Mental health support for older adults in the Sudbury area

Northern Initiative For Social Action (NISA), a mental health peer support organization in Sudbury, wants to get the word out about its program for people 55 and over who are facing emotional and mental health challenges or struggling with social isolation.

Officials said the program is there to let people know they not alone, especially during the Holidays.

Postcards are being distributed throughout the community along with information cards on NISA's Older Adult Peer Support program.

The coordinator of the program said this age group often has difficulty opening up about mental health challenges.

"The older adults are suffering from loneliness, isolation," said Shirley Rajotte, the co-ordinator of the Older Adult Peer Support Program at NISA.

“When they were young, if they admitted having a mental health problem, that was a big taboo, that was a big stigma and you may end up in an institution. So a lot of them just covered it up.”

NISA offers peer-to-peer mental health support.

A recent meet-and-greet was to share how NISA is there for people during the Holidays and all year long.

"Peer support is really important in the sense that it's a bit different than typical counselling services," said Shanleigh Brosseau, the communications co-ordinator at NISA.

“It's more so about supporting people in their recovery. It's very self-directed. People have the opportunity to sort of pursue their own recovery as they see is right for them. And we are more here to support them and direct them (to) the right resources.”

Officials at NISA said the Older Adult Peer Support Program started in 2019 and it recently received funding from Health Canada extending it to 2026.