With a focus on assisting local youth with mental well-being and motivation during the pandemic, the city of St. Catharines has organized a free virtual event set for June 18.
The event, titled Youth Matters: How to maintain resilience and prioritize mental well-being, will take place on June 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. via hopin.com. The virtual event will allow attendees to be able to move in and out of virtual “rooms,” use breakout sessions and meet one-on-one with peers as well as presenters using a networking feature.
“We are proud to be supporting this initiative, which has been spearheaded by the St. Catharines Youth Collective,” said Phil Cristi, director of community, recreation and culture services. “This new collective is a group of motivated young people who understand firsthand the toll the pandemic has had on the mental well-being of their peers.”
“It is no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an adverse effect on the mental well-being of our youth, with disruptions to in-person schooling, cancelled activities and many other restrictions,” said Mayor Walter Sendzik. “Creating opportunities, like this event, for young people to speak up and receive assistance or simply learn more about optimizing their mental well-being is so beneficial to our community right now.”
Speakers will include Kevin Rempel, a change management, mental health and resilience expert, who will give a keynote titled The Hero Mindset. Rempel’s interactive keynote will guide attendees through a series of immediately actionable tools to increase their mental resilience.
The event will also include a breakout session addressing unhealthy habits and how to overcome them, which will be facilitated by Rempel along with Shaun Baylis, CEO of Pathstone Mental Health.
After a freestyle motocross accident left Rempel an incomplete paraplegic, he was told by doctors he would likely never walk again. However, he went on to walk again and become a bronze medallist while playing sledge hockey for Team Canada at the 2014 Paralympics in Sochi, Russia.
- Moosa Iran, Local Journalism Initiative, Grimsby Lincoln News
