Health conference in November 2020. As discussed earlier, we also have mental health trainings for students, parents and teachers which are run throughout the year. Which aspect of youth mental health management do you think Hong Kong is lacking the most in and why? How can this aspect be worked upon? The shortage of professional help to meet the de-mands of mental health services continues to be a problem. The number of public sector psychiatrists per 100,000 people is 4.6 in Hong Kong, versus 8.59 for high income countries. The wait time for someone not considered high risk can vary from 38 weeks to 3 years. There also remains an imbalance between schools in terms of the number and approachability of school counsellors and social workers. While some schools have a good ratio of counsellors to students, others may only have 1 for the entire school. Hence, at Coolminds we are working on a wholeschool approach to mental health training and pro-gram. We want young people, parents and teachers to know it is okay to talk about mental health, how to identify signs of distress and how to help young people. Another aspect which is helpful is peer-support. Research has found that the first person young people approach regarding any distress is their peers. Hence, guiding young people to be empathetic and provid-ing support to their peers during stressful times plays an important role in improving youth mental health. Is there a key point that Coolminds wishes to empha-sise in regards to how adults should go about improv-ing the mental health of youths, whether they be rel-atives or academic staff? What Coolminds hopes the adults around youth will have a good understanding of mental health to 1. Take care of their own mental health and 2. To have the resources to be able to reach out and help these young people when there is a need. Do you have any advice to give to youths who are en-deavouring to promote youth mental health aware-ness in their communities?
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We would encourage them to not give up and to not be ashamed to start small within their friend circles. if schools are supportive of helping organise school wide events, this is also beneficial. As previously mentioned, peer- support, just listening and being there for your friend in times of need can make a great difference. Sometimes it’s not doing something big, but in the way young people conduct themselves and their attitude towards mental health that sets the right way forward. What do you think the future holds for the youth in terms of the mental health situation in Hong Kong? With the uncertainty of the future in the midst of COVID-19, mental health in youth and adults in Hong Kong will be having a tough time as we continue to makeadjustments to what is normal. Students in Hong Kong already have several factors of stress such as aca- demics or relationships. Hence, the current situation has alsocaused an increase in further stress and anxiety. We at Coolminds will continue to keep our ears to the ground to walk with young people and the adults around them through our resources and trainings. If people want to get involved with Coolminds, how can they do this and what can they do? Coolminds has a summer internship program for youth. We are also continuously updating our blogs and personal stories on our website and are always looking for contributions. In addition, as Coolminds is a bilingual website aiming at all youth in Hong Kong, we are continuously seeking translators from English to/from traditional Chinese. Our Coolminds website will be launching soon. Check out the ‘Get Involved’ page at www.coolmindshk.com to seek out all the available opportunities to get involved. In the meantime, please email us at hello@coolminds. hk if you are interested ingetting involved. What is one message that Coolminds would like to send to Hong Kong youths who are in need of mental health support? It’s okay to not be okay. The most important thing is that you know where to reach out for help and that you are not afraid to do so. 34
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