CMHA Edmonton and Multicultural Health Brokers Co-op support senior’s mental health with an $18,000 grant from the Bell Let’s Talk Community Fund
EDMONTON, AB: The Canadian Mental Health Association – Edmonton Region (CMHA Edmonton) is pleased to be a recipient of a Bell Let’s Talk Community Fund grant. The $18,000 grant will support an ongoing mental health initiative with the Multicultural Health Brokers Co-op for racialized communities in the Edmonton region.
The Bell Let’s Talk Community Fund grant will support the Multicultural Seniors Outreach Program, a collaborative initiative between CMHA Edmonton and the Multicultural Health Brokers Co-Op aimed at enhancing the well-being of immigrant, refugee, and newcomer seniors. The partnership aims to address culturally nuanced mental health topics, including stresses related to immigration and stigmas that prevent families from addressing mental illness.
“Together with the Multicultural Health Brokers Co-op, we’ve been working to connect with community members and identify gaps in mental health services. A key aspect of the program is starting the conversation about mental health. With support from the Bell Let’s Talk Community Fund, we are working to address the stigma associated with mental illness, making mental health a community issue rather than one restricted to the private domain of the individual,” said CMHA Edmonton Executive Director Giri Puligandla.
“Since COVID began, our team of Senior Outreach Brokers has been witnessing and responding to the heightening of economic hardship and social isolation amongst the most marginalized seniors they serve. These seniors are part of ethno-cultural communities with harsh refugee backgrounds or complex pre and post migration life realities. The stigma around mental health issues impacts conversations amongst seniors and their efforts to seek healing. Along with our CMHA colleagues, our team of Brokers are able to integrate more intentional efforts towards understanding the root causes of stigma and begin to “dissolve” it within their one-on-one outreach support or group work,” said Yvonne Chiu, Executive Director of Multicultural Health Brokers Co-operative.
The Multicultural Seniors Outreach Program’s core funding covers eight ethnographic communities in Edmonton. In 2020, short-term emergency funding expanded the program to include a total of 13 communities. The Bell Let’s Talk Community Fund grant will support the additional communities and a new collaboration between CMHA Edmonton and health brokers providing services. This collaborative framework will establish key relationships between CMHA Edmonton and various ethnographic communities in the region, laying the foundation for an inclusive approach for providing newcomer and racialized groups with mental health care.
“Bell Let’s Talk is pleased to support CMHA Edmonton and the Multicultural Seniors Outreach Program to improve the well-being of immigrant, refugee, and newcomer seniors in the Edmonton area,” said Mary Deacon, Chair of Bell Let’s Talk. “The Bell Let’s Talk Community Fund provides grants to mental health organizations in communities throughout the country, like CMHA Edmonton, working to expand access to mental health care for more people who need support close to home.”
Bell Let’s Talk promotes Canadian mental health with national awareness and anti-stigma campaigns like Bell Let’s Talk Day and significant Bell funding of community care and access, research, and workplace leadership initiatives throughout the country. To learn more, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.
About Canadian Mental Health Association – Edmonton (CMHA Edmonton)
CMHA Edmonton works within the community to support people experiencing mental illness and their families through advocacy, education, research, services, and programming. CMHA Edmonton works alongside community partners to service vulnerable and targeted populations who are living with or are at risk of developing mental health challenges. The organization provides education and training programs to various community actors and nurtures strong relationships within Edmonton through community-based services.
About Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative (MCHB)
The MCHB is an award-winning workers cooperative that serves over 30 ethnocultural communities in Edmonton through the practice of cultural brokering. Since its inception, the MCHB consistently works to build capacity within ethnocultural individuals, families and communities and linking them to formal / mainstream institutions and services. The MCHB and its 120 plus health brokers are relied upon by mainstream agencies and institutions in matters relating to the health, education, individual and family wellness of ethnocultural community members. The organization is driven by creative solutions, aided by a holistic understanding of families and a deep commitment to equity and social inclusion.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Bethany Neufeld
Communications & Development Coordinator
Canadian Mental Health Association – Edmonton Region
E: bneufeld@cmha-edmonton.ab.ca
P: 780-893-6951
Cheri Harris
Seniors Outreach Support
Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative
E: cheri@mchb.org
P: 780-221-8760