Need help now?

We don’t provide mental health advice, counselling, or treatment. If you or someone you know is in crisis, contact your local community crisis team. You can also reach out to the Indigenous Hope for Wellness Help Line 1-855-242-3310, the Black Youth Helpline 1-833-294-8650, or Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868.

Our website uses cookies to provide a better experience for you. If you wish, you can turn off cookies using your web browser’s privacy functions.

#HearNowON 2024 – Student Opportunity

Join #HearNowON 2024 and be part of virtual focus groups where students can voice their mental health learning needs. Don’t miss this opportunity!

School Mental Health Ontario (SMH-ON), in partnership with the Centre for School Mental Health at Western University, wants to hear about YOUR mental health learning needs! Your perspective, as a young person and student, is crucial to making sure we’re providing school mental health resources and supports that make a positive difference for you.

SMH-ON is a provincial support team focused on school mental health in the province of Ontario. The Centre for School Mental Health’s mission is to address the need for improved school-based services for youth from kindergarten to grade 12 who may be at risk for, or who present with, mental health challenges.

Together, we have launched #HearNowON for 2024, an initiative with Ontario middle and secondary school students.

By sharing your perspective, you will help us:

  1. Gather ideas on how to build and sustain mental health promotion and knowledge. 
  2. Hear perspectives on how school communities can adopt a reconciliation and equity-based approach to school mental health support.
  3. Understand what needs to be in place to support student leadership in mental health and wellness. 

Virtual focus groups and online survey 

We are hosting a series of virtual focus groups and an online survey from October to December to hear directly from students. The focus groups and online survey are open to students between grades 7–12 attending a publicly funded school in Ontario, with parent/caregiver consent.

There is an option to join a specific affinity space where students with like identities can share ideas together. The students can select from the following focus groups:  

Additional Information

This is our third iteration of #HearNowON. This project started in 2019 with a community partnership. We launch this project every three years to ensure that the work at SMH-ON reflects the current mental health needs of students across Ontario. 

We continue to be committed to centring student voices in our work on school mental health. We’ve been working hard to put what we heard into action. Here are some examples of our work: 

These are only a few examples of how the results from #HearNowON 2021 have informed the work at SMH-ON. Learn more about #HearNowON 2021

This is a research study approved by Western University Research Ethics Board, reference number 125187.

Apply

Register for focus groups.

Complete the online survey.

Contact us

For questions about #HearNowON, please contact Elo Igor, project coordinator, at eigor@smho-smso.ca.