Stories of Support: Eastwood Collegiate Students Raise Awareness & Funds for Mental Health

As part of Mental Health week 2019 three students from Eastwood Collegiate opened up about their mental health struggles and their recovery. Caroline Maniatacos had the idea for an assembly, which then expanded to a fundraising initiative, art series and media outreach with the help of friends. She wanted to share stories of positivity, recovery, and hope surrounding mental health since she feels stories about mental health tend to be negative or perpetuate stigma. Maniatacos spoke about her bipolar diagnosis and how through medication, music therapy, attending counselling and psychiatric appointments she is in a much better place in her life.

our ultimate goal for the event was to make people aware of the resources around them and how to go about getting help, get a conversation going, and most importantly encourage and inspire young people by telling our story. 

The students raised $1,200 for CMHA WW – thank you for your donations and advocacy for mental health awareness!

Caroline Maniatacos, Acting Executive Director Helen Fishburn and Eli Scotchmer