Digital Channels to Support Youth Mental Health
AIM x OTR x SOS x Youthline x PleaseStay x Zoala | Well-Being Series
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Synopsis
Mental health is a clear and urgent modern-day issue - it is the next major epidemic. Youth mental health issues have been on the rise, even before the onset of the pandemic. Youth suicides have been going up steadily around the world. In Singapore, suicides for youths aged 10-19 had doubled year-over-year. Suicide is now the leading cause of death for youths for this age group. 22% of children in Singapore have suicidal thoughts. More and more young people are engaging in self harm.
The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated an already alarming situation - especially among youths. In recent years, mental health disorders and concerns (i.e., depression, anxiety) have continually been rising. About 1 in 3 Singaporeans has reported internalizing such as sadness, anxiety and loneliness, a national study has found, with those between the age of 14 to 16 reporting more serious problems. Adolescents with mental health conditions are particularly vulnerable to social exclusion, discrimination, stigma (affecting readiness to seek help), educational difficulties, risk-taking behaviours, physical ill-health and human rights violations. It is a crisis that needs immediate attention and action.
In this webinar + fireside chat series, we’ll talk to the leaders of four leading organizations providing Digital Channels to support youth mental health in Singapore, Over-The-Rainbow, Samaritan of Singapore (SOS), Youthline.sg and Zoala, and explore what more can be done to provide support for youth in the mental health space.
Panel
Goh Lay Kwan
Deputy Director, Advancement & Planning, Samaritans of Singapore Limited
Lay Kwan oversees the communications, fundraising and partnership management functions of Samaritans of Singapore Limited (SOS) – a not for profit dedicated to providing confidential emotional support to individuals facing a crisis, thinking about or affected by suicide.
Prior to joining social service, Lay Kwan spent over two decades in commercial marketing and management roles, bringing with her a demonstrated history of building and leading brands and businesses across various industry verticals cutting across integrated marketing, innovation, digital, revenue management and strategy development. With the ability to connect the dots and drive sustainable business models, Lay Kwan’s experience and leadership have spanned across local, regional and global roles.
A halftime epiphany brought her to serve the people of Singapore in suicide intervention and prevention work, strengthening her commitment to do her part in being a force for good, and her belief that suicide prevention is everyone’s business.
Rahul Vijayan
Co-founder & CPO, Zoala
Rahul is an accomplished technologist and entrepreneur with an extensive track record spanning more than twenty years in the tech industry. His professional journey commenced as a software developer and evolved through diverse roles, including architect and sales professional. At present, he leads the charge for a pioneering health tech startup.
Driven by his passions, Rahul is dedicated to nurturing close-knit interest groups and communities. Whether it's technology meet-ups or activities like walking, cycling, and hiking, these groups serve as platforms for networking, social interaction, and collaborative achievements.
Combining his enthusiasm for technology and his commitment to children's welfare, Rahul co-founded Zoala alongside two other visionaries. This venture is rooted in a profound purpose—to empower the next generation. Rahul firmly believes that the present is a pivotal moment to help children realize their potential, not only academically but also by nurturing their social and emotional skills.
Sandra Loo
Executive Director, Youthline
Sandra has been in the social service sector for more than 15 years. Prior to Youthline, she was with a social service agency where she held many portfolios. Her last role was Assistant Director of Community Health. She has initiated Community Mental Health projects with Agency of Integrated Care (AIC), Community Wellness Hub (Mental Health), and managing medical funds for children and elderly.
Sandra also presented papers at international Social(Social Work, Education and Social Development) in 2018 (Ireland). She was also involved in community and sectoral development for Grief and Bereavement, Mental Health.
At her previous organisation, Sandra provided clinical and casework supervision to staff. She also sat on a School Advisory Committee in Jurong. Sandra is an accredited and registered Social Worker with Singapore Association of Social Work and holds a postgraduate degree in Counselling with Swinburne University and Master in Social Work from Singapore University of Social Sciences.
Yen-Lu Chow
Founding Executive Chairman WholeTree Foundation; Over-The-Rainbow; Asia Institute of Mentoring; Founding Partner Fatfish MediaLab; Executive Mentor YSI SEA; Founder of the Deep Human Movement
Yen-Lu’s career spans nearly 40 years in the tech, media, venture capital, and more recently social entrepreneurship and philanthropy. A former Apple Distinguished Technologist, he is a successful entrepreneur with multiple tech start-ups and an active angel investor, spending many years mentoring and advising entrepreneurs, young businesses and serving on government panels on innovation. He served as a director of Business Angel Network SEA, executive mentor and adjunct professor to NUS Enterprise, mentor to INSEAD, numerous panels on entrepreneurship and innovation internationally, including IDA / SPRING, A*STAR, NRF, GMIC, NUS StartUp@Singapore, NUS Social Venture Competition, NTU Idea Inc, Thailand National Business Plan Competition, CrowdSourcing Week, etc.
In a fast-paced world where the only constant is change, he believes there is an urgent need for each of us to draw on our strengths and creative potential as human beings, to connect with our higher self and our deeper purpose to contribute towards humanity in a positive and impactful way. He enjoys building ecosystems and mobilizing the community to create positive social change. As an early pioneer in the application of AI, he also has a strong base in the tech space. With the launch of his family foundation and other social impact initiatives, Yen-Lu devotes his time serving both society and the nation in his various capacities.
He is on a life mission to help bring about a kinder, gentler, more inclusive, more just, and sustainable world.
Nimisha Tailor
Competition and Regulation Specialist
Nishima is a competition and regulation specialist with international experience. She has advised tech companies, central banks and international organisations like World Bank and OECD in the areas of digital finance, digital trade, data governance, e-commerce and logistics.
Nimisha is passionate about developing the next generation of leaders and mentors young female professionals and university students with career planning. As a mentor for the NexGen Keynote Women Speakers programme, she has supported talented women to make impactful speeches on stage by drawing on her work experience at consulting firms and government agencies in UK, New Zealand, Singapore and Australia (secondment).
About Over-The-Rainbow
Over-The-Rainbow (OTR) is the mental wellness initiative of the WholeTree Foundation, the not-for-profit family foundation of Yen-Lu & Yee Ling Chow founded in loving memory of their dear son and only child who ended his own life at the age of 26 after suffering for many years from manic depression.
OTR is a one-stop hub for youth mental wellness. Our mission is to transform mental wellness for the 21st century:
Propel mental wellness to the top of life’s priorities;
Create a community based on the timeless wisdoms of love, compassion, truth, beauty, harmony, generosity, joy and service;
Empower young people on their journey of self-discovery, healing and transformation - to overcome life challenges, realise their full potential and attain true happiness and optimal wellbeing.
We provide an environment where young people can find themselves, discover their higher self, connect to their purpose and spread their wings - and where they can transform and transcend - via holistic self-care and a supportive community.
Since launching in October 2012, OTR has been a pioneer and trailblazer in the space of youth mental wellness - innovating and pushing the mental health envelope with outreach events, community initiatives, media projects, mental wellness programs, workshops and festivals, volunteer training programs, peer support systems, online support platforms, mental wellness magazines, newsletters and social media campaigns. These initiatives and activities collectively has touched nearly a million lives through both online and offline touch-points, and transformed many others.
From an organization that pioneered mental wellness as a journey and championed prevention and preemption over clinical intervention with innovations such as Holistic Self-Care, Circle-of-Care, Guardian Angels, Wellness Space, Mental Wellness Festivals, Youth Matters, Circle-of-ConneXion, OTR Listens, Think x Rainbow, Rainbow Connection magazines and a change inside-out approach to life and human wellbeing, innovation is a constant driving force for positive change.
What started from the ashes of a heart-shattering family tragedy has transformed into a thriving organization with a mission that turned into a movement to transform mental wellness for the 21st century.
About Samaritans of Singapore Limited
Samaritans of Singapore Limited (SOS) is dedicated to providing confidential emotional support to individuals facing a crisis, thinking about or affected by suicide.
Non-religious and not for profit, our work focuses on crisis intervention and suicide prevention.
About Youthline
Youthline Ltd was founded with the vision of providing an integrated youth service to support young people who need help, regardless of race, religion or economic background.
The three pillars of our service model are a live helpline, free counselling/referral services and a peer mentoring programme.
About Zoala
Zoala is an AI-based mental wellness app for adolescents that is trained to understand the everyday concerns of adolescent life and offer practical advice, support, and guidance that can help improve their mental health.
About Asia Institute of Mentoring
Asia Institute of Mentoring (AIM) is a non-profit volunteer based organization with a mission to bring mentoring to the spotlight in Asia, raise the quality of mentors and the standard of mentoring, bringing mentoring to all facets of society to impact millions of lives.
We are committed to create an Asia-based people-powered mentoring movement to move people … to learn, to share, to give forward, to transform, to harness the deep human potential, and create social impact – bringing about a kinder, gentler, more inclusive, just and sustainable world for all.
Join us as a member here.
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