COMMUNITY PROGRAMS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

The ‘At Work/Au Travail’ program works with people living with mental illness or addictions, and with employers, to help remove barriers to meaningful employment. CMHA BC’s Victoria office is one of 13 national sites selected to implement the pilot program. ‘At Work’ offers individualized services to adults recovering from mental illness or addiction, including help with career counselling, resume building, job interviews and work placement. Since January 2016, we have served 43 clients through the program, and have helped 21 clients secure jobs. The ‘At Work/Au Travail’ program is funded by Service Canada and CMHA Toronto. For information on eligibility, contact CMHA’s Victoria office at: 250-216-4228. ‘Living Life to the Full’ is a fun course shown to improve mood and well-being, and reduce stress and anxiety. This past year, CMHA has been pleased to offer several courses for older adults at retirement communities in our city. Both groups had attendance of 12 to 15, and participants reported enjoyment in learning new skills and renewing old strategies. In addition, ‘Living Life to the Full’ was introduced in three schools in North Saanich, as well as four in Greater Victoria. Students continue to find value in the skills they are learning with nearly 100 per cent citing they would recommend the program to a friend. We are grateful to the Margaret Roche-Heywood Foundation, the Victoria Foundation, Ride Don’t Hide, and Noodlebox for helping to make ‘Living Life to the Full’ possible in Victoria. This year, CMHA offered two free safeTalk trainings in the Victoria community. safeTalk is one of two levels of training offered throughout B.C. through CMHA’s Community Gatekeeper training program. ASIST, a two-day interactive workshop in suicide intervention, is also available.