The Friendship Bench Blog
Fletcher’s Meadow Unveils The Friendship Bench
This week our team visited Fletcher's Meadow Secondary School in Brampton, Ontario to officially unveil The Lucas Fiorella Friendship Bench and our #YellowIsForHello campaign. The school's principal, Dana Sheahan, Siobahn Catalano, and the student mental health...
The Friendship Bench – Looking Back, Moving Forward for Student Mental Health
As we boldly launch into a new school year, I thought it important to post a recap of our first year (as well as a glimpse at what to expect in the new year) for our all our stakeholders, donors, and wider community. The 2015/16 school year, our first...
The Power Of Human Touch
THERE IS GOOD IN PEOPLE, despite what we're seeing through today's media/political lens. We're not all afraid of our neighbours; we do have compassion for fellow human beings. And it seems that now - more than ever - we need to re-connect with this concept and remind...
Amazon Contributes to Stigma Surrounding Mental Health
"Amazon Contributes to Stigma Surrounding Mental Health" It’s the opposite headline from that which we would expect to be seeing about a large corporation today; with so many organizations like Bell Canada going out of their way to help reduce the stigma...
8-Year Old Donates Birthday Gifts For Mental Health Campaign
On the occasion of his 8th birthday, young Lucas continued his annual "give back" effort. This year, he asked his family and friends to donate money to the Yellow Is For Hello mental health awareness campaign so that more Friendship Benches and their associated...
A Letter to Parents Surviving a Child’s Suicide
I recently passed the one year anniversary of my 19 year old son’s death by suicide. In that time I’ve experienced the rollercoaster of emotions you would expect someone in my shoes to endure. This journey has been complicated by the creation of a mental health...
Give The GIFT OF HELLO This Holiday Season
The end of the calendar year is approaching and with it comes not just the usual holiday hustle and bustle but end of semester exams and less sunlight in a day....all the things that typically add more stress onto a student's already stressful life. We...
How Toronto Marketing Students Are Helping Break the Stigma Around Mental Health
One of the most inspiring parts of being involved with The Friendship Bench is seeing how other students are coming together to help and support their fellow students, whether they're on the same campus or further afield. One such example is the MRK634 course at...
Students With Mental Health Targeted by Colleges
We’re hearing more and more about this alarming trend among US Colleges: Students with depression are being encouraged and/or forced to leave campus on "medical leave" but are faced with huge and often discriminatory obstacles when trying to return. "No school...