Lim Jia-Yi Andrea
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Lim Jia-Yi Andrea

What is your specific area of interest in youth mental health advocacy?

Peer Advocacy and Anti-stigma Advocacy.

why is youth mental health advocacy important to you?

Mental health is an often neglected but crucial component of one’s wellbeing. When facing an emotional down, people tend to not realise the need for intervention. I believe more can be done for youths to feel it is normal and necessary to seek help for their mental health.

how would you describe mental health in your community?

Among my friends, few have ever gone for counselling, though a growing number of my peers seem to struggle with anxiety or overwhelming emotions. Mental health is a taboo topic which my friends and even family rarely bring up directly.

PRoject Summary

While schools in Singapore have counsellors available, students rarely use their services. Having attended some school-based publicity events for mental health groups, I felt empowered to improve our outreach to schools to better garner the interest of students. Thus, I hope to start initiatives in schools with two major aims: to allow schoolmates to anonymously share and hence normalise their mental health experiences with their peers, and to encourage students to attend their first counselling session to probe them to reflect and be attentive to their mental wellness.