Humber mental health aid inadequate

 

When it comes to mental health, Humber needs to change the way it handles its services if they want to provide the support their students need.

“I think that Humber’s intentions are good with its existing [counselling] services, but I don’t believe the school is doing enough for its students.”

This comes from Rebecca Kennedy, 25 and in her second year of the public relations advanced diploma program at Humber’s Lakeshore campus.

Kennedy started off this school year in a bad place with depressive episodes coming and going, questions of dropping out of school and not being able to physically leave her home. She missed classes and her work suffered as a result.

“When I could make it to campus it was difficult to pay attention during lectures. I could feel a disconnect, and I had no idea how to fix it,” said Kennedy. “One morning, after missing another class, I called counselling services because I had reached a point where I knew I needed to speak to someone.”

When she approached counseling services, they were booked and Kennedy was turned away.

Sensitivity to trauma of sexual assault still lacking

A trigger warning, as defined by Oxford dictionary, is a statement at the start of a piece of writing, video, etc. alerting the reader or viewer that it contains potentially distressing material. The idea is that the content may trigger feelings related to a past trauma, experience, or memory.

There’s a debate about the necessity of these warnings. Do they help those who are sensitive about certain topics or do they shelter people who are trying to grow from something that happened to them? Whether or not you agree that trigger warnings need to exist, I feel strongly that this piece needs one.

Distracted driving passes drunk driving in road fatalities

Around a quarter of fatal vehicular crashes in Ontario for 2015, as of March, have been caused by distracted driving.

According to Ontario Provincial Police numbers from 2013, distracted driving now causes more deaths than impaired driving.

And yet drivers still aren’t getting the message.

I refuse to get into a car with someone who’s been drinking, a stance I’m sure most people would agree with, and yet we continue to drive with friends who are texting.

I always ask the person to put down their phone or offer to text for them if it’s really urgent. We’ve allowed distracted driving to be more socially acceptable than impaired driving when studies now show they’re both fatal.

Nothing wrong with different, says mom of autistic son

TAY TOWNSHIP – April may be Autism Awareness Month, but a local woman is trying to keep awareness going all year long.

Sarah Ramsbottom is the mother of two boys, Harrison, 6, and five-year-old Cohen, who has autism.

“I knew something was different with him,” she said. “Not wrong, but different.”

At a young age, Cohen hit milestones such as walking and talking faster than his older brother, but then Ramsbottom and her husband noticed he began to regress.

Factory teams face off in friendly Midland hockey event

MIDLAND – Every year during the first weekend of April, hockey teams from local factories face off in a friendly tournament at the North Simcoe Sports and Recreation Centre.