Canadians are being asked to #GETLOUD to maintain positive mental health. The Canadian Mental Health Association is asking Canadians to get loud for mental health and encouraging them to talk more openly and honestly about mental health during their 65th annual Mental Health Week.
“Getting loud means speaking up to stop the discrimination and the stigma that usually go hand in hand with mental illness,” said said Tasha Collins, executive director of the CMHA Weyburn.
“It means taking action and using your voice to raise awareness and build support. For someone at work. For someone at home. For yourself. Get loud to maintain positive mental health and get loud to get it back. Because the louder we all get, the bigger difference we will make. And there’s a lot of difference to be made.”
“This year we’re also getting loud by wearing green in support of positive mental health,” said Collins. According to BC’s Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre, green ribbons were used in the 1800s to label people who were considered ‘insane’.
“We’re going to give the colour green a whole new meaning and turn the historical negative association on its head,” said Collins. “Help remove the stigma of mental illness, wear green loud and proud! “
The Canadian Mental Health Association introduced Mental Health Week in 1951 to raise awareness of mental illness in Canada. Today, this special week offers practical ways to maintain and improve mental health and support recovery from mental illness and addictions.
“We are paying special attention this year to the mental health of older Canadians because seniors are a vulnerable and under-treated group,” said Collins. “Depression is the most common mental health problem for older adults and men over the age of 80 have the highest suicide rate in Canada.”
Here is a list of Mental Health Week events and activities in Weyburn:
The semicolon tattoo event will be held on Monday, May 2. CMHA Weyburn has partnered with Under Your Skin and Détente Spa to offer tattoos and body art as a way to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and promote mental health.
The annual Mayors Luncheon will be Tuesday, May 3. Guest speaker Jayne Whyte will be speaking about mental health and seniors. The luncheon is at McKenna Hall from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tickets cost $20 each and can be purchased by contact CMHA Weyburn.
CMHA Weyburn’s Youth Theatre group will be performing their original play “Summer Theatre” at the Tommy Douglas Centre on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 3 and 4 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased from the CMHA Weyburn.
Const. Jeffery Bartsch and CMHA Weyburn will be on location at Andrew Agencies on Thursday, May 5 for a meet and greet. The community is encouraged to show their support for Const. Bartsch and his Marathon for Mental Health. They will be selling bracelets and talking about the campaign.
A list of CMHA’s mental health programs and services for seniors across Canada can be found on the mental health week website, located at mentalhealthweek.ca.
Across Canada, Mental Health Week events and activities are hosted in hundreds of CMHA community locations. These events will provide Canadians with information, resources and practical ways to stay mentally and physically healthy all year. For a full listing of events visit mentalhealthweek.ca.
