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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, October 15, 2015 | 22 Holy Trinity first high school in Canada to get Friendship Bench by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff A bright yellow bench in Holy Trinity Secondary School's atrium is turning heads, in part because of its eye-catching colour, but more so because of what it represents. The Friendship Bench -- the first given to a high school in Canada -- was given to the Sixth Line secondary school by non-profit organization The Lucas Fiorella Friendship Bench. It will serve as a year-round visual reminder for students to stop and think about their mental health and speak openly about it. "For too long, it has been stigmatized," said Sam Fiorella, the co-founder of The Lucas Fiorella Friendship Bench, about mental illness at the unveiling of the yellow bench in September. "For too long we have been embarrassed to speak about it. For too long we've been quick to say, `he's crazy, what a loon'...." Fiorella, who came up with the idea with some friends to honour the memory of his son Lucas, a graduate of Holy Trinity in 2013, asked students to take care of their mental health the way they would their teeth, eyes and physical health. Just as it's normal to check on the health of Canadian non-profit organization The Lucas Fiorella Friendship Bench selected Oakville's Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School to be the first high school in Canada to receive a friendship bench. The bright yellow bench serves as a year-round visual reminder for students to speak openly about mental health issues and to encourage them to both ask for help and offer it to those in need. | photo by Riziero Vertolli ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) your teeth by visiting the dentist, your vision by going to the optometrist and dropping by the doctor's office when you're feeling ill, it's normal to get help if you're feeling down -- especially when stress is "one of the leading causes of trouble and pain amongst students," said Fiorella. "... Think about, God forbid, something more serious that happens to us physically -- cancer, leukemia," Fiorella continued. "You would go to the doctor and most of us wouldn't be embarrassed to speak about it. In fact, we would speak about it because we would expect our friends to be supportive of us, to reach out, give us a hug, lend an ear. That's what we would all do and yet it's different, especially for students, when it comes to mental health." Fiorella warned, when left unchecked, stress and anxiety could turn into depression or worse. "I'd like to remind you that your brain is an organ, just like your heart, just like your liver," he said. "In fact, it's that much more complex and so it's susceptible to so many more injuries than any of those other organs are and some we haven't been able to figure out yet. " He hopes the bench will encourage students to take a moment out of their hectic lives to stop and engage with each other. One of the ways to overcome feelings of stress, anxiety and depression is to sit down and talk about it, Fiorella noted. Holy Trinity Secondary School is the first high school to receive the Friendship Bench in all of Canada. Ottawa's Carleton University received one earlier this month, and another is to be installed at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. see Getting on p.26 CANADA'S $ 00 winter tire change over Get Ready foR winteR savinGs! BRinG in this ad and save gArAge ends oct 31st, 2015 10 off 10% off wheel balance with winter tire change over alignment with winter tire change over or the purchase of new winter tires 20% off Qew & KeRR st 1100 Kerr St. 905-844-0202 dundas & tRafalGaR 400 DunDaS St. eaSt 905-257-8473 hyde PaRK 2510 hyDe ParK gate 905-829-5552