Surrey students mark Mental Health Week with Wellness Fair
Published 2:00 pm Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Students at Enver Creek Secondary recognized Mental Health Week with the school’s third annual Wellness Fair.
Taking place during the first week of May, schools in Surrey worked hard to acknowledge Mental Health Week in their own unique ways.
Enver Creek Secondary School hosted an active Wellness Fair for students on May 6.
Surrey Schools says the Wellness Fair idea came from school counsellor Kelly Janda. Janda wanted to create a space to raise student awareness of the many community resources available to support mental health, wellness, community safety and more.
According to Janda, the concept for the fair came to her shortly after she arrived at Enver Creek three years ago.
“Our school is located in a very residential area, so there aren’t necessarily a lot of community hubs or centres within walking distance,” she recalled. “So the thought was, ‘Why don’t we bring our community partners in so that our students can make those community connections?’”
Twenty-six community partners took part in this year’s fair, including the City of Surrey, Surrey Police Service, Crime Stoppers, FamilySmart, and Emotions BC.
The event was also expanded to include schoolwide workshops for all classes, with presentations being held on topics such as online safety, substance use awareness and healthy relationships.
Lauryn Rees, the program coordinator with Emotions BC, told Surrey Schools that events like these are a great opportunity to reduce barriers.
“There’s always people that need help processing certain emotions, but they just might not know where to start, so that’s what we’re here to do,” she said.
Surrey Schools shares that Rees was a 2020 graduate of École Salish Secondary and has since seen an increase in schools working to raise awareness and remove stigma around discussions regarding mental health and wellness among youth.
“When I was in high school, emotions weren’t really talked about, but we’ve seen so much progress made in recent years,” shared Rees.
Surrey Schools says Rees recognizes and promotes events like the Wellness Fair because it normalizes talking about emotions and seeking help.