St. Thomas Aquinas High School hosted Sioux Lookout yesterday for a volleyball and basketball tournament and our Talk Today team was court side right alongside all the action. Sue Devlin, Mental Health Lead for the Kenora Catholic District School Board and Brad Peterson, Mental Health Worker for the Kenora Branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association were at the high school sporting event to share information and awareness about mental health and wellbeing with a particular focus on senior sports athletes. "The students are very curious about the Talk Today pilot project and there has been a lot of great conversations and question," says Sue. "We are here to provide resources and information within our athletic community because 1 in 5 students will suffer from a mental health issue while 5 in 5 of us have mental health, so it's a very important that we take care of our mental health." Brad Peterson talks about the role the Kenora Branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association plays, "Our role is to help provide support and resources to students who may be experiencing stress or anxiety. We want to let students know that help and support is available both within the school but also in the community as well. At the event students were able to complete a short survey to provide insight into the mental health needs that may be within the school. The Kenora Catholic District School Board and the Kenora Branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association joined forces in December to launch the pilot project at St. Thomas Aquinas High School. The pilot is geared for student athletes 16 years or older to surround students with support and awareness of mental health and wellbeing. You can read more about the pilot right here.