SUDBURY -- Now entering a seventh week of isolating at home, many Canadians are finding the current guidelines issued by public health officials meant to protect against the spread of COVID-19, are taking a toll on their mental well-being.

With that in mind, the Northern Initiative for Social Action (NISA) is ensuring its accessible mental health resources are simply a phone call away.

"We wanted to make sure that our members and the people who come to visit us each day have peer support available because we know in a changing environment mental health is something we have to pay attention to," said Dinah Laprairie, executive director of NISA.

Despite closing its doors towards the start of the pandemic, NISA, which works closely with its members to help them achieve well-being, has seen some of its busiest days during this pandemic. So much so, that their Regional Warm Line service had to be upgraded after seeing overwhelming demand.

Laprairie said while she was surprised by the level of demand, it is completely normal to be feeling overwhelmed.

"It's completely normal to feel disconnected or feel angry or sad and these are all normal emotions," she said.

"Sometimes you just need to be able to express that to somebody else. Maybe you need to express that in writing or through creative activities, or maybe you need to do it through physical movement. It's very important to take care of ourselves right now."

Megan Mullally works as an outreach personal support worker at NISA.

Typically, her days are filled attending and hosting workshops in the community, where she often makes the first step connecting with members who may need extra support.

"Without having that space readily available, it is more challenging for people to pick up the phone and say 'hey I need to talk'," said Mullaly.

 "So on the outreach side of things we really have made an effort to check in on people and remind them that we're available fairly regularly."

In an effort to keep some sort of normalcy for many people she works with, Mullally said she has been calling at the same time their group workshop may be held.

She said she is also getting phone calls from people who are feeling fine, but may not have someone to share news with.

"I regularly receive phone calls from people who just want to tell me how their day went, or who maybe have found something meaningful that they can do with their time right now and who want to share that, which is great because I'm learning alongside," said Mullally.

A common tool used at NISA is its Wellness Recovery Action Planning Course, which is a daily maintenance plan for wellness.

Laprairie said staff have been relying on tools like this in recent weeks.

"For some people it's taking in some sunshine, for other people it's making sure they take their vitamins or getting enough sleep and its very important to have that awareness about what you need, what the very basics are that you need in your environment and in your daily living so that you can maintain mental wellness."

While she understands the challenge in reaching out for help, Laprairie said staff are eager to help in whatever way they can.

"Our peer support workers are available to answer the phone. Just introduce yourself and they're there to just start the conversation and really they're there to listen, and to walk you through some of the things you might be able to do that day to get through the next few hours, the next day, the next week, however long we're here."

The Regional Warm Line operates 365 days a year.