My home town of Woodstock Ontario is small, and the people of colour community is smaller, but their voice was/is loud, along with the communities voice, were definitely heard!
While walking to Victoria Park, ( Where the silent protest was held) people from all directions were walking up the streets, signs in hand, in good spirits, and ready to support and stand tall for people of colour, not just in Woodstock but everywhere. Change needs to be made, it should have been changed decades ago.
As everyone came together in the park you could feel the positive energy, people kept coming and coming.. I was honestly very blown away at the amount of people that showed up, so proud of our community. To see so many people come together in harmony for such and important cause, to see everyone in solidarity, all one voice no matter what your background is, it was incredibly up-lifting.
It’s very comforting to see that Woodstock is a place where everyone can come together, there is a lot of support, does that mean racism doesn’t happen here? I wish that were the case. This protest was calm, as I knew it would be.. the message was heard, and heard loud.. not only heard but also very visible. Signs held high, Chants of change, Speeches, taking a knee for a moment of silence, A song sang, and a March around the park to make presence known and get the word out.. it was moving. One of the biggest impacts, for me anyways.. eye opening, was when one of the event organizers, Jessica, had everyone raise their hand, all 5 fingers out. She then said “ Put a finger down if you…… “ and read off a list of the negative experiences people of colour endure on a regular basis .. example: put a finger down if you have been picked on or bullied for the colour of your skin …. by the time she read off 5 things on that list, she then asked everyone to look around at everyones hands… then asked if anyone still thought we were all treated equally …. it was very apparent that we are NOT!
Another great part of this protest, was Woodstock police department. Woodstock Police were there in numbers and they stood with everyone, not against, there was only one person that needed to be delt with, and for good reason… but we’re not going to focus on him.. he needs help.. a lot of help and was deflected quickly by the crowd then by the police in a peaceful way.
Walking around through the crowd, taking pictures of people, seeing how moved everyone was, how passionate everyone was about this.. hearing the speeches.. it was all so positive.. very “one heart, one mind” and I sincerely hope that these protests bring change!
Jessica and Hannah, you put together something amazing. You called out, and people answered the call, the call for change.. this was historic for change and for the our home town of Woodstock.
Protest
The Power of Youth
They came, They spoke truth, told their stories & experiences about themselves, family members and friends battling with mental illness and some of their peers who lost the battle to suicide.
It was an emotional day in Woodstock Ontario, but also an exciting leap in the right direction when students from every high school in the city came together to orchestrate a 'walk out' to raise awareness for youth suicide. Students from Huron Park Secondary School, St. Mary's Catholic High School, Woodstock Colligate Institute ( WCI ) and Collage Avenue Secondary School (CASS) and Notre Dame High School flooded the streets at 9am as they started their walk out heading to Woodstock's Market Square. Signs being held high reading " One minute we're here ; The next we're NOT! ", shirts purple in colour with white semi-colons ( the universal sign of support for mental illness ) worn by most students and purple balloons blowing in the wind came down the main street in Woodstock (Dundas St.). Cars seeing the signs and large groups of students honking their horns repeatedly to show their support for the movement.
So far this year in Woodstock, 5 teens have taken their lives, it is being called " Suicidal Contagion " and over all there has been somewhere around 36 attempts or youth thinking about it. Bulling and school stress have been thought to be some of the contributing factors to why this is happening.
Upon arriving at Market Square, there was a massive sea of students, parents, media and on lookers gathered around awaiting the arrival of the students. Each high school in Woodstock had a school representative leading the group, and who would be speaking at the gathering for their school. 300-500 people were in attendance to show their support for the Youth, clapping, yelling out positive comments like " we love you ", " Stay Strong ", " You are the cure ".
Once the students arrived in Market Square the song " Fight Song by Rachel Platten " was being played loudly over the PA System which was the "theme Song " for this movement... you could feel the energy build with the students wearing Gigantic smiles as they walked up the middle of the crowd overwhelmed to see how many people came out to support them.
Each student representative took their turns telling their story to the crowd. Stories of suicide attempts, thoughts about it and losing friends to suicide. Following the students, Woodstock's Mayor Trevor Birtch had some honest words for the students, words of encouragement and letting them know they are part of the solution!
I applaud these students, a high amount of respect for being able to get up in front of so many people and talk about their experiences. Talking publicly about mental illness breaks down barriers and shows others it's ok.. speak out and get help. I have been hearing a lot of negative comments such as " why walk out of school? how does that help anything.. kids are just using this unfortunate tragedy to get out of school " .... and to those people, I shake my head. If you had been there you would see how much these teenagers care, what it meant.. the work they put into this, and lets not forget.. these teens have lost their friends, and friends of friends as well as family members. As for " How does this help?" It brings the issue into the media. It allows millions of people to see whats going on, bringing in the awareness causing people to ask questions and ask the government why nothing is being done and puts the pressure on for something to be done. These students not only showed up to talk about the issue, but they came with a plan! Put Social Workers in the schools so kids have someone to go to and talk to right away. Open beds in the hospital to kids under 16, as the hospital does not have that option right now. Last but not least... it shows other youth who may be struggling that they can talk about it.. "it's OK to not be OK". It also shows them that they are not alone, there are other youths out there struggling and getting help, talking is the answer!
