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Thank you and keep reading | Letter from the Editor: Summer 2021 Edition
Hello, We are finally here. Welcome to the fourth and last issue of Volume 1 of Youth Mind. In some ways, I can’t believe we made it this far. After all, we’re a grassroots magazine that heavily relies on funding for us to create our quarterly issues. But in other ways, I’m not entirely surprised. I have a wonderful executive director, Sheri Adekola, who is passionate about our work, and always manages to find a way possible to make our publication thrive. I have a wonderful team of editors, reporters and social media coordinators, who are just as passionate when it comes to our work. Throughout the past year, we’ve…
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Taking action is worth it | Letter from the Editor: Spring 2021 Edition
Hi, I’m writing this to you freshly after finding out I’ve been rejected by one of my dream jobs. For those who don’t know me personally, I was looking forward to this job, very much so. I remember preparing every day by consuming even more news than usual and thinking of more effective ways to communicate such news, (if it wasn’t obvious, this was a journalism job) and thought of scenario-based questions that they would ask. I studied the publication that I would potentially be working for, inside out. I did the interview and was proud of it, because I stayed true to my heart. And then, fast forward to…
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Food insecurity is a symptom of poverty. Feed Ontario is here to end that
The number of people who are experiencing food insecurity in Canada is increasing as a result of this pandemic. According to a recent report by the non-profit Community Food Centres Canada (CFCC), one in seven Canadians are experiencing food insecurity in the country. The CFCC de nes food insecurity as not being able to “afford adequate or secure access to food.” “Food insecurity is not simply about a lack of food. Its ripple effects are wide and far-reaching, affecting physical and mental health, social connection and community, employment and aspirations, family life and more,” penned CEO Nick Saul and Dr. Kwame McKenzie in their report.” Executive Director of Feed Ontario, Carolyn Stewart-Stockwell, expresses similar…
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Photo essay: Finding warmth in the midst of cold winters
I have somewhat mixed feelings when it comes to winter. There are moments when I wish it would just end, due to the uncomfortable moments it can bring. These moments include: 1. Waking up in the morning and going outside, only to find yourself surrounded by darkness and the cold wind 2. Waiting for unreliable public transportation when it’s -20 degrees and windy, for 25 to 30+ minutes (we’ve all been there) 3. Walking ever so slowly and carefully on the street so you don’t slip on black ice Despite moments like these, I am also reminded that I experience the coziest moments that cannot be replicated in any other…
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Letter from the Editor: Winter 2020 Edition
“Hi, I’m sorry for the delay in responding. I’ve been: – Keeping up with delivering the same output of work while having resources that helped maintain my well being become less accessible thanks to COVID-19 – Worrying about the long-term consequences of this pandemic – Trying not to let my mental health decline get the best of me – So tired. Just so tired,” is what I’ve been wanting to say for the past several months. I had many plans in communicating with you, fellow readers, as a means to connect. I planned on sending weekly newsletters. That reduced to bi-weekly newsletters. That then turned into monthly newsletters. And now,…
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So, you’ve become Tik Tok famous. Now what?
Billy Han wasn’t supposed to be Tik Tok famous. In fact, for the majority of his life, the Tik Tok user with 400k+ followers was thinking of pursuing a career in business. “I decided to do business because I wasn’t sure what to do,” Han said, referring to the path he chose coming out of high school. “[Even] throughout university, that’s the program and life that I committed to, and throughout my co-op terms. It was all reinforcing me that this was the path I was going to take.” Though he’s always been a creative person, Han initially pictured his life like so: He would graduate from the accounting and financial…
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Media toolkit on Black and Indigenous racism in Canada
We cannot deny that racism has always been — and continues to be — prevalent in Canada. What we can do is act on it. Educating ourselves is a good starting point. Here are forms of media (books, podcasts, social media accounts, websites) that highlight racism’s impact on Black and Indigenous communities in Canada. Books: The Skin We’re In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power by Desmond Cole Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present by Robyn Maynard Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada by Rodney Diverlus, Sandy Hudson and Syrus Marcus Ware BlackLife: Post-BLM and the Struggle for Freedom by Rinaldo Walcott…
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Living Hyphen helps multicultural Canadians explore their identities
Growing up in Canada, Justine Abigail Yu is always exploring her identity. “Being a Filipina-Canadian, [you feel] this sort of push and pull being in between these two places, these two cultures,” Yu said. Yu knew she wasn’t alone in this. Growing up in Markham, Yu was surrounded by a very diverse community. “Some of my best friends are Vietnamese, Chinese. I grew up with Italians, people from the Caribbean, all over the place,” she said. “And I know we all have so much in common. The more I spoke about my experiences with living in between cultures, I realized how a lot of these things are actually common.” As a result,…
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‘Make it meaningful’: How Ontario youth can cope with the pandemic’s mental health toll
As we enter the sixth month of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for accessible and affordable mental health services in Canada and Ontario is accelerating. “Everybody is recognizing the impact that this virus is having on their wellness, and that includes their mental health wellness,” said Helen Fishburn, executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington. In the early stages of the pandemic, half of Canadians reported their mental health worsening. A report by the Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) suggests that young adults below the age of 40 are more likely to experience moderate to severe anxiety, binge drink, and feel lonely and depressed as a result of…
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Letter from the Editor: Fall 2020 Edition
Hello, I hope this finds you well. Scratch that. You don’t deserve a message that’s similar to a business-like email. (You’ve probably received too many of those greetings, anyway.) Instead, treat this message like a text from a friend (except longer and probably more grammatically correct). So, let’s start again. Hello, how are you? This year has been A LOT, hasn’t it? Remember when we thought Cats would be the only horrifying thing we would deal with as we entered a new decade? Clearly, we were wrong. We’ve seen so much tragedy in the past few months: wildfires in Australia, a plane crash in Iran, a plane crash in India, deadly shootings…
