“While I believe that some of the stigma surrounding mental health is improving as we have more open discussion in our community, stigma still exists when folks are accessing care,” said Kelsey Puddister, managing director and team lead at The Jacob Puddister Memorial Foundation in St. John’s.That's why the Canadian Mental Health Association recently announced that this year’s Mental Health Week, which runs May 6-12, is centred on the healing power of compassion.
“Accessing mental health services and self-advocating is one of the most vulnerable things a person can do sometimes. Unfortunately, there is still a message that we should be able to get better on our own or that we are weak because we need support or community to feel better.” In July 2023, the provincial government released its final report on Towards Recovery, a five-year mental health action plan that began in 2017.
“As a province, we need to focus on creating long-term mental health care – including counselling, psychology, and psychiatric services – programs that are available province-wide. We need more than temporary solutions. We need effective and evidence-based programs that can help people improve their mental health for the long-term.”Anthony Brenton agrees.