NORTH BAY -- In honour of Bell Let’s Talk Day, CFB North Bay hosted a Mental Health Services Expo at 22 Wing.
The goal is to help soldiers and community members navigate the various mental health resources available to them.
22 Wing Commander Col. Mark Lachapelle says it’s a great way to educate the military and the community about the services available for mental health.
“We’ve come a long way. We’d like to see us take another step forward every year to improve the awareness, but also to better educate about all the programs that are out there and also to make sure that we bring along our community partners and leverage them," said Lachapelle. "There’s a hub in town that allows us to share that information, we want to be part of that, sit at the table, and do our part to make mental health a big talking point, not only on Bell Let’s talk day, but every day.”
There were 34 local mental health and wellness organizations on hand at the expo, including the North Bay Police Service and Military Chaplains, like Captain Justin Peter.
Peter says they have a lot of different programs that support mental health in the military.
"I think people are surprised at knowing how many people that are actually in their world that suffer from some form of mental illness," said Peter. "Recognizing that and summoning that compassion and that willingness to be open, and to be supportive is something that has really been on the rise since all of this awareness has been out there, so I think that’s a wonderful thing."
Trevor Monahan helps to coordinate the expo and says they’re hoping that Bell Let’s Talk Day isn’t just one day of conversation, but that it spreads out and becomes regular conversation.
"The big thing with Bell Let’s Talk is that we are all starting conversations, which gets it out of the area of stigma. So, by having conversations and getting people together to share resources we realized that you’re not alone in this and there is help available," said Monahan.
Lachappelle says thanks to Bell Let’s Talk Day he has seen a lot of changes in the way mental illness is perceived. He says the next step is to continue to create awareness around the resources available.
