TakingITGlobal

30 # R I S I N G Y O U T H C O M M U N I T Y I M P A C T V O L . 2 G rowing up in both India and Canada, Mallika Saggoo spent a lot of her childhood moving around. She studied in six different schools before settling within the student community at the University of Manitoba. "Growing up in such a wide variety of environments gave me the opportunity to realize that mental health has been vastly underrepresented and stigmatized," Mallika explains. "...[mental health] is an issue that is very close to my heart as I have firsthand seen the consequences of neglected mental health." Taking this interest of hers, Mallika decided to organize a project that aimed to improve the way individuals dealt with I have seen many of my peers struggle with their mental health, and I have struggled with it quite often... Melancholic Mondays Mallika Saggoo mental health issues. She put together Melancholic Monday: A Mental Health Wellness Week at her university. She and her peers hosted various activities throughout the week that encouraged moments of pause and care including a writing workshop, a meditative drawing session, a stretching and mindfulness class, and even a DIY face mask and body scrub workshop. "I have seen many of my peers struggle with their mental health, and I have struggled with it quite often," Mallika shared. "In such an intense world, it is crucial to develop appropriate coping mechanisms." Melancholic Monday's Instagram page. A special thank you to University of Manitoba — Community Engaged Learning for sharing the #RisingYouth grant opportunity with Mallika to make this project possible.

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