Ottawa, Ontario, Monday, November 2, 2015

I’m happy and honoured to be here today.

It is our good fortune to have an Elder from the Algonquin Nation with us to open this important conference.

We’re here today to explore the subject of mental health among emerging adults.

It’s such an important focus. Emerging adults are at a distinct point in their lives and face unique challenges.

And they are—all of you are—our future.

We need to pay attention to the mental health of this vulnerable population, because we know that for more than 70 percent of Canadians, the onset of mental health problems occurs before the age of 18.

And according to the Psychology Foundation of Canada, one in four children enters adult life with emotional, behavioural, academic or social problems.

One in four is a sad statistic for our country!

That being said, you’re all here today to reach consensus and to solve problems, not to dwell on them. And there are so many inspiring stories out there of emerging Canadian adults overcoming adversity.

I feel privileged to have been able to speak up about mental illness and mental health issues during my travels across Canada, and to discover what’s being done to help.

Let me share three great success stories with you.

One inspiring initiative that I’m involved with is called Unity Charity. Started by a remarkable young Canadian named Mike Prosserman, who has overcome significant challenges in his own life, this organization empowers young people to become role models and leaders within their communities.

Mike’s work across our nation has changed the lives of approximately 100,000 Canadian youths. Unity Charity uses three creative forms of self-expression—beat boxing, spoken-word poetry and hip-hop and break dancing—to help adolescents overcome the isolation caused by bullying, violence and other social problems.

I first met Mike and his group in a large room provided by the Art Gallery of Ontario. On that day, the role models and leaders I met were almost all new Canadians. Each related to me how Unity Charity helped them use creative expression to overcome their isolation, develop resilience and change their difficult lives into positive ones.

Recently Mike won a scholarship to take an intensive course at the Harvard Business School to plan his next steps in advancing Unity Charity.

Another example is Operation Come Home here in Ottawa, run by Elspeth McKay, a graduate of the Ivey Business School. Her organization is the product of a question she was once asked: Can a kinder, gentler business make cold hard cash? Her answer is yes.

Operation Come Home has five social enterprises designed to make money while helping marginalized young people join the workforce and gain the skills they need to launch careers. It also operates an on-site high school for at-risk youth, as well as drop-in emergency services.

About 90 percent of the young people at Operation Come Home have a mental illness. Yet almost 75 percent successfully finish school or find jobs.

Let us go west for a final example of best practices for youth with mental health problems. Vancouver is an attractive place for everyone, including young adults, because of the year-round temperate climate.

But did you know that on any given night, there are between 500 and 1000 homeless and at-risk young people on Vancouver’s streets?  Just think about it: between 500 and 1000. . .  Covenant House, in the Granville Street area, provides them with short-term residential care through its crisis program and longer-term care in its transitional living program. Covenant House has a 54-bed shelter, an outreach program and a housing support group. Youth workers have been professionally trained to help young people in need and to help them find ways to improve their lives.

Covenant House opened 18 years ago as an incorporated international organization and relies on private donations from the three western provinces. Their innovative approach is based on time-tested best practices.

At Covenant House, the intervention period can easily be extended until a youth is in a steady state. This can mean extending their complete range of services by two years or more. It could be the gold standard for intervention for young people between the ages of 16 and 24.

These are just three examples of the great things being done by and for emerging adults across Canada. And what they have in common is an understanding of the importance of emerging and established adults speaking the same language. We need to see each other as equals and find common ground.

That’s why the consensus-building approach of this conference is so appropriate.

The mental health of emerging adults must be among our primary concerns. We need to work together, and we need to act now.

Together, let’s be champions for a Canada that is the best place on the planet to grow up to enjoy successful, meaningful, healthy adult lives.

Have a lively and successful conference!

Thank you.