Earlier this month, Mental Health Week was celebrated with the theme, “Understanding your emotions.” The Associate Minister for Mental Health and Addictions, Jason Luan, is reminding us that help, and resources are always there for those facing any type of mental health issue.  

During the pandemic, there has been a significant demand for more mental health support. The province brought in the “Covid-19 Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan”.  Jason Luan says that the province responded early in the pandemic by providing grant funding to help services adapt to reach people who were feeling increasingly isolated.  

Organizations in our region received the following amounts: 

$150,000 Grande Prairie Friendship Centre 

$75,000 to Grande Prairie Volunteer Services Bureau 

$200,000 Burden Bearers Counselling Society 

$175,000 Grande Prairie Hospice Palliative Care Society 

$125,340 Grande Prairie Youth Emergency Shelter Society 

$135,693 Suicide Prevention Resource Centre 

The province dramatically increased access to mental health. Over 21 million dollars were used to set up a mental health hotline, health addiction hotline, a kid's helpline, text for help, and 211 social services. You can access these services 24/7 in over 100 different languages.  

Luan says the simplest way to remember is to just dial 211. 

Minister Luan shared that these supports would not be possible without their key partners including community partners, church groups, and community groups. 

With their relationship, connection, network and support they can mobilize people, and find creative ways to become connected while maintaining social distancing. 

Luan encourages people to use the supports suited to their style, to look for help and not to harbour the challenges. 

“Reach out and do something about it.”