A new campaign initiated by L.V. Rogers students aims to help support their peers through difficult times.
“Love is Louder is a movement that supports people who are feeling mistreated, misunderstood or alone and it works toward combating depression, bullying and suicide in teens,” said Jennifer Matosevic, LVR student and organizer of the campaign in Nelson.
Matosevic first learned about it at a conference she attended in Vancouver last October.
“I thought it would be a great idea to do it here and it’s a really personal issue for me,” she said.
Love is Louder is a campaign that has been participated in throughout the world.
“In our case, we extended that to art, literature and photographs to show support for these people to know that they are not alone and that suicide should never be an option,” said Matosevic.
The LVR student then approached her entire school and opened the idea to other students who wanted to contribute with art.
Matosevic said for some of her peers it was just another project they did at school, but for others it really hit come and meant a lot to them.
While Matosevic says that bullying isn’t a big issue at the local high school, she hopes the campaign will help lessen the bullying that is occurring.
“We hope it will send a positive message to other schools in our region and in the province that if we can do this in a small town, they can do it too,” said Matosevic.
The Love is Louder art pieces were put on display last Thursday and will last for the month of January.
Ayla Raabis was one of the students who joined in and contributed to the campaign.
“I had seen the campaign on TV and online… I was interested in the issue so I decided to become a part of it,” said Raabis.
“I think that we have to raise awareness about these issues and let people who are going through his know that they’re not alone.”
Matosevic said she has found that both teachers and students have been very supportive of the campaign.
“Presentations coming from a student have a different impact than they would coming from an adult,” she said.
“Coming from someone your age, your peer… to me it means more.”
She said through the Love is Louder campaign, she wants to end suicide and bullying for teens.
“There’s help all around Nelson if people feel like this to go and find help.”