Peer support training program helps North Bay-area youth struggling with mental health

Peer support training is growing in North Bay, Ont., and it is helping youth who struggle with ongoing battles with mental illness.

A ceremony was held on August 9, 2024, at OUTLoud Commuity Centre in North Bay, Ont., that outlined the work that is being done to provide free peer support training for youth in the area and celebrate its success. (Eric Taschner/CTV News Northern Ontario)

A ceremony was held Friday at the city’s 2SLGBTQA+ youth hub that outlined the work that is being done to provide free peer support training for youth in the area and officials gave an update on the program’s success and future.

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The OUTLoud Community Centre is a safe space for the 2SLGBTQA+ community and all youth.

“We are seeing kids support each other on a daily basis,” said Seth Compton, the centre’s executive director and OUTLoud’s founder.

Jackson Pauls,19, took the training two years ago. Speaking with CTV News at the ceremony Pauls recalled the difficult, but life-changing conversations that took place.

“It really put into perspective how many people needed just someone to talk to,” he said.

Two years ago, the Lived Experience and Recovery Network (LERN) began partnering with OUTLoud through a $225,000 Ontario Trillium Foundation grant to start the training.

In 2022, the Lived Experience and Recovery Network began a partnership with OUTLoud through a Ontario Trillium Foundation grant to start a peer support training for youth in the area. (Eric Taschner/CTV News Northern Ontario)“The most important piece is understanding that our community lacks in resources and services,” Compton said.

“For us, we see a lot of kids deal with self-harm.”

To date, nearly 50 youth between the ages of 12 - 24 who live in the Nipissing and Parry Sound-Muskoka districts have taken the free training. Official with the program told CTV News that goal is to train 50 more youth over the next few months before the grant ends in March.

“Some of the topics that we talk about are distress and crisis,” said Kari Sterling, LERN’s regional director.

“We talk about suicide. We talk about what peer support values are and the role of peer support.”

Kari Sterling is Lived Experience and Recovery Network regional director. She is pictured here at a ceremony was held August 9, 2024, at OUTLoud Community Centre in North Bay, Ont., that outlined the work that is being done to provide free peer support training for youth in the area and to celebrate the program's success. (Eric Taschner/CTV News Northern Ontario)

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Studies conducted the Mental Health Commission of Canada found that less than 20 per cent of youth receive the appropriate help with their mental health struggles.

The hope is, once trained, these youth will engage with friends their age who struggle with mental health, have one-on-one conversations with them and point them in the right direction towards services and help, should they need it.

“It gives them an opportunity to have the right tools and skills they need to support somebody in a proper way,” Sterling said.

Pauls said he was able to use the training on himself and with others.

“It’s awesome when you can see someone actually smile and say, ‘Thank you for talking to me,’” he said.

“It does bring a certain joy.”

Statistics from the Canadian Mental Health Association show one in five youth are affected by some form of mental illness or disorder and suicide continues to be the second leading cause of death among youth and young adults.

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LERN has two more free in-person training sessions scheduled, the first for those ages 18 - 24 runs on Aug. 21 - 22 at North Bay’s Homewood Suites and the second for those ages 12 - 18 runs on Oct. 24 -25 at Rosseau Lake College in Rosseau, Ont.

More information on the upcoming training sessions can be found here.