There was a lot of competition for the Mental Health 2.0 prizes, as COU received a significant number of submissions from universities across the province. All of the submissions we received demonstrate the creativity of Ontario’s university students, but the individuals and teams below stood out of the crowd. A prestigious panel of experts in accessibility, mental health, and social media selected the first, second, and third-place winners from this list of ten finalists. In addition, the public has helped COU deliver an additional prize by voting for its favourite finalist submission. The winner of this poll will receive a “People’s Choice Award,” and will join the other winners at our celebration event at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health on 18 March 2014. Note: The vote is now closed, but you can still check out the great work that Ontario university students have done by clicking on the links below. Thank you for participating in the vote for Mental Health 2.0′s People’s Choice Award.

Does your idea also address an accessibility-related barrier? Check out the Innovative Designs for Accessibility (IDeA) competition and apply for a chance to win more prizes! Submissions are due April 6, 2014.

If you are unable to open/access one of the files below, please email mh20admin@cou.on.ca to receive a document in an alternative format.

The ten finalists, in alphabetical order, are:

Kayleigh Abbott, Wilfrid Laurier University, Laurier Wellness Hub

Kristin Brown, Stephanie Lu, and Suzie Alexander, University of Waterloo, Stand up to Stigma

Karman Chan, OCAD University, I Care

Kevin Dueck, Julian Surujballi, and 
Daniela Kwiatkowski, Western University, Vitals Student Wellness Initiative. Click here to see this team’s website.

Jenalynne Fabroa, University of Toronto, Health Vloggers

Michael Fehr, University of Windsor, #youneverknow

Kaitlyn Kerridge, Brock University, Cope-Care-Connect

Yashmi Mahat, University of Ottawa, Dear Friend

Stacey Riddell and Michelle Gajewski, University of Windsor, Community for 1st Year Post-Secondary Students with Social Anxiety

Joli Scheidler-Benns, University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), I am Anyone and I am Someone