The Friendly News is a collaboration between TELUS and Daily Hive. Together, we’re creating a space for important, feel-good community stories to be told, where Canadians can immerse themselves in uplifting news and articles featuring community leaders giving back during a time when we all need it most.

Written for Daily Hive by Cassandra Gill.

The mental health of Canadians took a serious hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially amongst our youth. With schools school closures and the transition to e-learning, many young people were at further risk as they became isolated from their peers.

Enver Creek Secondary’s Simi Sahota saw first-hand the effects of poor mental health were having on her peers in the last 20 months.

“Maintaining good mental health was a harder experience when we were in the height of the pandemic in quarantine. Places that were outlets, like school and extra-curricular, were no longer there,” the 17-year-old said in an interview to Daily Hive.

“Without these places where we can express ourselves, meet with peers, and have fun caused us to adjust which has been a difficult process,” she adds.

Alarmingly, suicide remains one of the leading causes of death for Canadian youth, per the Raising Canada report issued by Children First Canada in 2020.

Canadian teen Simi Sahota is advocating for better mental health services.

While hotlines and drop-in counseling services are available to support BC’s youth, Simi observed that resources were limited — thus not everyone needing help was able to receive it.

The South Asian teen began to do research on organizations seeking to change this narrative, leading her to become involved with charity Children First Canada.

Simi initially got her start with their Young Canadians Parliament program during the summer of 2020. Due to COVID restrictions, CFC hosted online events where Simi and other volunteers could discuss their concerns and experiences affecting Canadian youth in a group environment.

Mental health was an early focus for Simi, who moved into a term-length role as a Youth Activator in Oct. 2020.

“I honestly couldn’t wait for everything to go back to normal but we need the government to provide better mental health services for the longer and damaging effects that this pandemic may have caused for many youths mental health,” Simi explains.

The high school student believes there are two major issues within BC’s mental health services: 1) there’s not enough preventive measures and place — such as mental health education, therapy, and youth groups to de-stigmatize mental health, and 2) there are not enough proper support lines people of all ages can reach.

During COVID-19, mental health hotlines were bombarded with calls — leading many seeking help to be put on hold for hours or denied service altogether.

Simi is a student at Enver Secondary.

Within her role as a Youth Activator, Simi was able to create content on behalf of Children First Canada to help spread her message. Part of that included deducing the best ways to reach her peers to get involved, such as using social media platforms.

She has also co-hosted her own successful events, including one focused on gender equity and inclusion in parliament and been able to rub shoulders with people like the Honourable Senator Rosemary Moodie Bill.

Standing up to anti-Asian hate has also been a passion for Simi, particularly after Vancouver saw a rising number of crimes targeting those communities during the pandemic.

Following her Grade 12 graduation, Simi plans to continue her education and study towards a degree in Political Science. She’s hopeful to then attend law school and eventually pursue a career in law and policy.

“I hope to choose this field of study and career path because of my advocacy in children’s rights in Canada, my belief in social justice, progressive change, and creating a more inclusive Canada through policy,” she says.

Volunteering will remain a focus for Simi too, particularly working with grassroots organizations, which she says is inspired by her Sikh heritage.

“The concept of charity and giving back to your community is very important to who I am…growing up as a Sikh, this concept is not new as ‘seva’ (a selfless service), is something that is practice,” she explains.

“This value has been ingrained in me since I was born and is something that I will always continue to do.”