The two arenas in this township will soon be equipped with signs to assist people suffering from mental health issues and/or those who need assistance from mental health agencies.
The program is courtesy of the #GetinTouchForHutch committee, which was founded to combat the stigma surrounding mental health after youthful Arthur resident Steven Hutchison took his own life last Feb. 10 at the age of 18.
His parents Stu and Myrna Hutchison organized a run-walk fundraiser on June 29 that attracted some 600 participants and raised $65,000.
The committee has already set up a board sign at the Sportsplex in Mount Forest and is expected to install a similar sign at the Arthur arena within the next couple of weeks. The plan will also see the installation of posters in dressing rooms at both arenas.
“Having spent a good number of hours watching our boys at the arena, we are aware that there are a large number of events held and people who pass through our community centres during the year,” Myrna Hutchison said in an email to the Advertiser.
“… This provided a good opportunity for our committee to use this as a communication forum for the message that we wanted to share.
“We approached the Rec Committee for Wellington North and they approved our idea of creating an ice surface board ad as well as signage for each of the dressing rooms in both the Arthur and Mount Forest arenas.”
Initial response to the campaign has been positive, she added.
“We have received requests from neighbouring communities to implement something similar in their areas [and] are working on a plan to make that happen later this year.”
In a related campaign, Bell will again be hosting its Let’s Talk Day on Jan. 28.
Bell donates five cents for every text sent, mobile call and long distance call made by Bell and Bell Aliant customers, every tweet using #BellLetsTalk and every Facebook share of the Bell Let’s Talk Day image. Bell has donated slightly more than $62 million to fund mental health programs.
The Bell campaign aims to help remove the stigma around mental health issues.
