Lanark Country makes front page

Yes, again our region has made the Ottawa Citizen news. And it's not for a good reason.
(Ottawa is our nearest big city.) Lanark county's 9 teen suicides last year made the news.

Teens in Lanark, Leeds, Grenville most stressed in region: survey

The rural area southwest of Ottawa, which has seen a cluster of teen suicides over the past year, has the region’s highest rate of stressed-out young people, according to the first-ever health survey ...

The issue with suicide and depression is that it *is* catching. Teens, already going through teen-aged angst, trying to find themselves, in a world that their parents cannot understand. When one young person commits suicide, another sinks into this abyss. I freely admit that I wrestled with this when teaching, and raising children. They call it 'suicidal ideations', and the more a person sinks into a depression, the more likely s/he is to respond in the same way another time. The brain's response is the same without therapy and managing the depression. Unfortunately, there are antidepressants that cause young teens to be more likely to commit suicide. Wise parents must research this with professionals.

Recession

 It is difficult to understand what they are living with during this era.  Our precious teenagers have had many issues facing them, and the recession which affects many families, has added to the burden.

They seek relief in partying, and in addictions that help them sink lower.

Teens have been getting into trouble in chat rooms, sexting inappropriate images to apparent friends.  This generation has access to so much more information, yet they lack the wisdom to use technology wisely. A depressed teen, drinking, is further depressed. This is what alcohol does to the body. Peer pressure works both positively and negatively. But those in a depression are unable to reach out. They listen to friends, or isolate themselves.

We have to ensure that south east Ontario towns, being hit by American head office decisions to close local plants, survive the US's deeper recession. ( E.g., Cornwall's recent 400 job losses, Smith's Falls loss from Hershey's plant closures, Stanley Tools, and Rideau Regional Centre.)

Education
This morning's CBC radio program interviewed a man wiser than I about university. U of T professor, Nick Mount, said that there is a great myth that the only way to success is through a degree. This is something that must be changed. Success doesn't mean a Ph.D., it means an education that will give you a job. With Toronto's new Afrocentric school, other groups are examining education of their children.

Maria Rodrigues, the trustee ... wants to look at such a school for Portuguese-Canadians, too. In the TDSB, just 48% of Portuguese students graduated in 2005, though the number rose to 66% by 2009, the board’s number show.


If you look at this area of the Toronto community, however, these kids go into the family business. They aren't out on the streets. They learn a trade, apprentice (as in the good old days), and get the type of education they need. This is the same for rural families. There are jobs in the trades. There are jobs that allow these kids to make something of themselves. Many are forced into an education they don't want, and cannot complete, or afford. Kids who go to university when they shouldn't end up failing, and there has been limited talk about this. Inflated grades and unrealistic aspirations cloud their thinking. Kids are encouraged to go to university by the universities, they need the tuition funds. Profs are encouraged to pass kids who don't belong, for the same reason.

Crime
Now, the Conservative Government, currently running on a platform of being 'tough on crime', doesn't understand. We cannot simply fill the prisons with those who are mentally ill, and suffering from addictions. The people I know who have been in prison say that it could rehabilitate, but since they are so overcrowded, they get frustrated and upset, and run, or get into more trouble.

We must determine how to keep kids out of the cycle of poverty. I have made suggestions, and CAS is one way we can support these kids. See: Homelessness in Eastern Ontario.

Stigma of poverty

Society must figure out how to give a hand up, as well as respecting those who need a hand out.
This fabulous video is just one of a series from People's Blueprint.

We started the People’s Blueprint with the goal of leveraging the opportunity of the Social Assistance Review and changing public policy for the better. The project is a collaboration between Daily Bread Food Bank and Voices From the Street, with support from the Atkinson and Metcalf Charitable Foundations. Together, we worked with eighteen people receiving social assistance, equipping them with the tools they needed to be community researchers. The researchers went back to their communities and conducted over 100 video recorded interviews that demonstrate the hopes, challenges, and abilities of people “on the system” in an intensely personal way.

Stigma from Michael Oliphant on Vimeo.