Coffee convo events set for Mental Illness Awareness
By Medicine Hat News on September 29, 2018.
Medicine Hat News Mental Illness Awareness Week runs Oct. 1-7, and a number of “coffee and conversation” events are planned at local cafes, schools and the hospital. Events are co-ordinated by the Alberta Health Services South Zone Prevention and Promotion Team, Addiction and Mental Health Services, in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association. AHS says the purpose is to connect with patrons regarding their views on mental illness, share facts and offer resource information. Dates, times and locations for the “coffee and conversation” events in Medicine Hat are: Oct. 1 — 9:30-11 a.m., at Zucchini Blossom, 50 Third Street NE. Oct. 2 — 1-3 p.m. Redcliff Bakery, 8 Third Street SE in Redcliff. Oct. 3 —9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Medicine Hat Regional Hospital Ambulatory Care Wing. Oct. 3 —9-10 a.m., at Monsignor McCoy High School, 202 Eighth Street NE (for students, parents and school staff) in collaboration with their Mental Health Capacity Building Projects — Community Coming Together) Oct. 3 — 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Medicine Hat College, 299 College Drive. In its press release, Alberta Health Services says that by age 40, about 50 per cent of the population will have, or have had, a mental illness; and in 2011, either a mood or an anxiety disorder were the most common mental illnesses in Canada. Mental illnesses are serious medical illnesses, AHS says. They cannot be overcome through willpower and are not related to a person’s character or intelligence. 12-11
