Vincentian, Jodie Dennie has been selected as one of the 2018 Queen’s Young Leaders.
Jodie, who champions the issue of mental health in her community, is the creator of The Mind Matters SVG campaign, which aims to teach people, aged 10 to 30 about the importance of good mental health.
Her work, which has the support of the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Environment, has included giving presentations to young people at three summer programmes and holding art therapy and sports sessions to show how these activities can help to improve people’s mental health.
Jodie’s interviews of two local people about their experiences with depression were used by the World Health Organisation on World Health Day as part of its ‘Depression: Let’s Talk’ campaign. She created social media sites to promote the campaign at a local, regional and international level.
Jodie will be honored by Her Majesty the Queen at Buckingham Palace next year.
The winners who were announced today are being recognized for work they are undertaking across a diverse range of issues including supporting people living with mental health problems, helping children to receive a quality education, and promoting gender equality.
This is the third consecutive year that a young Vincentian is among young people from across the Commonwealth who are being recognised as exceptional leaders in their community.
In 2015, Vincentian journalist Kenville Horne was announced as a recipient of the prestigious Commonwealth Queen’s Young Leader Award, and in 2016 Vincentian poet Dillon Ollivierre was selected to receive the Award.
