ACTIVITIES

The purpose of BLUE WAVE FOUNDATION (BLUE WAVE) is twofold -

1. AWARENESS AND EDUCATION

After Jack and Margaret Lee experienced the loss of their 18-year old daughter, Janice, to suicide, it was blatantly apparent that there was/is a severe knowledge gap in our society with regards to the symptoms and severity of illnesses of the mind (mental health issues).

Phase One of BLUE WAVE was the initiation of the educational and interactive website: www.ok2bblue.com

• The website is focused on communicating with the youth/juvenile sector of our community.
• It includes, but is not limited to, interviews with kids, contemporary youth music, video clips, acting, rap dance, etc which will not only interest but also engage our young people on the subject of mental health issues, such as depression, anxieties, panic attacks, suicidal thoughts, etc.
• The website at all times expounds HOPE and encouragement to young people.
• A prime objective is to eliminate the stigma associated with mental health issues in future generations.

The website provides a history (WHY), statistics on youth mental health issues, the need and a vision for the BLUE WAVE Movement to bring about positive change in our society toward such illnesses.

• The website is the vehicle to launch annual BLUE WAVE Events. For more information on these Events, please go to the "Events" tab : sub-tab "BLUE WAVE Events".
• The vision for BLUE WAVE Events is to gain acceptance in junior-high and high schools for each to adopt an annual BLUE WAVE Event, on one designated day in each school year, whereby a time (say, 1 to 1.5 hours) in the school calendar is dedicated to the education and awareness of mental health issues in young people. Keen interest is also being shown to BLUE WAVE by colleges and universities for their young people to receive the annual BLUE WAVE Event presentation.
• The outcome and goal of an annual BLUE WAVE Event, by education and raising awareness, will be the eventual removal of stigma associated with mental health issues.

It is envisaged that at a BLUE WAVE Event, young people will perhaps be allowed and encouraged to wear “BLUE”, “DO BLUE”, perhaps with those attending wearing a BLUE WAVE T-shirt, signifying unity toward the understanding that “IT'S OK 2 BE BLUE”.

It is further envisaged that the students and volunteers of each individual school community will solicit local businesses for financial support to fund the costs of promotional materials such as hats, shirts, bags, pens, etc, and also to fund advertising media costs. Any surplus monies collected would be accrued to fund the raising up of BLUE WAVE CHAPTERS in regions across Canada, thus bringing the BLUE WAVE Event programs to the respective local schools and universities.  With the expansion of Chapters, further funding will go toward establishment of regional BLUE WAVE Centres (see below).

2. FACILITY

When Jack and Margaret Lee’s daughter, Janice, made her first suicide attempt in late January 2005, she was committed to the adolescent psychiatric unit (APU) of the Surrey Memorial Hospital, Surrey, BC. Unfortunately, at that time, there were only 10 beds available for youth aged 12 – 16 years of age suffering with mental health issues in British Columbia, and the APU was full.

Janice, as a 16-year old, had to spend a whole week in the adult psychiatric unit at that hospital – a week which was extremely traumatic and stressful for an already mentally unbalanced teenager suffering chronic depression, anxieties and panic attacks. Fortunately, a bed in the adolescent unit opened up after that initial week in the adult ward, and Janice spent the following 4 weeks in the APU. After that time she was discharged, returning home to live with the family.

"WAS SHE WELL?'' … apparently not, but there was nowhere else for her to go and no ongoing support plan was offered to the parents, such as specific contact persons, phone numbers to call in the event of an emergency situation. Janice was allocated a local family services counsellor to see once a week in Langley but for a high risk patient, once a week counselling didn’t amount to much in the way of any support. Janice saw the counsellor twice then refused to see him anymore, stating that she didn’t feel he helped at all. She was not actively pursued by the Family Services Department nor were the parents approached.

• There must be more facilities, safe places for youth to go where they truly feel heard and supported, with some readily available counselling facilities.
• There must also be well-established direct support lines offered to parents of youth at risk, so the parents have a sense of specialized, professional medical back-up.
• To that end, it is a major objective of BLUE WAVE to raise funds to build and facilitate BLUE WAVE CENTRES which will be built in regional areas where young people can go as perhaps a “half-way” house between hospital and home.
• When people become aware of the reality of the severity and urgency of mental health issues in young people, BLUE WAVE believes that everyone will give, both financially and of themselves.

     This illness strikes at the very heart of our society, the fabric of each family unit –

                 the adults of tomorrow.  It could happen to your loved one.

• BLUE WAVE solicits major corporations with professional presentations, including but not limited to the BLUE WAVE website - www.ok2bblue.com.
• The long-term vision is to produce a BLUE WAVE CENTRE “template” whereby others who subscribe to “the need” will raise their own centres through the financial vehicle of the BLUE WAVE FOUNDATION.