Testimonials

 I was truly amazed by the presentation… It is perhaps designed to inform teens about depression, but it gave me hope to carry on… I suffer from anorexia and depression.  I really appreciated this talk… Lots of people talked about it afterwards, and I believe everyone got something out of it. You can’t talk to teens about taboo subjects without a good text and a gret performance. This will no doubt inform some people and will give hope to others.

Thanks to you, I was able to detect that one of my friends is probably depressed. I was able to have her see a specialist, even though she didn’t entirely agree with the idea. Now she is in good hands, which has lifted a great weight off my shoulders, because I was really worried about her. Thank you.

I would like to thank those young people who, through their program, helped a young person ask for help before it was too late. Thank you also to the Mental Illness Foundation for subsidizing the Partners for Life program. Thanks a thousand time over for Sylvain, my 17 year old son, who has regained a zest of life. He is handsome and very much alive.

I am writing you because you contributed to saving my daughter’s life. Attending your presentation, helped her understand her physical and mental state and discover what she was suffering from, and help her to shed light on her view of things through concrete solutions (such as seeing a doctor). Your program helped me also: I was able to understand my daughter, diminish my anxiety, guilt and anger towards her, as she was sometimes very aggressive toward us, her parents. The hope that you bring through your conferences has enormous value in both the quality of life and life itself.  

I know we save lives. I am convinced of it, since it changed mine. Simply by giving a speech, by listening, by showing openness, little me, at just four feet, 11 inches tall, I can eliminate someone’s suffering.  I can stop a teen in a suicidal crisis from taking his life.

During our presentations, the teens’ faces tell us that we have touched them. After the session, they often come talk to us to tell us how much they appreciated the presentation or to talk to us about their friend, brother, aunt or even themselves, essentially whoever they are worried about.

A sincere thanks to the Mental Illness Foundation for being behind the Partners for Life program! Having experienced the sad events that took place at our school 10 years ago, it’s balm for the soul, because the staff still carries the scars. Breaking down myths and delivering information with incredible energy, the message of the activity leaders was clear: we have to talk openly about depression, because it’s an illness that can be treated.

After your presentations, young people who had intense and persistent symptoms of depression sought help. They were then oriented toward the right resources. Also, we identified a teen who was suffering from depression and showing urgent highly suicidal signs of suicide and hospitalized him for his own safety. We have noticed that the Partners for Life enabled the student to demystify depression and encouraged them to get help. Thank you!

The Partners for Life tour is still having an impact on students up to three years after they attended the presentation. Students in grade 11, for example, will tell care providers that one of their classmates doesn’t seem to be well, referring to the clues to depression they learned during the presentations. Others who are worried about themselves will consult a health care professional. In comparison, students who have not yet attended a presentation, in grade 9 for example, are more uncomfortable and not very good at recognizing signs of distress in someone else.

Having been consulted as experts in developing the script, we are convinced that the message communicated and the style of presentation used enables us to efficiently raise awareness among this public and helps us to potentially start detecting depression. This is a very important preventive operation, and we are proud to support it.