The Thompson chapter of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is organizing a series of free public events May 6-10 in honour of mental health awareness week.
Since this year’s theme is all about encouraging people to “Get Loud” about what mental health really looks like, most of these events are designed to engage directly with the community and especially local youth.
So far, CMHA members tried to accomplish this through distributing cupcakes to businesses on Monday and inviting students to make tie dye t-shirts outside their office on Tuesday.
Later on in the week, they’re going to wrap things up with a Thursday afternoon dodgeball match at the Thompson Regional Community Centre and a barbecue from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Friday.
This itinerary will also include a Wednesday afternoon workshop that aims to help people understand the complexities of living with schizophrenia.
“My role in particular is to reduce the stigma, so we can talk about mental health as easily as we can talk about a toothache,” said Katherine Rushton, education and training program co-ordinator for CMHA Thompson. “Because it’s that kind of ailment that is unseen, which makes it that much more difficult. It’s the secrecy and the shame and the silence that we want to eradicate.”
For those who aren’t able to attend this week’s festivities, Rushton encourages these people to contact CMHA directly to find out about the kind of services they offer, like psychosocial rehabilitation, self-help and workplace mental health solutions.
“I always like to suggest that one of the greatest things we can do for ourselves is to begin the journey, to recognize that we have a challenge and be ready to tackle it one small step at a time,” she said.
To learn more about CMHA Thompson, please visit their website or call them at 204-677-6050.
