Sheena Millar, Principal of Onslow College reports on the school's involvement in Lifting the Lid.
Lifting the Lid has been a massive support for youth at Onslow College and Sheena expressed her appreciation for Rotary’s contribution.
Sheena pointed out that the regular news highlights the small minority of youth involved in ram raids for example, but most at-risk youth just can’t see a future for themselves due to the uncertainty they live with today.
Covid lock downs meant teenagers never knew when they might be back in lock down and away from their peers – this created a feeling of lack of control and certainty was gone which can lead to self-harm. Students are very concerned about Climate change and frustrated by the inaction of global powerhouses – again something out of our control. These things and the added issue of being constantly told that our education standards are falling, are factors that contribute to more anxiety, and mental health diagnosis.
The family structure has also changed we usually go home for a sense of safety, but some young people do not have this, and rely on friends to be their support, but these friends may be going through the same sorts of anxiety themselves. Meanwhile social media is with them 24/7.
Social media bullying, and less social contact, as well as confirmation bias online add up to a section of our population feeling alone, anxious, having no control of their lives and feeling pessimistic about the future. The result is students engaging in self-harm, this is when people deliberately hurt themselves as a way of coping with painful or strong emotions. It’s a way of trying to get control over the feelings or to get relief from them.
Some people even self-harm to try and heal themselves, but it is a sign that the person is in deep distress. Sheena gave us examples of how self-harm is expressed i.e. self-cyberbullying, binge-drinking, drugs, unsafe sex, eating disorders. Shenna also gave us examples of how Lifting the Lid provided funding for counselling sessions to help rehabilitate students and their whanau. The funding has also been used to keep students in sport, art and group counselling where needed. Sheena highlighted the sphere of influence as being vital to helping youth. Family, community including schools are the safety net and we need to make it work. Lifting the Lid is helping to lift cohesion across these groups. It is fantastic that Rotary is talking about this issue as these things do affect all of us. Sheena was a fabulous speaker and was very passionate about Lifting the Lid. Despite the content of the speech, it was a real pleasure to hear from a College Principal on the front-line and highlighted to the club how important an influence we can be on the lives of students in NZ’s Schools.
Club Reporter
Anne Hare