By Chantal Wagner

Southeast CMHA working to offer online recovery college

May 22, 2020 | 3:39 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The southeast region of the Canadian Mental Health Association has been working behind the scenes to open a recovery college in Medicine Hat.

Executive Director Cori Fischer says a recovery college is education-based to help people develop skills to support themselves on a recovery journey.

Whether its mental illness, mental health, or addictions.

Courses will include resiliency, communication, relationship building, setting boundaries, self-care, and getting a better night’s sleep.

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Fischer says Medicine Hat wanted the region’s centre up and running by April 1 but COVID-19 put plans on hold.

Now they’re working to have it online until it can be in-person again.

“So we really want to make sure the peer facilitators are properly trained because the whole basis of recovery college is it’s a peer. It’s somebody who has lived experience, someone who is already on the road to recovery from whatever and they’re going to support because really they’re more of an expert in some of these areas than we are as professionals because they’ve lived it.”

The southeast CMHA received a $10,000 grant this month as part of the Community Foundation of Southeastern Alberta’s first round of emergency funding during the pandemic.

Fischer says the majority of the grant will help hire and train peer facilitators for the recovery college and continue to support their existing programs.

She adds, recovery colleges have become really popular in the UK and Australia and about 5 years ago they started coming to Canada.

Calgary has taken the lead and started a recovery college program and central hub. In the last year and a half they have been ramping up recovery colleges across Alberta to all CMHA’s.

There is no online site yet for the local recovery college, but more information about it can be seen on CMHA’s Calgary website.

The online programs will be free and allow the local CMHA to offer support in the community until meeting in person again.

Fischer says anyone would benefit from the support and education of these courses and they are in the early stages of hiring peers.

She says CMHA is hoping to offer the programs, support, and education in a variety of locations like the library, Medicine Hat College, and youth drop-in centre. And have a central hub as well.

“There’s still some stigma around mental health. So if you’re just attending a course at the college or library, it’s comfortable for anyone to go. But if you’re attending at mental health, it can be a little more intimidating,” Fischer said.