Recovery program receives $10,000 for media centre
SYDNEY — A cheer went up at Crossroads Cape Breton on Wednesday as Bell Aliant handed over $10,000 to fund the opening next year of a media centre to be used by young adults recovering from mental illness.
Located at the Crossroads clubhouse in Sydney, the media centre is seen as a way for the young adult members to take a more active role in their recovery by working together on media projects.
Crossroads member Mike Corning, who played a role in applying for the Bell grant, said during the presentation event they will also use the camera, computers and music technology to make games and videos that can be shown in area schools and on YouTube to reduce stigmas about mental illness.
Will McKenzie, 31, who has been a member of a Crossroads program for young adults since 2006, said the videos that go out to schools will help younger members dealing with situations he has experienced throughout his life.
McKenzie was also looking forward to making computer-based games and to playing a part in an in-house radio station.
Kevin Hashem, a Bell Aliant regional manager who presented the cheque, said it was clear the $10,000 donation, which comes from what’s called the Let’s Talk Community Fund, will contribute to what makes Crossroads a success.
“You can tell everyone is so committed to this and it’s uplifting and energizing to see how excited everyone is to get this project off the ground.”
Crossroads Cape Breton and the Cape Breton Mental Health Foundation made the application to the Bell Canada and Bell Aliant fund. The Crossroads application was one of 10 in Atlantic Canada and 60 across Canada to be approved this year.
Crossroads is a recovery program to help people who have experienced mental illness maintain their mental health and lead more productive lives, which often involves developing work skills and finding employment.
Colleen Cann MacKenzie, the program co-ordinator, described Crossroads as a kind of launching pad to help the members find things in life that other poeple take for granted, like employment, education, housing and healthy relationships.
Cann MacKenzie said the media centre will make for greater opportunities for the young adults.
“It is really going to allow us to offer a whole new type of work that hopefully will be really exciting and engaging for young people,” she said.
Dr. Linda Courey, a member of the foundation, saw the media centre as a way for Crossroads to reach out to young adults.
“It is about working with others, it’s about having a shared objective, learning new skills, gaining self-confidence and, who knows, maybe it’s about taking some of those skills and using them in the workplace,” said Courey, who is also the director of mental health and addictions services for the Cape Breton District Health Authority.