The Kerry Vickar Centre in Melfort will play host to the YOUth Matter Mental Health for youth symposium next Thursday. (File photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Angie Rolheiser

World Mental Health Day

Mental health youth symposium coming to Kerry Vickar Centre in Melfort

Oct 1, 2019 | 12:59 PM

World mental health day is Oct. 10 and a Melfort woman has a full day planned for the youth of the area to simply focus on mental health wellness.

The YOUth Matter Mental Health for Youth Symposium will run throughout the day and will be followed by a public presentation that evening.

MindBody Balance Therapies owner Laura Lawrence is bringing many keynote speakers to make presentations to the over 270 youth aged 11-19 that are already registered.

One of those speakers is the former assistant coach of the Humboldt Broncos, Chris Beaudry.

“He will speak to the youth about mental health and his own journey with addiction and healing and recovery,” Lawrence said.

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Beaudry will spend the entire day with the kids as a keynote speaker and will also offer a break-out session in mental health for sports, according to Lawrence.

Other special guests include Corey Nelson, Alexis Epp, Ruby Powder, and Shelley Enns. All will share about their own struggles in high school and onward.

There will also be instructors in yoga, meditation, and sound therapy.

Lawrence said the goal is to get conversations going about wellness, specifically in mental health.

“Just introducing them to different strategies and techniques and just some tools they can have in their self-care tool belt to deal with the daily stresses and emotions and anxiety that kids deal with,” Lawrence said.

The participants that are registered have been able to sign up for the break-out sessions of their choice which Lawrence said helps with the end result of the day.

“It has been great to see these youth so excited in choosing these sessions that are different and that offer them the opportunity to try something that might be considered outside the box in terms of wellness,” Lawrence said.

The wellness expo is very much a community effort with different organizations from the area coming together to offer information booths. The booths will offer details on what sort of services are available here in the northeast for wellness.

The public presentation in the evening will essentially be a panel talk that is free of charge.

The presentation will look at different perspectives of mental health wellness for youth and families, and finding that wellness in day-to-day life.

The youth symposium takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Kerry Vickar Centre while the public presentation is at 7 p.m.

“It is about creating a forum of discussion, a forum of connection, for talking about wellness and all of the aspects of wellness including mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual,” Lawrence said.

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angie.rolheiser@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Angie_Rolheiser