Child and Youth Mental Health Day, marked annually on May 7 in Canada, offers an opportunity to raise awareness of the struggles that children and youth face. It encourages individuals, communities and policymakers to prioritize mental health initiatives.

Family Smart, a BC-based non-profit, established the day in 2007. Their goal is to facilitate caring, connected conversations between young people and adults. Since then, the day has spotlighted both the existing mental health supports for young people and the work that remains to be done.

The Children’s Health Policy Centre conducted a systematic review on the prevalence and impact of childhood mental disorders in 2022. You can learn more about the findings in Vol. 16, No. 2 of the Children’s Mental Health Research Quarterly.