A new committee in Teulon acts as a call to action to support the well-being of the community’s youth.
The Teulon Wellness Committee started off as a combined effort between Teulon Elementary School and Teulon Collegiate.
Teulon Collegiate principal Kristin Smith and vice-principal Chelsea Meier collaborated with Teulon Elementary principal Sarah Hadfield.
“As schools, we have opportunities to see first-hand some of the struggles that students are having and recognize that although schools play a paramount role in student well-being, we cannot meet the mental health needs alone,” Smith said.
“Schools also have tools in place to collect data about how students are feeling about themselves, their school experience and about what coping strategies they have. We do not think that this is isolated to Teulon and feel that youth in general have challenges that require a different level of support than in the past.”
To address these challenges, the Teulon school administrators reached out to others in the community.
“We can guess about many factors that are contributing to these struggles but choose instead to take a proactive and problem-solving approach,” Smith said.
“Providing families and youth with opportunities to engage and support each other is important, and we want to get together and use our limited resources in the most efficient way.”
To get started, they invited members of the public to join them in a path to wellness.
“The turnout for our initial meeting in March was great — approximately 30 people. Members of the committee are representative of a diverse group from the Teulon area and include school administrators and staff members, members of town council, business owners, grandparents and parents, the local doctor, mental health professionals, members of Green Acres Art Centre and other interested parties,” Smith said.
“We have met twice to create a path of wellness for our committee that includes some goals. Our first initiative is to create an informational package so that we can tap some other key stakeholders on the shoulder and ask for their support.”
The committee can help the Teulon community work together to meet the needs of youth in areas such as developing social skills, building healthy coping skills, connecting with peers and feeling confident and hopeful about the future.
Teulon Mayor Todd Campbell said the committee recognizes that youth now seem more disengaged than ever before.
“I joined the committee because not only am I a mayor, I am a grandparent and I believe that the overall wellness of our youth is of utmost importance because they are our leaders of tomorrow,” Campbell said.
“Between technology and social media, more pressure is being put on our youth to fit in and navigate this ever-changing world. Our hopes are to find ways to eliminate the pressure that our youth are facing by providing ways to re-engage with peers, family, schools and their communities.”
Local mental health professional Amy Rasumssen Waluk said the Teulon Wellness Committee is an important way to meet the ongoing needs of young people in the community.
“We, as concerned and caring adults, have noticed the rapid increase in mental health concerns in the young people we are connected to and support directly and indirectly. With the overburdened nature of public and private mental health services, more needs to be done at the community level to prevent mental health issues from rising,” she said.
“The need to intervene in a supportive way when unmet social, emotional, physical and mental health needs appear is also a priority. When community can be the healing place, everyone benefits.”
Rasmussen Waluk decided to get involved as a long-time community member who cares deeply about the health and well-being of people in and around Teulon. At the same time, she strives to help create conditions that will allow her own teens to thrive.
In addition, Rasmussen Waluk has run a therapy clinic in Teulon since 2009 and in Stonewall since 2020. As a result, she’s aware of issues and concerns that young people face.
“I am committed to helping and taking an active role in creating positive change at the community level,” she said.
“I hope the group will be able to work together and consult with young people to accurately understand needs and work co-operatively to attend to the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs of the people growing up in this place. I hope that youth will feel unconditionally supported as they navigate their transition to adulthood.”
The most effective leaders are ones who feel a sense of purpose and ownership to a cause or to their community, she added.
“For the long-term health and wellness of the community and the people in it, it will be essential to support young people in their journeys, through their struggles by meeting needs and creating opportunity for preventative methods — recreation, positive social groups, peer support, mentorship, reducing financial barriers to clubs, arts and sports,” Rasmussen Waluk said.
“Needs for love and belonging, identity, purpose and empowerment are lifelong emotional needs. When they can be met in healthy and sustainable ways, young people’s potentials can be actualized and gifts shared.”
Lana Knor, president of the Green Acres Art Centre board, shared similar sentiments. When she heard about the wellness committee, she didn’t hesitate to get involved.
“I think it’s a fantastic idea. It is one of the best ideas I’ve heard in a long time. I believe the people in this group will come together and figure out how everyone is able to contribute,” Knor said.
“It’s about more than just doing this for the kids. It’s not easy being a parent at times. Parents’ wellness is important too.”
At Green Acres Art Centre, they aim to provide ample in-person activities for young people.
“The GAAC wants to be instrumental in making a difference. We offer annual dance, theatre and music programs, summer camps and much more. Through a grant from Healthy Together Now, we were able to host open gym and some karaoke nights throughout the year for high school students. We have applied to have similar activities starting in the fall,” Knor said.
“We plan to get the youth involved and help them understand the importance of volunteering and giving back to community. The GAAC will mentor high school students on planning, organizing and facilitating activities for younger grades. They will be role models to the younger ones and learn a variety of beneficial skills. The youth are our future.”
Looking ahead, Green Acres Art Centre is exploring the possibility of acquiring Teulon United Church for additional program space.
“The church is an important space that would be utilized with more activities. The kids will interact in person with peers and put the phones down. The committee all agreed kids are on devices way too much. It’s concerning because it becomes an addiction. It’s not just kids addicted — it’s parents too,” Knor said.
“More and more kids have anxiety. We believe if given more opportunities for in-person social interactions with friends or a place to meet a new friend, we will start to see less kids feeling anxious.”
Similarly, Dr. Michael Loudon of Teulon Medical Clinic said noticed diminished engagement of youth in activities. Although sports can offer opportunities to get involved, it doesn’t meet the needs of every young person.
He noted that many discussions have centred on how social media and devices are linked to disconnect. However, he said the same digital platforms served as a way to maintain connections during the pandemic.
“Now we have to unlearn that. The social media platform has taken a lot of criticism, and I think it’s guilty for a lot of deficits that we’re seeing in communities, so we have to balance it out,” Loudon said.
“Our purpose is to find the happy medium of making this work — having engaged kids, using these kinds of methods to connect with them but actually having them come face to face with us and with each other.”
This is important because engaged people are healthy people, he added.
“If we share a meal with other people once a week, we have a 50 per cent better satisfaction in quality of living. We are social creatures. We need to engage with one another,” Loudon said.
“Part of the importance of being at school is the socialization. It results in better quality of life. It’s also a challenge for parents to be engaged and effective. We need to try to achieve interaction with our youth — and with everybody in our community. Everybody’s got something to learn; everybody’s got something to teach. It doesn’t matter where in life you are.”
Beyond the local community, Loudon encourages provincial and federal leaders to get involved in the cause.
“I’d like to see this extend to MLAs and MPs. None of these problems are unique to Teulon. The global problem is bigger than just this community,” he said.
“We need people to show up and get involved. I encourage my children and my family to do the same.”
Anyone who would like more information about the Teulon Wellness Committee can contact Kristin Smith at ksmith@isd21.mb.ca.
