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March 8, 2013
Acts of chesed inspire
Students focus on mental health efforts.
MICHELLE DODEK
King David High School and the Vancouver Canucks have something in common. Both organizations have mental health awareness campaigns as a direct result of losing a special member of their “team” to suicide. In November 2010, beloved KDHS alumnus Gabrielle Isserow succumbed to severe depression. Several months later, Canucks team member Rick Rypien, known as an enforcer for the Canucks, ended his more than decade long struggle with depression by taking his own life. From both of these tragedies has sprung a desire in the school and on the team to change the way society views and deals with mental health issues. Two programs have emerged as a result.
Monday, Feb. 18, marked the beginning of the third annual RAC (Random Acts of Chesed) Week at KDHS. During RAC Week, students spend time engaging in a variety of activities focused on kindness, visiting agencies in the Jewish and general communities to volunteer and learn. After each morning of volunteering, students return to the school for a pizza lunch and to debriefing sessions in which they prepare a closing assembly for the entire school. Each group of students has a day on which the focus is on their specific theme. Themes include the Self, Friends and Family, Global Community and Earth. To close the week, the students hold a community-wide celebration of kindness.
“Research has shown that performing acts of kindness increases happiness, confidence and optimism, and gives students an increased sense of usefulness,” said Sharon Dwek, KDHS director of development.
“This week is inspired by Gabrielle Isserow z”l. Gabi was an alumnus who graduated in 2008,” she told the Independent. “During her time as a student at King David High School, and through her involvement in the community, she represented all the values associated with the word chesed. She displayed random acts of chesed every day to her peers, friends, teachers, family and others with a humble grace and unyielding generosity.”
This year, grades 11 and 12 began RAC Week with a focus on self-care as they boarded a bus bound for Rogers Arena to hear about what the Vancouver Canucks have done to address mental health issues. The students heard from T.C. Carling, the team’s vice-president of communications and community partnerships, and from Brent Seal, who serves as a youth in residence for the Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre at B.C. Children’s Hospital.
Carling spoke about Hockey Talks Mental Health, a program he created that designated February as the month to raise awareness. He also said he persuaded seven Canadian National Hockey League teams to sport decals on their helmets for the month to decrease the stigma of mental illness.
“It’s important for us [to learn about these issues] because we’re at a vulnerable age and the more we learn about mental health, especially from people we look up to, the better,” said KDHS student Abby Jeroff before the presentation began.
Although the students went hoping to meet Canucks players, hearing from Seal, a different kind of hero, was perhaps more illuminating. After a diagnosis of schizophrenia in 2007, Seal has been living with the illness symptom free for the last five years. For the KDHS students who listened to his presentation, his candid telling of his diagnosis, the challenges he faced and the recovery that he’s experienced dramatically changed the image of mental illness.
Seal summed up why programs that address mental health are critical. “All people struggle; some with depression, anxiety, being fearful. That’s why it’s so important to build a network for support and to have the tools,” he said. Opening up and creating awareness can help steer someone who is struggling towards help, he told the students.
“Whenever you think of schizophrenics, you think of ‘crazy’ homeless people,” said Grade 12 student Solly Lazar after listening to Seal’s story. “Those people don’t have the support [Seal talked about], and without support,” someone could end up alone and mentally ill.
Aliza Hirsch explained how KDHS has focused more recently on ways, big and small, that students can keep themselves healthy. “We’ve had education around managing stress, taking time for yourself, knowing when to stop studying and to relax,” said the Grade 12 student. Learning these coping strategies is important in a world that is usually so plugged in and connected, she added.
Eitan Nifco, Grade 11, said he felt the presentation was helpful and that it is important that there are resources available to youth in need. He said he’s especially glad that his hometown hockey team is part of building awareness around mental health issues.
Anna Baron, Grade 12, agreed. “Specifically in Vancouver, where the fan base is so strong, we look up to these people,” she said. Her friend and classmate, Jenna Stein, was quick to add, “The Canucks are heroes in the community. If they speak out about something, people will follow.”
That is certainly the hope of the Canucks organization, which produced a series of videos posted to their website called In One Voice, designed to destigmatize issues around mental health. The Canucks have also donated more than $30,000 to launch the provincial version of mindcheck.ca, a website for youth and young adults that offers tools to assess wellbeing and provide access points to support. The team calls on B.C. residents to add videos to the campaign in honor of Rypien. Visitors to mindcheck.ca can post their videos under the 37RYP logo to express support for people they care about who have experienced mental health challenges.
According to the Fraser Health Authority, “Mindcheck.ca was initially launched in spring 2010 as part of a Fraser Health early intervention pilot project for youth and young adult mental health and substance use. The expansion of this website as a provincial resource is thanks to the Provincial Health Service Authority’s B.C. Mental Health and Addiction Services; the Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre … the Canucks for Kids Fund through B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation; and the RBC Children’s Mental Health Project.” Judging by the 130,000 views of the
Mindcheck website, with 54,000 people taking a self-check quiz to determine mental health in the past year, the effort seems successful so far.
Grade 12 student Ben Katz said he had heard about mindcheck.ca and, when he took a look, he found the site simple to use. “The best way to combat mental health issues is to talk about it and not make people be afraid to get help,” he said. “This is a serious issue.”
Katz’s friend and fellow Canucks fan, Lazar, added, “You would think professional hockey players wouldn’t be affected. They have fame and money, but this is a deeply rooted issue.”
RAC Week at KDHS comes after “months of learning and preparation,” explained Dwek. “Our students have developed an understanding of why we have a duty to care for ourselves and our communities worldwide. They are ready to come together and give back to our community with their time, dedication and passion.
“King David is a school that focuses on each individual student and believes that the health of relationships between students and between students and teachers are keys to our students’ success,” she added about the broader impact of RAC Week. “As students enter the senior grades we often feel the societal demands and stress of the students as they pursue post-secondary education. In a high-stakes, high-pressure culture, we work hard to ensure a healthy school environment and programming such as RAC week to reduce the emotional pressures that students face.”
Michelle Dodek is a freelance writer living in Vancouver.
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