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While attached to Hush TeaBar, I was involved in #YoungXHush, a youth impact movement created by the organisation.
About #YoungXHush
#YoungXHush(#YxH) is a youth impact movement.
Stress, depression, suicides and many others are pressing Mental Health Issues that many youths in our society face. The #YxH movement is designed to help the next generation of leaders or youths promote community empowerment, inclusion and mental resilience among the youth. Raising awareness amongst generations of youths will eventually bring about positive changes in the lives of those who face Mental Health Issues.
Why bring #YxH to TJ?
Activities in #YxH allow participants to experience silence. As the students step into silence, through the learning of sign language and the 3 different types of resilience, students will have a deeper understanding of how to take care of their own mental health while supporting the mental wellness of others. It allows students to get in touch with their feelings and gain body awareness through the various skits and breathing exercises that will be conducted. Students may also pick up communication skills that will help them to hold safe spaces for their peers to talk about their mental health issues.
Task assigned:
Task assigned:
One of our first tasks was to try to help bring #YoungXHush to TJC.
How did we do it?
1. Create a proposal to bring #YxH to TJC
First, we had to be well versed with their organisation and programme in order to understand the benefits of bringing #YxH to our school, which we included in our proposal. We also had to think of feasible timings for the programme to take place.
2. Mentor vetted through our proposal
Our mentor gave us insightful comments that helped to make our proposal better.
3. Arranged a time for us to propose the idea to tutors (HOD/Deputy Heads of Student Well-being)
At first we engaged the HOD of Student Well-being, however, as she was not free on the days we suggested, the Deputy Heads were brought in.
4. Work on presentation
For our presentation to the deputy heads, we decided to incorporate a short, condensed version of the Hush experience. This would allow them to experience for themselves what participants would go through. As they can keep in mind their own personal experience as we go through our presentation, they can better understand our rationale and the value in bringing this programme to TJ.
We also had to prepare a skit as well as other props for our presentation.
Click here or scan the QR code for our proposal!
Skit during the Hush experience.
Props were used during the Hush experience.
My group also had to design a poster and Facebook cover photo for their open session possibly held in February. The open session brings the Hush experience to the public.
These were some of our drafts.
Content knowledge/ skills learnt
Content knowledge/ skills learnt
One of my most important takeaways from this attachment is the importance of communication. First of all, during the time of our attachment, I observed how the hearing and the Deaf work together to bring the Hush experience to different workplaces and communities. The hearing learn sign language in order to communicate with their Deaf partners. During this time, I realized how difficult it is to communicate, sometimes, miscommunications occur as the hearing are not totally familiar with the language and may communicate information inaccurately to the Deaf (and vice versa, where the hearing misinterpret what the Deaf actually meant). Even among ourselves, there may be miscommunications. Moreover, as we worked on our project, I learnt about the importance of communication skills. Many youths in Singapore are uncomfortable with opening up about their mental health issues as their peers are not equipped with the communication skills to properly support them while still being sensitive to their feelings. In order to properly hold a safe space for our peers to open up, communication skills are essential.
One of the main goals of the #YoungXHush experience is to promote self-care and inclusivity. During the experience, they used the concept of “resilience” to bring up this message across. As my group went through the #YxH experience, my understanding of resilience has evolved. I originally believed that resilience meant toughness, and never giving up even in the face of adversity. However, I learnt that having resilience is more than just perseverance. In fact, there are 3 types of resilience - relational, resource and rock-bottom resilience. Relational resilience is keeping up and managing a connection between humans and animals, resource resilience is the determination to continuously develop our skills and talents while being willing to share these skills with others. Having rock-bottom resilience is to allow ourselves to cry, be angry, breakdown and be kind to ourselves. Learning about the 3 types of resilience has changed the way I take care of myself, and now I think I can take care of my mental health better.
Interesting aspects of my learning
Interesting aspects of my learning
We were very fortunate to be able to observe how the hearing and the Deaf work together during our attachment. They were able to communicate through sign language, but for us, we had to either write down or type out whenever we wanted to communicate with the Deaf.
While going through the Hush experience, we had to step into silence for about 15 to 20 minutes. It was interesting how even a short period of silence was so calming and allowed us to reflect. Maybe a few moments of silence everyday could help us take care of our own mental health.
takeaway for life
takeaway for life
We observed the hearing and the Deaf communicate with each other despite their differences. This created a safe environment for everyone to open up to each other and we can easily see how this helps different people keep a connection with one another. Personally, I was amazed at how they could all connect with one another despite their differences, showing their inclusivity and empathy.
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