Mental health initiatives receive boost from feds

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This article was published 06/05/2022 (1400 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mental health resources across the country are getting a boost from the federal government, with a focus on encouraging collaboration between organizations.

The federal government announced Friday a $12.2-million investment in 10 projects through the mental health promotion innovation fund to advance mental health across Canada.

Two organizations in Manitoba will receive funding: $1.325 million will go to Winnipeg-based Newcomers Employment and Education Development Services (NEEDS), which offers services to immigrant and refugee families and children.

Another $1.325 million will go toward initiatives in northern communities, including the Cedar Path in The Pas, a youth-led and youth-focused community initiative that engages people aged 13 to 17 in healthy lifestyles.

Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett made the announcement in Winnipeg. This is on top of $6.6 million that was already invested in 2020.

Stigma often prevents people from asking for help, Bennett said. People coming from other cultures where mental illness or addictions are seen as a weakness can make it even harder for them to ask for help. For some Indigenous people, they are struggling with the effects of colonization, loss of culture and traditional healing practices.

“With so many people struggling with mental wellness issues and substance use issues, this is a huge thing for all of us to be working together,” Bennett said. “We need to understand the harm we do when we accidentally make an assumption around the behaviour of someone who is struggling. We should be thinking about what that person has lived through.”

While the funding is going to specific organizations, the goal is to create partnerships. They will take the funding to build their own programs and are actively seeking other groups around the province to collaborate with to deliver more programs, said Margaret von Lau, chief executive officer of NEEDS.

This is about creating community-based programs to bring assistance to where the people that need it are living.

“We are here to provide supports with a focus on children and youth. We want to look at what is happening in other communities and branch out,” she said. “We have a lot of resources we could share and we can definitely work with groups that have similar issues as ours.”

While the funding amount isn’t much when spread out across the province, the acting chair of Brandon’s Community Wellness Collaborative said it is a step in the right direction to help groups like hers reach out to more people.

“I applaud the government for stepping up on this and if Winnipeg [NEEDS] wants to collaborate, we would be happy to do that,” Antoinette Gravel-Ouellette said.

The organization currently has 55 collaborations going on between different agencies that all have a stake in wellness in Brandon and the Westman area. Something like this would definitely help them build a stronger network, she said.

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