By Ashley Wiebe

Community organizations continue to partner for mental health

Jan 15, 2018 | 4:03 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — Blue Monday is said to be the most depressing day of the year.

Marked on the calendar as the third Monday in January, the day comes at a time just after the holidays, when the bills need to be paid and the days are short and cold.

Even though the day was originally dubbed the most depressing day of the year to help market travel vacations, this time of year can be a real struggle for people living with mental health issues.

Cori Fischer with the Canadian Mental Health Association said it’s important people take time for themselves, focus on self-care and to ask for help when it’s needed.

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“Don’t isolate,” she said. “Don’t isolate yourself and make sure you’re getting out and connecting with people, whether it’s by phone, by text, not isolating ourselves. We tend to, when it’s this cold and it is definitely cold, we tend to try and stay indoors when really what we should be doing is getting some fresh air.”

CMHA has a number of services and programs available for anyone who asks.

The way the Medicine Hat Police Service handles mental health calls has also changed in the last few years.

The Police and Crisis Team (PACT) is still relatively new for the service.

It’s made up of an officer and a mental health clinician from Alberta Health Services. The pair work together during those emergency situations.

It’s helped people who are in a mental health crisis find the supports and services they need instead of getting tangled up in the justice system.

First responders are also taking specialized training, teaching them skills, like de-escalation techniques, for those situations.

Inspector Tim McGough said the service is optimistic that the partnership is working.

“We want to really ensure that anytime police officers are dealing with somebody who’s in a mental health crisis, that we don’t have to use force in order to get them to the help that they need,” he said. “We’d rather be able to empathize with them, de-escalate the situation and get them to those professionals in the community that can actually help them.”

For more information, visit the Canadian Mental Health Association website by clicking here.