A Halton student is hoping to help struggling youth.
Yasmine Madan is a Grade 12 student at Oakville Trafalgar High School.
She created Anonymous Friend, a social media youth mental health helpline.
The feedback has been very positive so far, with the Anonymous Friend Instagram page reaching nearly 3,000 followers.
Madan says it’s already been helpful to youth around the world.
She adds that the use of social media allows the youth to reach out on a platform that they’re familiar with, and the fact that they’re speaking with another teen or youth allows them to relax and open up more.
The idea of starting Anonymous Friend came from when Madan discovered her friend was being bullied at school. She says her friend didn’t know who to tell because she felt that there wasn’t someone for her to speak with.
Madan felt that someone from the struggling person’s generation and age group could understand and relate to the feelings that that person had. She even noticed that people around her age were more likely to express how they really felt by doing it through text. That’s another reason why the social media aspect clicked in her mind.
She’s blown away by how the platform has taken off.
The goal moving forward is to help as many struggling youth as possible.
If you’re a youth who is looking for someone to speak with about an issue, or maybe you find that your mental health hasn’t been the best lately, you can reach out to Anonymous Friend through Instagram here: @anonymousfriend.support. They will put you in the right direction to help you contact the right resources for your issues.
They also have a website with more information.