About
About Every Moment Counts
Every Moment Counts (EMC) is a multi-pronged mental health promotion initiative helping all children be mentally healthy in order to succeed in school, at home, and in the community. A public health, Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework guides all of EMC's initiatives. Emphasis is on promoting positive mental health - which is associated with feeling good emotionally and doing well functionally in everyday life. The focus is on making every moment count toward helping all children and youth participate in and enjoy their day from the moment they enter school to the time they go home.
Guiding Principles
- Every moment counts - small moments make big differences in how children feel and function
- Enjoyable experiences throughout the day promote feelings of emotional well-being
- Everyone can be a mental health promoter
- Addressing mental health in schools for students with and without disabilities and/or mental health challenges does not involve doing more but doing differently – namely through embedded strategies
Guiding Public Health Framework (MTSS)
An MTSS framework guides the provision of a range of services and supports geared to meeting the mental health needs of children and youth with and without disabilities and/or mental health challenges. Tier 1, universal strategies, focus on mental health promotion for all students; Tier 2, targeted strategies, focus on prevention of mental health challenges in at-risk groups; and Tier 3, individualized strategies, focus on interventions for those with identified mental health challenges.
Every Moment Counts’ Goal
Provide website materials, webinars, and capacity-building strategies to foster knowledge translation and implementation. We want adults serving youth and parents to engage in:
- Shared learning (knowledge translation) – To reframe their thinking about ‘mental health’ from a deficit perspective to a focus on positive mental health, within a multi-tiered framework (universal, targeted, individualized), using embedded strategies and programs throughout the day; and
- Shared work (implementation) – Committed to collaborating over time to implement new strategies and programs focusing on mental health promotion.