Lacey Koughan was on top of the world in the summer of 2015. She was working at her dream job as part of the Young Company at the Confederation Centre of the Arts. After that, she travelled to Europe for two months.
When she got back to school, she was struggling to catch up and couldn’t bring herself to feel interested in anything. By Christmas morning, she had made her third suicide attempt.
As Koughan lay in her hospital bed, she felt she was close to dying.
“There must be something I am supposed to do in my life,” she thought. So, she made herself a promise.
“From now on I am going to start doing the things I want to do. I never want to reach this low again,” she says.
Koughan had a lot of family support, but mental health was never part of the discussion. She was recently diagnosed with a bipolar disorder.
Now, at age 19, she is helping other young women with the organization she founded a year and a half ago, 24 Strong.
The empowerment program for self-identified girls aged nine to 19 offers workshops and programs on confidence building and goal setting. They have fitness programs, a magazine and host lessons on public speaking.
“We want to give girls the opportunity to learn things alongside other girls they wouldn’t typically get to learn about and be encouraged by positive role models along the way,” Koughan said.
Recently, the group put on a Soul Sisters event featuring a panel of role models, live music and a fashion show, raising more than $500 for the P.E.I chapter of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA). The highlight of the event were speeches delivered by teens who had gone through 24 Strong’s programs.
“They each got up in front of the audience and read aloud. It is inspiring to see these 14-year-old girls get up and speak about mental health,” Koughan said.
Bianca McGregor, the fund development manager for CMHA P.E.I., said she wasn’t even discussing mental health when she was the age of the girls who belong to 24 Strong.
“Mental health doesn’t have a whole lot of youth ambassadors. For a group of young people to be talking about mental wellness as an issue and show it is something they want to tackle is admirable,” McGregor said.
Since founding 24 Strong on Prince Edward Island, Koughan has hired two young women to lead her upcoming programs. She hopes the organization will branch out to other Atlantic provinces, and eventually nationally.
To learn more
To learn more about 24 Strong, visit 24stronggirls.com. Registration for the next 24 Stronger program, for girls in grades 7 to 12, closes Oct. 30.
If you need immediate help:
If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, seek help immediately by either calling 911, going to an emergency department or by calling the Island Helpline at 1-800-218-2885
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