10th anniversary of Partners for Life: awareness of depression raised among half a million young people
10th anniversary of Partners for Life: awareness of depression raised among half a million young people
“Already very concerned by the problem of suicide among young people, the Mental Illness Foundation needed no further prodding to act against this scourge,” said Dr. Yves Lamontagne, President and General Manager of the Collège des médecins du Québec and Founding President of the Mental Illness Foundation. In the general population: “it is estimated that 5 to 10% of all young people suffer from depression during their teenage years. 70% of young people who suffer from depression don’t know what’s wrong with them because their depression has not been diagnosed and they aren’t receiving treatment. The persons know that they don’t feel well, but doesn’t actually know what is wrong, and more importantly, that they can get help.” This is how, 10 years ago, the Foundation created the Partners for Life program to raise awareness among young people aged 14 to 18 about the signs of depression and its treatment and to tell them about the resources available.
The Chair of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, Jocelyne Monty, used this occasion to salute the program’s artisans, partners, donors and activity leaders, who recognized the extent of the phenomenon of depression among young people and the urgent need to act. Since they began, the Partners for Life tours around Quebec’s high schools have reached out to half a million young people. To date, more than 571,128 young people, 7,890 parents and 18,011 care providers have attended the sessions―that works out to the Olympic Stadium being filled to capacity 10 times. In a decade, Partners for Life has visited 529 schools in over 265 cities, travelling more than 900,000 km on Quebec’s roads or 23 times the circumference of the Earth.
Since the program was created, 5,825 young people have been monitored and treated for symptoms associated with depression. Of these, 864 young people were hospitalized after Partners for Life passed through their school. “Our greatest joy comes from knowing that the number of suicides among teens between 15 to 19 years of age has been dropping each year; and that’s half the battle. Unfortunately, we cannot claim victory yet. Today, teenagers in distress still come to the point of taking their own life. The work of Partners for Life is thus still far from being over,” said Jocelyne Monty.
