Eston is raising mental health awareness
By Joan Janzen
The Eston & District Health Care Committee is hosting an event on Thursday, August 25th, to raise awareness regarding mental health issues in their community. The event will be held at the AGT Community Centre in the Olorenshaw Farm Services Mezzanine, kicking off with a free pizza meal and refreshments at 6:00 p.m., provided by Central Plains Co-op.
Following the meal, Carmen Ledding from the Canadian Mental Health Association in Rosetown, will be the featured guest speaker for the workshop. Carmen is also the facilitator and contributor of H.O.P.E. Learning Centre, a virtual CMHA SK platform. She will be presenting an educational session on depression.
“Many people are overwhelmed with knowing where to go for help, and part of that is dispelling the stigma around mental health,” Carmen explained. “It is so important for us to know when someone is struggling and that there are helpful counselors and mental health education resources that are there to help us cope in our day to day. Working on our mental health is a daily practice and it is so important to know there is help around us in rural Saskatchewan.”
Topics discussed will include recognizing the signs and symptoms of depression in ourselves and others, healthy ways to cope through trying times, and first steps to take if you are concerned about yourself or others. The Eston & District Health Care Committee realized the importance of these topics after the events of the past several years.
The committee consists of three councillors from the Town of Eston, three RM councillors, the manager of the long term care home in Eston, and one member at large, explained Matt Toner, councillor with the Town of Eston. Matt is one of the councillors on the Health Care Committee.
The committee has been in place for many years, conducting farm stress workshops in the past. Now it is, once again advocating for the needs of the community.
“One of our members attended a SUMA convention,” Matt said. “There were lots of different sectors of government talking about mental health. Whether it was policing or social services, it was kind of the main theme of the whole conference. That information came back to our committee, and we felt we could make a difference.”
The event is open to the public and participants can request additional resources from CMHA Rosetown. The workshop will apply to anyone having concerns about mental health.
“We’re hoping to have a good event,” Matt concluded. The community of Eston hopes to host additional presentations in the future to raise awareness of mental health.