Not alone

They say the high school years are the best years of anyone’s life.

But for some teenagers there’s a darkness that lies within.  Thoughts of suicide, questions about their sexuality and worries of fitting in plague many teens, who bottle their feelings inside.

When they reach a breaking point, most don’t know where to turn.

On Thursday Suzanne Chadwick hoped to provide some of the answers. An aspiring social services worker at Northern College, not to mention a mother of two teenagers herself, Chadwick said she wanted the teens at Sir Winston Churchill Collegiate and Vocational Institute to know they had avenues to turn to when things get rough.

“We wanted to bring about awareness for suicide, for mental health, for a lot of different things that teens struggle with,” she said.

“Being in social service work, mental health is a big component of it. You’re dealing with people who have a lot of struggles with the different journeys that they’re doing. Awareness is a really big thing.”

On hand with exhibits were groups as varied as the sexual health clinic and the Thunder Bay Police.

Also there to speak to the students was Scott Chisholm, a local firefighter, who told the story of his own teen years, when his father committed suicide.

He felt it was important to let teens know they’re not alone.

“I think many issues are highly stigmatized and difficult to talk about,” he said. “I think the work I’ve done in suicide prevention and sharing my story really helps others break out of the stigma of talking about things like suicide, sexual health that are really tough, especially for adolescents,” Chisholm said.

It’s not easy abandoning the safety of keeping things in, he added.

“I think it’s extremely tough. What it is, is we think the things that are going on in our lives only affect us and nobody else. Everybody else’s lives are rosy and perfect. The reality is we all deal with issues and they’re just as challenging from one family to the next,” Chisholm said.

“And from one individual to the next, whether we have a high-income family, a low-income family, we have issues that we’re afraid to talk about. And the stigma keeps us away from that.”

There are resources available within the school and within the community to help students – and adults – deal with their issues.
Chadwick’s eldest daughter Janie, no longer in her teens, told the crowd she didn’t really enjoy her own high school years.

She also said it’s important for adults to realize the signs someone might be in trouble, and be willing to help them help themselves.

“Everyone needs to be aware so we can help each other. It’s about a community having knowledge about what goes on and how we can all help,” she said.