Image from MH Health Foundation/Facebook

By Chris Brown

Will be put to good use right away

CNRL kicks off Giving Hope for Mental Health campaign with $10,000 donation

Apr 18, 2021 | 9:33 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The Medicine Hat & District Health Foundation has launched its Giving Hope for Mental Health campaign and a donation from Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. Is giving it a big kickstart.

CNRL donated $10,000 this week.

“We are committed to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of the people who reside in the communities where we operate,” says Curtis Scherger, CNRL’s Medicine Hat superintendent, in a news release. “This year we are proud to contribute to the Medicine Hat & District Health Foundation’s ‘Giving Hope for Mental Health’ initiative which provides access to mental health services and supports to the people that need it most.”

Heather Bach, executive director of the Medicine Hat & District Health Foundation, says that money will be put to good use right away.

The money will be used to buy new mattresses for the Medicine Hat Recovery Centre.

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“The recovery centre opened a number of years ago already and if you can imagine how many different people have been through there, those mattresses have never been replaced or upgraded.” says Bach. “So that’s probably step one for us, to make sure that those patients have something comfortable to sleep on so they’re getting a restful night’s sleep.”

Bach adds mental health concerns are at the forefront now due to the COVID-19 pandemic and are going to be a concern for years to come.

She says it’s important for the community to rally behind mental health.

“There’s not one solution to it. Everyone is different and everyone needs different options. We as a community need to get behind mental health from all different angles,” she said.

More fundraising initiatives and promotions are in the works, Bach says, and to watch for them in May.

The “Giving Hope for Mental Health” campaign aims to raise more than $500,000 for the mental health departments, focusing on the following:

• Funds given to the hospital will be used for beds, furniture, and a large-scale upgrade to the facility’s design to optimize safety, security and comfort for adult inpatient care.
• Creating a dedicated mental health space for youth in the hospital environment so that kids in crisis have a warm safe space.
• The Medicine Hat Recovery Center will use their funds for new mattresses and beds, better landscaping, incorporating a walking path and meditation space.
• Ongoing exercise equipment and program support needs for the mental health outreach programs.