to get support” (Regent Park Community Health Centre, 2020).
Statistics for Depression in Women: “Sex ratios for selected mental disorders such as major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, seasonal affective disorder, and eating disorders are much higher in women than men. Women are more likely than men to have severe depressions and to relapse, with biologic differences in hormone profiles affecting mental health disorder risks and symptoms, the course of those disorders, and recovery.” (Zender & Olshansky, 2009)
“Women today have a 10 times greater chance of suffering from depression than their grandmothers did.” (Zender & Olshansky, 2009)
“1 in 7 new mothers develop postpartum depression” (March of Dimes, 2019)
“Canada Stats on survey about COVID-19: “In the fall of 2020, one in five adults reported moderate to severe symptoms of depression, anxiety, or PTSD, and this increased to one in four by early 2021.” (StatsCan, 2023).
Resources
The resources that we have compiled include Sumac Creek St Michael’s Hospital Academic Family Team located at 73 Regent Park Blvd #3, Wanasah - for Black youth in Regent Park located at 660 Dundas Street East, and the Regent Park Community Health Centre located at 465 Dundas St. East 2nd Floor.
The helplines that are available include #211 which is an anonymous helpline that directs you to additional resources and #988 which is the Suicide Crisis helpline.
Posters: The Distribution Process
We created posters to distribute around Regent Park to make more people aware of our project and the resources available within the community. As we have started distributing the posters we have gotten some positive feedback and many organizations within Regent Park have agreed to put up our posters. As of April 2024 you can see the posters in Dixon Hall, the Community Centre, the Pam McConnell Aquatic Centre, Daniels Spectrum in the Music School, the Book Bank and Art Heart. We also put the posters up at Early ON Daycare, The Regent Park Health Centre and FreshCo. The Regent Park Health Centre was asking for more posters to distribute and post at their other location. We planned out the locations based on where many women visit often and are able to see them.
Some photos of our posters out in Regent Park. Pictures above are the entrance of Daniels Spectrum and The Children’s Book Bank entrance.
These are the posters that we have distributed throughout Regent Park.
As we conducted our project we realized how few resources are located within Regent Park in regard to mental health. With the resources we have stated there are long waiting lists to seek the help needed at these organizations. Some have requirements before seeing a doctor which result in less people gaining access right away. The Regent Park Community Health Centre only allows 20 counseling sessions per client which may not be helpful for those who need longer term help (RPCHC, Social Work). With the restrictions and long wait lists we have realized how few resources are available that can accompany our project. We still make note to seek these resources as it is important to care for your well-being. But we wish there were more organizations and initiatives in the Regent Park community.
As we presented our project in the Exhibition at the Daniels Spectrum we had many people listening to the stories and later would tell us “thank you” and “that’s good” these few comments made us realize how important it is to continuously share mental health experiences. As many of the residents that interacted with our booth spoke directly to those telling their story we have already seen the impact of knowing the person conveying their experiences, which creates a safe space and trust.
This is not the end of our project if anything we hope that this will be the beginning. We hope that the Regent Park community will seek support, and start the discussion of mental health and its effects. Through amplifying these stories we hope to give courage for more women to speak up, seek help and know that support is available
Our initiative is not just a project; it's a movement dedicated to ensuring every woman knows she is seen, valued and never alone. Join us, your support whether through sharing your story, spreading the word or simply being part of the conversation can make a significant difference. Together, we can ensure that every woman in Regent Park can proudly say, “hey I matter.”
Thank you for reading, watching and listening to our project. Annika, Rebecca, Ines and Najiya
Our presentation is available by the link below or by searching hey lady u matter prezi online. https://prezi.com/view/O95UpmnSKYmVEKkL8YVt/
The Hey Lady You Matter team members are Ines, Annika, Rebecca, and Najiya
Bibliography
Government of Canada, S. C. (2023, December 12). Survey on covid-19 and mental health, February to May 2023. The Daily - . https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/231212/dq231212c-eng.htm
Mental illness and addiction: Facts and statistics. CAMH. (n.d.). https://www.camh.ca/en/driving-change/the-crisis-is-real/mental-health-statistics#:~:text=In%20any%20given%20year%2C%201,Canadians%20experiences%20a%20mental%20illness.&text=By%20the%20time%20Canadians%20reach,have%20had%20%E2%80%93%20a%20mental%20illness.
Postpartum depression. March of Dimes. (n.d.). https://www.marchofdimes.org/find-support/topics/postpartum/postpartum-depression#:~:text=PPD%20is%20the%20most%20common,symptoms%20of%20depression%20during%20pregnancy.
Regent Park Children, youth and family needs ... (n.d.-a). https://regentparkchc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Executive-Summary-Regent-Park-Children-Youth-and-Family-Needs-Assessment-2019-2020.pdf
Social work. Regent Park Community Health Centre. (2023, January 24). https://regentparkchc.org/program/social-work/
Zender, R., & Olshansky, E. (2009). Women’s Mental Health: Depression and Anxiety. The Nursing Clinics of North America, 44(3), 355–364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cnur.2009.06.002