Toronto Woman Changes Mental Health Stats of Young People
Interviewed by Kathie Lee Gifford at the Laguna Surf Hotel, California – January 15, 2022
I had wanted to interview Soonil Lee of Toronto, Canada for over a year now. I had heard of her when I had visited one of my best friends in Toronto. My friend had told me of this woman who had reversed the statistics on mental illness in young people in the Willowdale community. The rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm and bullying in young people has been on the rise for a number of years and mental health awareness has been on the front pages of many popular magazines such as the Times. How did she do it? How did this woman who is a youth worker at a small local church and who has very little counselling background make such a huge impact on mental illness? On a personal note, I have some friends who have teens who struggle with depression and I was hoping to get some advice from her.
I was to meet her at the Laguna Surf Hotel Cafe at 11 in the morning. She said that it was close to her California home, her winter getaway she called it. She was sitting by the window with an iced coffee in her hands staring into the beautiful Pacific Ocean. I looked out too at the view. The water was deep royal blue and the white waves were rhythmically going back and forth from the ocean and the beige fine sand on the beach. The baby blue sky was like a huge dome covering the ocean. The 2 tall palm trees were strategically placed to the right of the window creating a picturesque scene. Ms. Lee looked peaceful as she looked out the window. I almost did not want to disturb her but at the same time, I was eager to interview her.
I walked towards her and cleared my throat and introduced myself.
“Hello Ms. Lee, my names Kathy Lee, welcome to California.”
She stood up and held out her right hand as she said, “nice to meet you Ms. Gifford, please have a seat. I am honoured to meet you. Wow, I can’t believe you are interviewing me. Who would have thought, just amazing.”
“It looked like you were enjoying the beautiful view.”
“Yes, I love coming here. I don’t miss the cold cold winter in Toronto,” she said with a shiver.
“Let’s cut to the chase, I want to ask you about how you personally reversed the statistics on mental illness in young people in Toronto.”
Ms. Lee looked wide-eyed and shocked as I made this comment.
“Ms. Lee, you are very humble. Before coming to this interview, I had interviewed the Principals at Earl Haig High School, Northview Heights, Willowdale Middle School and Bayview Middle School, the Willowdale Trustee and some of the parents and teens of those schools who have unanimously said that you made a huge impact on the mental health of the students in the last 3 years.”
“Wow, that’s very humbling to hear but it wasn’t rocket science. ” Ms. Lee said still looking perplexed.
“How did you do it?”
“Well, it all started on February 23, 2019. A couple from Durham area came and did a workshop with my church and they taught us that every one of us has immense value, we are powerful and that we can make choices to bring light and love to our communities. I was so inspired by the workshop that I received training from them and started to teach at first at my church and then at the local schools.”
“What exactly is taught in those workshops?”
“We teach them about what God thinks about them, how he loves and accepts them unconditionally and that they have immense incredible value. We also teach them they are powerful people who can make choices to bring light into their community. This was all part of the curriculum that the couple taught us. It’s nothing new. Over the years, we just tweaked it and added to it. I am also a believer in doing life with young people. What do I mean by that? It’s very simple, it’s about spending time with them, you know being interested and involved with their lives. I love hanging out with them, listening to them, watching movies with them and when given the opportunities I love talking to them about life and their issues. I find that when you spend a lot of time with them and doing things with them, it creates safety, trust, and love in the relationship and so when a crisis happens you can be there to help and guide them. Having this kind of community where people are accepted and valued, it’s hard to be anxious and depressed, no? Another thing I love to do is to take our church youths across Canada, Thailand, Mexico, and South Africa. We pray, serve the community, learn about the people and the countries and get to know God and each other better through our travels together. While doing this I always pray that each teen would truly experience God’s love for them and know in their heart of hearts how valuable and important they are.”
“Wow, you’ve invested a lot into these young people.”
“Yes, yes I did but it was totally worth it because when these young people know that they are truly valuable, accepted and loved they will, in turn, want to give that love away to others. Some of these young people started making a positive impact on their homes and schools. In their own way, they started loving the people whether it was by speaking value and acceptance to a student who was being bullied, or by being a listening ear to the one who was struggling with anxiety or forgiving the ones who has hurt them. These young people are amazing, they are unique and creative and they know how to love and bring healing to their community. “
“It’s heartwarming. It sounds simple and yet so profound.”
“Yes, it a simple principle that Jesus taught in the bible. We just have difficulty doing it sometimes.”
“How is it that the principles you are teaching have changed not just the young people in your church and some of the local schools you have done workshops at but the greater area of Toronto?”
“Well, again, it’s the principles that Jesus taught in the bible. You teach and train a few people and they go and do the same. You know, I am not a professional counselor or some amazing teacher, I just started with a half a dozen youths from our church and taught them the principles of the curriculum and did life with them. Over time, as they became more confident about who they were and the gifting and talents that they have, I started taking them to the workshops with me and trained them to do what I did. It’s not rocket science, you tell them they are valuable, they are powerful and they can make choices to bring light into their community and you just do that over and over and over again, and this spreads. To be honest I am in awe how God brought these amazing changes to Toronto.”
As Ms. Lee said the last phrase she smiled and chuckled as to say it’s not that complicated and yet it was a miracle. I was looking for some special program or an idea that no one had thought of before but it was a simple principle that has been around for thousands of years. It was just about loving people.
“Any plans for the future?” I asked. My time was almost up and I needed to wrap up the interview
“Yes……doing the same things over and over again. Why change something when it’s working so well.”
I just nodded my head and smiled.
“How long will you be here at Laguna Beach?”
“ I will be here until the middle of February. About a dozen university students will be coming to visit me here at Laguna during their reading week. It’s going to be a full house. I can’t wait.”
“Ms. Lee, thank you for the interview and I hope to be hearing more about how you and your young people are impacting the city of Toronto. Have a great time here in California. Soak up all the sun before you return to the cold winter in Toronto.”
We shook hands and departed.
As I was walking back to my car, I wondered why we tend to look for something out of this world, something new, something never thought of before to bring change when many times the answer is just underneath our noses. This time it was just about taking the time to love people. Hmmm, could it be that simple?
Soonil's MKE Journey 