WORDS THAT MATTER
Beth Blakley and Jae Ford are happy that the Dubé Centre for Mental Health in Saskatoon is on board with their Signs of Healing project. The signs offer messages of support and comfort that patients can look out on from the centre’s windows during their stay
Patients at the Dubé Centre for Mental Health can now look out a window during their stay to see messages of support prominently displayed along the Meewasin Trail.
Beth Blakley and Jae Ford were ecstatic when they got the news that their Signs of Healing project would be implemented with the help of the Saskatchewan Health Authority, after their first attempt to place the signs in October fell through due to miscommunications and confusion about what was happening.
“Any message from the community of inspiration or positivity around getting treatment for mental health would be a welcome response for anyone here,” said Zoe Teed McKay, a manager for mental health and addictions services at the Dubé Centre. “So, we didn’t want to be a barrier to that, especially when we realized the intent.”
Since then, Blakley says Teed McKay has been working with them closely to make sure the signs, bearing positive messages like ‘Sick not weak’ and ‘Your struggle is real,’ were placed prominently to support people coping with mental health issues. Both Blakley and Ford are all too familiar with that struggle.
“So much of my depression is triggered by helplessness,” Ford said. “The fact that we’ve seen the scope of this project and how helpful it will be, it has given me a lot of hope.”
Teed McKay said people are often afraid to reach out for help, so when they do and they see those messages, she hopes it will mean a lot just to know that others understand and support them.
“The signs truly come from a place of understanding, and I know our patients will recognize that when they read them.”
While the couple waited for the signs to be approved, they reached out to friends who had also spent time as mental health patients. The feedback they received was overwhelmingly positive, with many saying they wished something like this was available while they were struggling.
If the signs go over well with patients at the Dubé Centre, Ford and Blakley say the next step is to expand the project to other mental health facilities in Saskatchewan and maybe even across Canada. They hope to form a partnership with a printer to help create high quality signs that can outlast extreme weather.
Until then, they are happy to know the support is there for whoever might need it.