By rdnewsNOW staff

Building student mental health and wellness capacity at Chinook’s Edge

Mar 7, 2019 | 9:08 AM

Two influential projects through Alberta Health Services are making a difference for Chinook’s Edge students.

The division was successful in receiving funding for a Mental Health Capacity Building (MHCB) Expansion project to double the scope of a program which has been running in Olds and Didsbury for nearly 10 years.

The funding allows the successful YES program (Youth Empowerment and Support) to expand to Bowden, Spruce View, Delburne and Elnora, using the same model of preventative mental health supports and activities for Chinook’s Edge students in these school communities.

“Only 18 school divisions in the province were successful in their application for this funding, so we are very grateful to have this opportunity for our students,” said Dr. Marcie Perdue, Associate Superintendent of Student Services. “This is huge for us, and we received the grant because of our YES director’s strong program and proven success. Raelynn Notley developed the original program and her leadership will ensure it is successful as we bring it into four additional Chinook’s Edge school communities.”

Stats show that over 1,500 students have been impacted in Olds and Didsbury through the original YES program, which also runs over the summer. It involves four success coaches who design activities, lead group work, coordinate efforts with community agencies, and share resources through the schools involved.

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The expanded program will be delivered in a similar manner, with four success coaches expected to be in place over the summer and ready to start next school year.

“We’ve seen what happens when students cultivate these powerful connections at school – it leads to success in school,” said Dr. Perdue, whose professional associations also led to the second project. The ‘Wellness Exchange for Children’ pilot project is also delivered through Alberta Health Services and involves students at Elnora School. The curriculum is being developed by The AHS Mental Health Promotion and Illness Prevention team. It is being facilitated in Elnora by Katherine Jarrell, Clinical Consultant with Healthy Minds Healthy Children outreach services based in Calgary, Tina Nash from AHS Indigenous Mental Health program, and Marcie Perdue from Chinook’s Edge.

“I’ve worked with a lot of Family School Wellness Workers through my role, and I’ve always found Chinook’s Edge so wonderful to work with and open to our ideas,” said Katherine Jarrell. “We are developing a program that helps children prioritize information and develop personal skills to respond to day-to-day stressors that we all experience. I really believe that if you build these skillsets at a young age it becomes preventative in nature and establishes tools they can draw on for the rest of their lives.”

Jarrell travels to Elnora once a week for the six week project, bringing a different focus to each visit. In the end, students and staff are learning many skills – from managing reactions and building stronger connections with one another, to training their brains to pay attention to all the good things happening around them.

“This is a huge opportunity for us, because our school is rural and quite isolated so we don’t have these types of resources nearby,” said Principal Jocelyn Pennock. “Everyone involved is so pleasant, and their proactive approach will help our kids develop coping strategies they will use in the years to come. Our staff are part of this, too, so they can revisit the lessons often and call upon the techniques long after the program is done. It’s really increasing the atmosphere of trust and belonging in our school.”

(Sandy Bexon – Chinook’s Edge School Division)