Rachel Beazley, a local advocate for mental health, recently received recognition for courage in the face of difficult life circumstances.

The City of Winnipeg Citizen Equity Committee seeks to recognize youth in Winnipeg who "demonstrate oustanding achievements" through the presentation of the Youth Role Model Awards. Implemented to honour youth who "demonstrate outstanding achievements" and aim to celebrate culture and diversity within the city, candidates are nominated by friends, guardians and community leaders.

Beazley, 18, was the 2017 recipient of the Rosalinda Natividad Cantiveros Award for Courage.

"It was a joyful experience," she said. "I was really appreciative of the hard work that went into it."

The award is presented each year to an individual that has "demonstrated courage personal growth and achievement while dealing with life challenges."

Diagnosed at the age of seven with Anxiety, Obsessive Compusive Disorder (OCD), and Tourette Syndrome (TS), Beazley is no stranger to the difficulties of living with mental illness. After remaining silent for over a decade regarding her diagnosis, she has now embraced a life of advocacy, and works to give a voice to those who, like her, have been silenced as a result of the stigma surrounding mental disorders.

"I always come back to the word raw," Beazley explains of her own journey. "I think that my story exposes me. I put all my personal information out there, for a cost that is something I'm willing to pay because I want mental illness stigma to lessen and eventually be eradicated."

Her own experiences have been paved with both improvements and setbacks. "Recovery is not linear, and I've hit a few rough patches lately... I think the conversation we need to be having is about acceptance and the fact that no one's life is constantly going upwards. It takes some bumps."

" I like to think that, even though I've been through some darkness, there is always light," Beazley shared, "and I still know that even today, after a couple bad days, there will be progress. For me, that lies in my spiritual life, in nature, and in appreciating the things around me; that I'm alive."

"Always strive to be a role model. We act out the things that we value, and that is when we're getting somewhere."

READ MORE:

Winnipeg teen publishes to end stigma surrounding mental illness