Mental health advocate Alicia Raimundo (BA ’12) may be young, but she’s got a powerful voice and some very powerful allies.
Having struggled with depression for years herself, Raimundo used her move to the University of Waterloo as a catalyst to seek help and then to help others. Now she shares ambitious mental health objectives with world leaders.
In 2014, Raimundo spoke about mental health at the United Nations International Youth Conference, addressing Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, among others.
During the Clinton Global Initiative in 2013, she had the opportunity to talk directly with Governor General of Canada David Johnston, U.S. President Barack Obama and former U.S. president Bill Clinton. In 2012/2013, Raimundo represented the Bell Let’s Talk campaign, making appearances on CTV and Much Music. She was also one of five people chosen by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health to be a sponsor for their Face of Mental Illness campaign.
After being encouraged to give talks about her own experience overcoming depression, Raimundo began her mental health advocacy at the University of Waterloo as a volunteer with Peer Educators.
“When I was a student at the University of Waterloo it was the first time that I felt the freedom to really invest in my mental wellness and start to understand why I had felt so sad for so many years,” Raimundo says.
“When I sought out counselling service options at the University, they gave me the tools I needed to succeed, and once I started to understand what was happening to me, I wanted to try my best to help others going through similar struggles. Once I started to speak to others at the University, I wanted to take that further and talk about the importance of mental health awareness on a larger scale.”
As the youngest person ever to be a member of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s National Council of Persons with Lived Experience representing Ontario, Raimundo sits on eight mental health awareness boards, volunteers with the Ontario Association for Suicide prevention, and is the Young Adult Engagement Facilitator for Stella’s Place.
Raimundo has also written Red Carnation, a book for Grade 8 students to help them better understand mental illness. It will be adopted as part of the English curriculum in Ontario.
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