Community Links opens at public library
Anew Lethbridge initiative has already won a provincial award. That news was shared during an official opening earlier this week for the relocated Community Links program at the downtown library.
The information and referral service, provided by the Canadian Mental Health Association, is now located at a crossroads in the newly updated downtown branch of the Lethbridge Public Library.
“Community Links is an excellent complement to library services,” said Terra Plato, the library system’s chief executive officer.
“Community Links staff are specially trained and can help customers navigate the sometimes complex government and health information programs.”
The partnership, she added, has expanded the library’s role “as a community hub and a true community connector.”
“It’s an excellent fit with what we are already doing,” Plato said.
The success of that approach — which had a “soft launch” earlier this year — was recognized by this year’s “Award of Excellence” presented during the annual conference of the Family and Community Support Services Association of Alberta.
“We are very proud to be partners with these organizations,” said Marty Thomsen, manager of community social development for the City of Lethbridge — who accepted the award recently in Edmonton.
Heather Mueller, the program’s director, described the library as an “all-inclusive space” that people access for many reasons. With the central location, “We can support people where they are.”
The Community Links information centre is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, then noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.
“By bringing this program to the community, we are actively removing stigma that individuals might feel in accessing the same services through our doors as a mental health organization,” said Deborah Chenery, executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s south Alberta zone, in an earlier statement.
The library has also become the home for “Mental Health Cafe” sessions, where visitors can chat with mental health volunteers about how they’re using the library’s resources, and how they might make use of other community programs.