News Photo Anna Smith
Picture of the Bell Let's Talk Day booth at Medicine Hat College on Wednesday.
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
The Students’ Association of Medicine Hat College covered the glass wall with supportive messages, starting necessary conversations for Bell Let’s Talk Day on Wednesday.
The day took place right in the middle of the college’s Mental Health Awareness Week, said SAMHC Health and Wellness coordinator Shaina Hoadley.
“Bell, the telecommunications company, one of their big focuses is Bell Let’s Talk Day, which they do annually to raise awareness around mental health and get those conversations started,” said Hoadley. “It’s about reducing the stigma, promoting positive language, and really supporting people around mental health and everything else that’s going around with that.”
SAMHC reached out to Bell to share their mandate and what they wanted to accomplish by talking part in Bell Let’s Talk Day, and from there, they were given guides on starting those conversations, as well as a variety of items to hand out to students who passed but the tables.
“We’ve got stress balls and all sorts of those goodies there. Their whole thing is about, first of all, raising that mental health awareness, but they also put in a significant portion of funds into funding research and other support initiatives in communities across Canada,” Hoadley said.
One of the most prominent things, Hoadley says, was the Talk Bubbles, where students could leaving supportive or inspiring messages for each other, which were posted along a nearby wall to be read while passing by.
Earlier in the week, the SAMHC had other events to help reach out and support students for their Mental Health Awareness Week, which began on Monday.
“Monday was January 20. It’s called Blue Monday, and that’s supposed to be the saddest day of the year,” said Hoadley. “So what we did is we had a little play on words with that and we called it Brew Monday, and we were brewing tea for people.”
On Tuesday, there was an information fair, providing resources on various community agencies on how to access their services for support if needed.
“For the remainder of the week, we have what’s called our Zen Den. We have a couple different mindfulness crafts going on in the den,” Hoadley said. “We’re doing Zen Garden making and we’re also making stickers and magnets, so lots of fun little things that everyone can get.”
Midwinter can be a difficult time for students between seasonal depression and assignment stress, but SAMHC is pleased to be able to provide support and awareness this week for anyone who needs it.
