Help Dexter Return to StFX
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My name is Dexter, and two years ago, I tried and almost succeeded in taking my own life at St. Francis Xavier University. The irony is, the time I spent at StFX was some of the best moments of my life, and I was an active and vocal member of the StFX community.
The truth is I have suffered immensely from depression, anxiety and at one point was homeless. Despite these personal challenges, I’ve tried at each turn of my difficult journey to keep a brave face and to do what little I can to help others not feel as alone as I have.
Over the two years that have passed since that fateful day, I’ve grown stronger. I decided to further break the silence that surrounded an illness that almost took my life and one that continues to affect and take the lives of millions of young people across the world. So I did what I wish someone had done for me - I started speaking up.
A few months after writing about my battle with a mental illness, I spoke at a national youth mental health summit in Toronto. With the nation, I shared my personal struggles on CTV's W5 and was part of Olympian Clara Hughes’ national documentary on mental health.
I’ve since run successful photo campaigns in my community to provide awareness to the issue surrounding mental health and over the summer was a speaker at TEDx Cape Breton. This past month, I began another photo campaign designed to bring men into the discussion of masculinity and mental health and to discover ways that we can redefine and better understand individual differences.
This September, I decided that it was time to finish my interrupted dream of bettering myself educationally. I re-applied and was graciously accepted again at StFX for the 2014-2015 academic year.
However, the StFX Finance Office later informed me that I would not be able to register for any classes until I had fully paid the university the educational debts that I incurred during the year that led up to my suicide attempt and had ended my school studies. School officials clearly communicated that all student debts must be settled prior to my re-enrolment and a simultaneous monthly payment plan was not an option.
I come from a family of little to no means. My father’s job only allows for him to pay the bills, my step mother is currently in the process of getting diagnosed with a severe mental illness herself and my estranged mother is barely making ends meet.
I regrettably have no other immediate family members that I know of who could support me. In essence, I’ve been left to fend for myself.
So, now I’m asking you to help, as I once wished I had done when life appeared so hopeless.
I came to StFX with the dream of becoming a better man. I have stumbled terribly along the way and almost gave up once, but it is a goal I plan to reach.
Please help make my dream a personal reality. Please, Let Me Learn.
My name is Dexter, and two years ago, I tried and almost succeeded in taking my own life at St. Francis Xavier University. The irony is, the time I spent at StFX was some of the best moments of my life, and I was an active and vocal member of the StFX community.
The truth is I have suffered immensely from depression, anxiety and at one point was homeless. Despite these personal challenges, I’ve tried at each turn of my difficult journey to keep a brave face and to do what little I can to help others not feel as alone as I have.
Over the two years that have passed since that fateful day, I’ve grown stronger. I decided to further break the silence that surrounded an illness that almost took my life and one that continues to affect and take the lives of millions of young people across the world. So I did what I wish someone had done for me - I started speaking up.
A few months after writing about my battle with a mental illness, I spoke at a national youth mental health summit in Toronto. With the nation, I shared my personal struggles on CTV's W5 and was part of Olympian Clara Hughes’ national documentary on mental health.
I’ve since run successful photo campaigns in my community to provide awareness to the issue surrounding mental health and over the summer was a speaker at TEDx Cape Breton. This past month, I began another photo campaign designed to bring men into the discussion of masculinity and mental health and to discover ways that we can redefine and better understand individual differences.
This September, I decided that it was time to finish my interrupted dream of bettering myself educationally. I re-applied and was graciously accepted again at StFX for the 2014-2015 academic year.
However, the StFX Finance Office later informed me that I would not be able to register for any classes until I had fully paid the university the educational debts that I incurred during the year that led up to my suicide attempt and had ended my school studies. School officials clearly communicated that all student debts must be settled prior to my re-enrolment and a simultaneous monthly payment plan was not an option.
I come from a family of little to no means. My father’s job only allows for him to pay the bills, my step mother is currently in the process of getting diagnosed with a severe mental illness herself and my estranged mother is barely making ends meet.
I regrettably have no other immediate family members that I know of who could support me. In essence, I’ve been left to fend for myself.
So, now I’m asking you to help, as I once wished I had done when life appeared so hopeless.
I came to StFX with the dream of becoming a better man. I have stumbled terribly along the way and almost gave up once, but it is a goal I plan to reach.
Please help make my dream a personal reality. Please, Let Me Learn.
Organizer
Dexter J. Nyuurnibe
Organizer
Antigonish, NS