About YMHC
What Is Youth Mental Health Canada (YMHC)?
Youth Mental Health Canada (YMHC) is a national network dedicated to advancing mental health and suicide prevention through evidence-informed, strength-based, and hope-centered educational resources, initiatives, services, workshops, and training.
As a registered, community-based charitable nonprofit that is youth-driven and educator-led, YMHC focuses on strengthening the well-being of young people through meaningful engagement with families, schools, and communities.
Over more than a decade of values-driven work, YMHC has contributed to provincial and national efforts to improve education, awareness, and support for students experiencing mental health challenges and disabilities. Our initiatives are grounded in the belief that education and mental health are deeply interconnected, and that proactive mental health education is essential for reducing suicide risk factors and strengthening protective supports for young people in Canada.
YMHC approaches mental health and wellness through an intersectional lens grounded in social justice, equity, and human rights. Our work recognizes the diverse experiences and systemic barriers that can affect young people’s ability to access support, education, and opportunities to thrive.
We are actively involved with national and international organizations dedicated to youth mental health, suicide prevention, and school attendance challenges. Through collaboration with researchers, educators, professionals, and advocates around the world, YMHC contributes to growing awareness and knowledge on issues affecting youth mental health and educational access.
YMHC develops practical mental wellness tools and educational resources designed to increase awareness, strengthen coping skills, and improve access to support. These resources aim to empower young people, families, educators, and communities with the knowledge and strategies needed to promote mental well-being and resilience.
YMHC Mission Statement and Goals
YMHC equips young people and the adults who support them with proactive, practical, and evidence-informed mental health and wellness resources that build strength, hope, resilience, and belonging.
YMHC Goals
- Expand access to proactive, low-cost, practical, and meaningful mental health and wellness resources for young people and the adults who support them.
- Strengthen protective factors such as belonging, resilience, connection, hope, and help-seeking.
- Reduce stigma, challenge discriminatory attitudes, practices, and policies, and normalize open, informed conversations about mental health and wellness.
- Support schools, families, and communities with tools that are educator-developed, evidence-informed, and responsive to real-world needs.
- Advance equity by addressing barriers connected to disability, trauma, systemic inequities, and access to support.
- Promote shared responsibility and coordinated action across education, families, communities, and mental health systems.
- Help create the conditions for Canada to lead in youth mental health education, prevention, and early intervention.
The Difference That YMHC Makes
Youth mental health in Canada remains an urgent public issue. Up to 20% of children and youth in Canada — about 1.2 million young people — are affected by mental health disorders. Suicide remains the second leading cause of death among youth and young adults aged 15 to 34 in Canada. Indigenous young people continue to face disproportionately high suicide risk, with rates varying by community and population but remaining significantly higher than among non-Indigenous youth. (CIHI)
Who We Are
Youth Mental Health Canada is a national, youth-driven, educator-led charitable organization that develops evidence-, strength-, and hope-based resources, workshops, training, and initiatives to support mental health education, suicide prevention, and systems change.
In this context, YMHC works to provide practical, proactive, and accessible mental health and wellness support for young people and the adults who care for them.
Our Impact
Over the past five years, YMHC has expanded access to mental wellness resources across schools, communities, and Indigenous organizations. We've provided donations of more than $350,000 in mental wellness resources to Indigenous communities through the Tachane Foundation. YMHC has also provided workshops, training, conferences, peer support initiatives, educational videos, multilingual resources, and wellness materials for students, families, educators, and community workers.
What We Create
YMHC's work is grounded in the belief that young people need more than awareness. They need practical tools, early support, belonging, and coordinated responses from the adults and systems around them. That is why YMHC creates resources that are accessible, educator-developed, and designed for real-world use in schools, homes, and communities. This includes workbooks, guidebooks, posters, printables, peer support materials, workshops, and professional learning focused on mental health, school attendance challenges, and student well-being.
Research and Advocacy
YMHC also contributes to research and public awareness to better understand the barriers young people face, including school attendance challenges, exclusion, and unmet mental health needs. By combining resource development, education, research, and advocacy, YMHC helps create more informed, compassionate, and responsive systems of support for young people across Canada.
YMHC History
Since 2013, Youth Mental Health Canada has grown into a nationally recognized organization in youth mental health education, suicide prevention, school attendance and engagement advocacy, and practical resource development. Over more than a decade, YMHC has contributed to important conversations and change in schools, communities, and professional settings across Canada and beyond.
Since its founding, YMHC has:
- delivered hundreds of in-person and virtual national and international presentations, workshops, and training opportunities for students, families, educators, mental health professionals, community workers, and public sector staff
- developed peer-reviewed mental wellness workbooks, booklets, printables, guidebooks, handbooks, online courses, and multilingual materials designed to be practical, accessible, and proactive
- created resources to support students experiencing mental health challenges, disability-related barriers, and chronic school absenteeism
- provided advocacy, education, and support to students and families across Canada
- launched national initiatives such as the Heart-to-Heart Campaign and Make Hope Happen
- worked with volunteers, youth leaders, board members, placement students, and community partners across Canada and internationally
- contributed to surveys, public education, systemic change in education, and awareness-building on youth mental health, school attendance challenges, and unmet support needs
- presented at local, provincial, national, and international conferences
- developed products and campaigns that support both awareness and fundraising, including Indigenous initiatives and mental wellness merchandise
- been featured by a range of media outlets in Canada and beyond on youth mental health, suicide prevention, and education-related issues, including school attendance challenges
Who Is YMHC?
Youth Mental Health Canada is a community-based, youth-driven, and educator-led charitable non-profit organization focused on youth, family, school, and community engagement for mental health education, support, advocacy, and change. YMHC develops evidence-, strength-, and hope-based resources, services, workshops, and training that help people respond to youth mental health needs in practical, compassionate, and proactive ways.
YMHC’s work is grounded in the belief that there is no education without good mental health. The organization advocates for needs-based, culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and strength-focused approaches to supporting young people, especially those facing barriers related to mental health, disability, school access, and inclusion. YMHC approaches this work through an intersectional, social justice, and human rights lens.
YMHC creates resources that are designed to increase awareness, accessibility, coping skills, confidence, and practical support and empower young people and adults with the tools necessary to contribute to personal and societal change. These tools are intended for real-world use by students, families, educators, mental health professionals, and community workers, and are offered in a range of formats to increase access and usability.
YMHC Executive Director
Sheryl Boswell is the Executive Director of Youth Mental Health Canada. She is an educator whose work brings together education, mental health and wellness, human rights, equity, and disability awareness and support. Her professional background includes elementary, secondary, postsecondary, and adult education. She began her teaching career as a special education teacher in Zimbabwe.
Sheryl is the author of YMHC’s mental wellness workbooks, booklets, and school attendance resources. Her work is informed by a wide evidence base and by years of experience supporting students, families, schools, and communities. She is also involved in national and international organizations focused on youth mental health, suicide prevention, and school attendance, and has worked with professionals and organizations across Canada and internationally.
YMHC Social Media
YMHC in the Media
You can find Youth Mental Health Canada on numerous media stations, such as CBC. View our Media Coverage.