Loizza Aquino is a Canadian mental health activist. She speaks publicly on mental health and women empowerment and founded Peace of Mind Canada.

Early life and education

Loizza Aquino was born in 1999, in

Manila, Philippines Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on the island of Luzon, it is ...

, but later moved to Canada with her family. She attended high school in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Canada as well as the Institut Collegial Vincent Massey Collegiate. In 2017, she began her studies at the

University of Toronto Scarborough The University of Toronto Scarborough (abbreviated as U of T Scarborough or UTSC) is a division of the University of Toronto and one of its three campuses, located in the Scarborough, Ontario, Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ...

. Being an immigrant from the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

has impacted Aquino's life and provided a lot of challenges. Aquino believes that there is always a lesson to be learned from challenges and uses this belief to infuse her work in mental health advocacy. Loizza received an Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Health Sciences from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

in 2021, with a double major in International Development and Mental Health, a minor in Media Studies and a certificate in Global Development, Environment & Health.

Activism

Peace Of Mind

When Aquino was 15 years old, a sophomore in high school, she lost her best friend to

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. Her friend was one of four students in Winnipeg who had died by suicide within the span of one month in 2015. After these traumatic events, Loizza Aquino wanted to create a place for community members to grieve and cope together. Aquino has founded a group titled Peace of Mind, aiming to create a mental health advocacy group in her high school. The organization implements programs for teens in

and

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, which involves planning events that provide a safe space for youth to share their personal stories. What began with just ten students has now expanded to multiple high schools across

and

, with over 2,000 students participating. Loizza Aquino brought her organization Peace of Mind onto her college campus at U of T Scarborough with the hopes that her organization may provide another source of mental health support on campus. One of the main goals of her organization is to bridge the gap between peers and keep the conversation going. Aquino's organization, Peace of Mind Canada, holds an event called ''Youth Against Mental Health and Illness Stigma'' (YAMHIS). The goal of this organization is to create a safe space for youth to talk about their experiences with mental health issues. Aquino advocates for mental health resources in Universities under the belief that a degree “doesn't really matter” without the tools to cope with mental health issues.

Awards

* In 2014 Loizza Aquino received a young humanitarian award from the

Manitoba Teachers' Society The Manitoba Teachers' Society (MTS) is the trade union representing schoolteachers in Manitoba, Canada. It was founded in 1919, and currently has around 16,000 members. It is an affiliate of the Canadian Teachers' Federation The Canadian Teac ...

* In June 2017 she received a $70,000 community leadership scholarship from

TD Bank Toronto-Dominion Bank (), doing business as TD Bank Group (), is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The bank was created on February 1, 1955, through ...

to pursue her post-secondary education in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Due to this she left home in

and moved to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. * On June 19, 2018, Aquino was named a recipient of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards. * Later in 2018 she received a peace medallion presented by the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

Greater Toronto The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...

alongside Police Constable Dale Swift and President of the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

Masai Ujiri Michael Masai Ujiri (born July 7, 1970) is a professional basketball executive and former player who is the President (corporate title), president of the Toronto Raptors in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Ujiri was born in the Unite ...

References

External links

Loizza Aquino's personal Website.

Peace of Mind Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aquino, Loizza 1999 births Living people Canadian health activists Filipino emigrants to Canada