When 16-year-old Abbey Keays thinks back to the early days of the pandemic — the lockdowns and online schooling — she can’t help but reflect on what she and other teens have lost.
“During the pandemic, I personally felt a lot of negative emotions and some issues with my mental health,” she said in an interview from her home in Hamilton, Ont.
“I think it’s because we lost so much of what we were hoping our life to be.”
Three years later, even as the pandemic wanes, Keays said she sees a lot of teens still struggling.
Clinicians say their needs continue to outweigh the services available to help.
“If you look at the different studies done since COVID-19, there has been a crisis — a mental health crisis — impacting children and youth,” said Dr. Stacey Bélanger, an expert in pediatric mental health at Sainte-Justine Hospital in Montreal.
Bélanger, who is on the Canadian Pediatric Society’s mental health task force, said pediatric centres have seen increases in hospitalizations and emergency room visits for mental health conditions such as eating disorders, anxiety and suicide attempts since the pandemic began.
“The needs were there before the pandemic and have definitely been increased since the pandemic,” Bélanger said. “And I can’t say we are anywhere near where we should be today to provide the services we should be providing to young people.”
According to its latest Youth Risk Behaviour Survey, there have been increases in the percentage of students who:
Experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.
Seriously considered attempting suicide.
Made a suicide plan.
Attempted suicide.
Teen girls and LGBQ students (the survey did not include data specifically on students who identify as transgender) were particularly affected, with 60 percent of female students and 70 percent of LGBQ students feeling persistently sad or hopeless when the survey was taken in 2021.
Canadian studies have shown a similar imbalance.
Melissa Généreux, a public health physician in Sherbrooke, Que., noted a gender discrepancy in her recent survey of young people in Quebec. Girls, transgender and non-binary teens reported higher rates of symptoms of anxiety and depression than boys. (Kate McKenna/CBC)
Melissa Généreux, a public health physician in Sherbrooke, Que., noted a gender discrepancy in her recent survey of young people in Quebec.
Girls, transgender and non-binary teens reported higher rates of symptoms of anxiety and depression than boys.
Généreux has been surveying young people in several regions about mental health since early 2020 for the regional health authority.
Overall, about 20 per cent reported poor or bad mental health in a survey she conducted in January. It involved 18,000 people between the ages of 12 and 25.
Généreux said that’s an improvement from the year before, when 30 per cent reported poor mental health, but still double what it was before the pandemic.
“To me this is really alarming and we need to be aware of that and to do something to support these young people,” she said.
A neglected problem
Tracy Vaillancourt, Canada Research Chair in school-based mental health and violence prevention at the University of Ottawa, said the Canadian healthcare system was already struggling to meet the mental health needs of young people before the pandemic, and they continue to rise.
“We’ve neglected this part of children’s health for this long,” said Vaillancourt. “It just blows my mind.”
Vaillancourt said there is a lack of consistent nationally representative data around teens’ well-being and that needs to change in order to better understand mental health needs.
She said while some kids did well during the pandemic — for example, virtual classes removed the stressors for some who had been bullied at school — others experienced significant distress.
Beyond the isolation and disruptions of the pandemic, Vaillancourt said social media and family stressors have also affected teens.
She said Canada needs a national mental health strategy for children and youth, and universal, school-based programs to help children develop social and emotional capacity.
Tracy Vaillancourt, Canada Research Chair in school-based mental health and violence prevention at the University of Ottawa, said the Canadian healthcare system was already struggling to meet the mental health needs of young people before the pandemic, and they continue to rise. (Caitlin Taylor/CBC)
New programs, and more needed
Geertika Jeyaganesha, 17, wanted to help a friend connect with mental health support, but she found available services lacking.
It prompted her to start her own organization, Nurtured Youth Community, which offers online workshops with a range of professionals around mental health.
“The primary problem with youth mental health is that the idea of having poor mental health is so normalized,” Jeyaganesha said.
Her organization aims to “help people come out of that space,” said the teen, who lives in Markham, Ont.
Geertika Jeyaganesha, 17, wanted to help a friend connect with mental health support, but she found available services lacking. It prompted her to start her own organization, Nurtured Youth Community, which offers online workshops with a range of professionals around mental health. (Submitted by Geertika Jeyaganesha)
Keays, the teen in Hamilton, would also like to see more mental health support available for young people.
She is part of BGC Canada (formerly known as the Boys and Girls Club) and said attending programs there through the pandemic helped her maintain a sense of connection to others.
BGC Canada, along with the Canadian Mental Health Association, is calling on the federal government to increase funding for youth mental health services.
They point to a study from the Canadian Institute for Health Information, which found that nearly half of young people who sought mental health support found it difficult to access.
“Either the care is unavailable or it’s not covered by public health insurance,” said Valentina Shamoun, member of BGC Canada’s National Youth Council.
Tyler Black, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at B.C. Children’s Hospital, echoed that concern. Black said he sees the lack of access to services as part of “continuing pre-pandemic trends that have been worsening.”
More longitudinal studies are needed in Canada to really understand how teens are doing, and what effect the pandemic has had on existing problems, he said.
He said the levels of mental distress point to longer-term issues, including years of under-funding of services for kids.
The young people in Généreux’s survey said they found it hard to talk to their parents, friends or teachers — relationships that could help people better deal with stress and anxiety.
Généreux recommends schools help students learn tools to process their emotions and recognize signs of mental health problems, and that governments prioritize investment in mental health services for youth.
If you or someone you know is struggling, here’s where to get help:
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia‘s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
