Mental illness affects everyone differently, and in any given year, 1 in 5 people in Canada will experience a mental health problem or illness. This can be especially difficult for youth in the classroom, where a variety of factors can contribute to a child’s mental health, whether it’s getting proper nutrition, issues at home, bullying or stress, and so much more. Teachers, already stretched thin due to staffing shortages, are forced to work with increasingly large groups of students, often without the help of teacher’s aides. For students with more severe mental illness, it falls to the teacher to act as the mediator between student and counsellor. An increase in mental health issues in the classroom, paired with overworked and under-prepared teachers and staff, is affecting the entire school system and directly influence the quality of education students are receiving. Additionally, a severe lack of funding or regulations across the varying school boards, districts, and provincial government this situation is only getting worse.