Throughout my time at the Journal, I have covered many stories about people supporting their community.
There was so much support and care in the room during the Humboldt and Area Refugee Coalition concert fundraiser on Nov. 17 with many people stepping up to help out.
And this past week I had the pleasure of talking with the women who started the Humboldt Cancer Support Group for cancer patients, survivors, and their family and friends.
I had the honour of writing about agriculture producers going through mental health problems and how people are finally starting to talk about the problem.
I also spoke with the gentleman who worked so hard to bring Narcotics Anonymous to Humboldt.
These are all stories of how people going through difficult circumstances need help to get through it.
Everyone deserves a helping hand and everyone will need one at at least one point in their life.
This is why it is frustrating to hear the phrases like “You made your bed, now lie in it” or “Suck it up.”
These are powerful statements because it keeps people from finding help in the first place. They support the mentality of some people deserve, help while others do not.
This is why support groups were created. To provide a safe place to people who need it, no matter what they are going through.
To everyone going through trouble, you are not alone and you do deserve help.
I spoke with Erika Berting of the Humboldt Cancer Support Group about why the group was founded, and she said something very important:
“Everybody going through emotional turmoil needs support.”
The fact that this cancer support group is offering much-needed support to cancer patients and their family and friends is an important aspect of patient care.
I am happy to see support for mental health in farming on the rise over the last few months, including mental health panels being included in conferences.
Kim Keller with Women in Ag was happy with the response to the Mental Health in Ag panel that she chaired during the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan Midterm Meeting prior to the July 13-14 Carbon Summit.
During the last fiscal year, 227 calls were made to the Farm Stress Line, which is run by the Mobile Crisis Services out of Regina. In July of 2017, 59 calls came in.
While these numbers are scary, it does mean that more people are coming forward looking for mental health assistance.
According to Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), we do not know yet what causes addiction, and the numbers are staggering. “76.3 million people worldwide have alcohol use disorders, at least 15.3 million people worldwide have drug use disorders, (and) about one third of the world’s population over the age of 15 smoke tobacco.”
Also according to CAMH, “nobody chooses to become addicted, and addiction is not simply due to personal weakness or character flaws.”
Support systems and groups are a need in today’s society because we all need help sometimes.
Thank you to all the support groups in the Humboldt area.
They are providing a much-needed and valuable service to anyone who needs a helping hand.
