Information fair kicks off mental health week
Mental Health Week kicked off Monday with an in-person information fair in Port Dover.
“Last year’s theme was Keep Connected because we were all isolated and locked down,” said Lill Petrella, team lead of mental health promotion and education at the Brant Haldimand Norfolk branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association. “Now we need to interact with individuals, and understand why people are feeling the way they are.”
She said the pandemic has resulted in a lot of societal divisiveness, prompting the chapter to adopt the theme of empathy.
“Given the pandemic toll on our collective wellness, it’s more important than ever to practice empathy, for others and ourselves,” Petrella observed. “When we do something good for others, we lift their spirits and our own.”
The CMHA BHN chapter’s assistant executive director John Ranger said workers are now trying to get back to face-to-face meetings with clients, some of whom remain hesitant.
“Part of our mandate is to help people with hope,” Ranger said. “And I think the biggest challenge we had was finding hope at times when things seemed very dark. Now there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”
He said that virtual outreach support by phone or online meetings was effective.
“It got us through but now it’s time to get back to the roots of what we do,” Ranger said. “The evidence we have says face-to-face is the way to engage with individuals that are struggling.”
Among a number of partner agencies with booths at the fair held at Kinsmen Park was the Haldimand Norfolk Assertive Community Treat Team (ACTT) through St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton.
“We’re an outpatient psychiatric team, so we have a group of clients we serve in the community,” said manager Candice Babbey. “We go out to them and whatever their goals are, we help to facilitate.”
She described ACTT as a multi-disciplinary team with a psychiatrist, social worker, nurses, vocational and other community support counselors whose aim is to help clients maintain wellness in the community.
“We have a caseload of 70 right now,” she noted. “We like to keep a small clinician-to-client ratio so we’re able to do that intensity.
“Some clients we see every day, some we see once a week or once a month. It varies on their goals.”
LEAP, a newly branded agency that is part of Community Living Haldimand, helps people – some who have disabilities – find jobs by working with local businesses to match job seekers and employers.
“Historically having helped people with intellectual disabilities, sometimes there’s a stigma attached,” said program manager Kricia Gitta. “Some think they are not going to be able to do the job, are going to call in all the time, or that there would be lower productivity.”
LEAP provides two- and six-week programs that include resume writing, interview skills and mock interviews so job seekers are aware of employer expectations.
Another component of Mental Health Week is a sign challenge.
Petrella said businesses are encouraged to post positive messages about mental health and wellness on sandwich-boards, digital billboards, or a printed page on a window with #GetLoudBHN and a Twitter tag to @BHNMentalHeatlhWeek.
“Focusing on your mental health should be the same as focusing on your physical health,” Petrella said.