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Oxford Elgin Child and Youth Centre Celebrates 30 Years.

Sunday, 25 June 2017 at 07:51

TV host Daniel Pillai openly talked about the many faces of mental health at the 30th anniversary celebration of Oxford Elgin Child and Youth Centre.

WOODSTOCK - The Oxford Elgin Child and Youth Centre celebrated 30 years of helping local youth.

Daniel Pillai, a TV host and media personality for City TV and Omni Television was one of the special guest speakers at the celebration on Wednesday.

Pillai talked about his own struggles with mental health; whether it be coming to terms with his homosexuality while growing up in a South Asian community or witnessing his uncle go through manic depression and schizophrenia.

Pillai wishes he had a haven like the Oxford Elgin Child and Youth Centre while he was growing up in Toronto.

"In my culture, asking for help is something to feel ashamed about. If we had a centre like this right next to our door getting somebody to be able to walk into that building without having to suffer the shame it would be a different story all together."

He further explained the many faces of mental health issues. 

 "A lot of people tend to think it's an illness that you have and you can never let go of or something you can't conquer, but sometimes people suffer in silence and so it doesn't always have those visual characteristics or things we normally look for as society."

Pillai also talked about the importance of shining the light on the layers and complexities of mental illness. 

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