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After more than a decade of hiding her severe depression, Hannah Gautreau finally reached out for help this past summer when she realized her life was at risk. She called , a crisis hotline, and was advised to seek immediate help.

After being admitted to Grand River Hospital, Gautreau was diagnosed with clinical depression and received treatment for the illness.  Now, the ��ݮ��Ƶ Engineering student is urging other students to break the silence about their own mental health struggles.

 “Opening up and talking about mental health is one of the most powerful things we can do for people suffering from depression, anxiety, stress and other problems,” says Gautreau, a third-year management engineering student and president of Engineering Society (EngSoc) B.

“I’ve been suffering from depression for as long as I can remember,” says the Halifax native. “No one knows what it’s like unless you’ve gone through it yourself.”

Friendship Bench will encourage discussion about mental illness

Gautreau recently helped establish a  in the courtyard of Carl Pollock Hall on the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ’s main campus. The bright yellow bench is part of a mental health awareness program created for secondary and post-secondary schools.

The initiative was co-founded by Sam Fiorella in memory of his son Lucas, a 19-year-old Carleton University student who took his own life last year after concealing his depression from family and friends much like Gautreau had done.  Fiorella was on campus for the unveiling of ��ݮ��Ƶ’s Friendship Bench which is intended for students to sit on to discuss any topic. Gautreau and Fiorella hope the yellow bench, the sixth to be installed in Canada, will also become a symbol for seeking help.

“Despite the number of efforts made by corporations, the government and universities, there is still a stigma around mental health,” says Fiorella. “Clearly there is a need for students to talk to each other, to pay attention to each other, and to become educated about what the signs are of mental health issues in yourself and in your peers.”

Mental health services on campus

One of Gautreau’s main objectives as EngSoc president this term is increasing awareness of the broad-range of the University’s mental health resources to help students cope with everything from depression to the challenges of being away from home for the first time. The University of ��ݮ��Ƶ’s Counselling Services has relocated to the 2^nd floor of the new Needles Hall expansion. Engineering Counselling Services has recently hired two more counsellors to meet with students one on one and to offer a variety of workshops and programs including new stress reduction drop-in sessions held on Tuesdays during the noon hour.