Funding for local mental health organizations

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Two local organizations that provide mental health support services are receiving funding grants from the provincial government.

Wheatland County Counselling received $100,000 while Growing Families Society for East Rural Counties received $85,460.

The grants are part of the Alberta government’s $53 million COVID Mental Health Action Plan. These programs are a part of the government’s strategy to support the mental wellness and addiction recovery of Albertans during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funding to Wheatland County Counselling is being used to support the organization’s subsidized counselling program, said Rachel Dundas, executive director. The program, eligibility for which is based on income, will be running through to the end of September of this year. 

Dundas said that over the past year, there has been an increased need for mental health support services.

“As the pandemic goes on longer and longer, it causes a lot more stress and a lot more anxiety,” she said. “Especially in the second round of lockdown, when a lot of people who had gone back to work were laid off again.”

The Growing Families Society supports families in Strathmore and east rural communities. Its mission is to promote, support and advocate healthy lifestyles within rural communities by enhancing the unity of the family structure through various client directed programs and community development.

“The Growing Families Society supports families in Strathmore with their mission to promote, support and advocate healthy lifestyles,” said Leela Aheer, Minister of Culture, Multiculturalism, and Status of Women, and MLA for Chestermere-Strathmore.