Mental health help is on the way
One year after the mass shooting that began in Portapique and extended to surrounding communities, Nova Scotians impacted by the tragedy will be provided with a boost in mental health supports and services to the tune of $115,000.
This effort comes from the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia’s Scotiabank Resilience Fund. Six new community mental health initiatives - including grief support services, therapeutic recreation, mental health literacy, and peer support - will help hundreds of community members who are struggling.
“These innovative mental health programs will provide trauma-informed, resiliency-building skills to those impacted by last year’s tragedies,” says Starr Cunningham, Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia president and CEO.
“The Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia is proud to fund these worthwhile organizations who are committed to supporting the treatment and recovery of Nova Scotians living with mental illness and addiction.”
It has been a particularly challenging year for communities within Colchester-East Hants with last April’s mass shooting, followed by the disappearance of three-year-old Dylan Ehler, and pandemic-related trauma.
“The layering of tragic events this past year, and the sheer horror of April's shootings, have created a collective trauma. This, coupled with the isolating and hopelessness created for some by COVID, has decreased overall reported mental health,” says Susan Henderson, executive director CMHA Colchester East-Hants.
Henderson and her team have been awarded funding for two new initiatives: the Resilience Educational Program and Building Resiliency — A Community Approach. These mental health literacy programs will increase understanding and compassion towards those living with mental illness and addiction. They will also provide community members with peer support and practical tools and coping skills for their mental health.
In nearby Portapique, youth will benefit from the Scotiabank Resilience Fund through the MacPhee Centre’s Portapique Project. This communitybased initiative will offer creative learning opportunities and proactive strategies to enhance mental health. It will provide young people a space to heal through art under the guidance of adult mentors, rec therapists, artists, and social workers.
Funding is also being expanded to the Colchester East Hants Hospice Society’s Mobile Grief Support Services. It will support residents affected by the loss of a loved one and allow them to heal while continuing their journey through grief.
The Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia funding will also focus on helping first responders. Nearly 400 East Hants Fire Services Volunteer firefighters and their families will benefit from a new Family & Member Mental Health & Wellness Program. This mental health literacy and peer support initiative will help meet the need of many of these volunteer first responders who do not have EAP and lack access to mental health supports.
And finally, the After Trauma Empowerment Network has been awarded funding for a weekly Music & Art After Trauma program. Each week the online forum will educate participants on a new topic related to trauma and mental illness paired with a music/art component.
“We are incredibly thankful for the many organizations and individuals who are working so hard to help so many,” says Cuningham. “Nova Scotians are caring and strong people who exemplify what it means to be resilient. We know these new mental health programs will make a difference in our communities now and in the future.”