Helping South Asian youth in Calgary
“Big Brothers Big Sisters of Calgary and Area has joined forces with Punjabi Resilience and Empowerment in Mental Health (PREM) to create the virtual mentoring pilot project.
"Mental health is not something that's talked about in the South Asian community," said Gurpreet Lail, president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Calgary and Area. "And we haven't even seen the effects of COVID yet. We have no idea yet what that's going to look like."” (Virtual mentoring project helping South Asian youth navigate mental health issues in Calgary)
We thought this announcement from last week was a great reason for us to highlight work being done to support the mental health of newcomers and immigrant-based families. Here are a few resources accessible to those seeking more holistic cultural supports for mental health within their community.
Community Connect YYC offers low-barrier access to Counselling for Immigrants and First Languages. (https://bit.ly/3zvdRUY)
The Centre for Refugee Resilience through Calgary Catholic Immigrant Society offers accessible, culturally-appropriate services that address trauma. (https://bit.ly/3vtT4hd)
The Therapy & Support Centre through Immigrant Services Calgary offers a variety of programs and services for individuals and families. (https://bit.ly/3gtLteo)
The Centre for Newcomers offers mental health settlement, non-therapeutic counselling, and crisis intervention as necessary. (https://bit.ly/3vzEsNo)
TIES Healthy Minds through the Immigrant Education Society offers free, confidential services to help you find peace and balance in your life. (https://bit.ly/2UPxmVg)
We recently shared additional resources for BIPOC and LGBTQ2+ communities through BEAM (https://bit.ly/3gnbtYT) and The Mighty (https://bit.ly/3wqzow2) .
Because, while we have no idea of the emotional repercussions over the next 2-3 years from COVID-19, the effects are starting to become more evident. In the article, “'We are in a mental health crisis': Calgary doctors witness surge in kids in distress” (https://bit.ly/3vqgJ2g) it’s clear we need more community-based solutions to test and build solutions that will work for the long-term.
Looking for some creative ways to talk about mental health in your family? There is a fantastic online festival for films and ideas around underrepresented topics related to mental health! (https://bit.ly/3vuIjeA) It runs June 21-25, 2021 and registration is OPEN and FREE to the public. RSVP now!
“The 2021 topics for five-minute short films are:
Mental health issues specific to Black people.
Mental health issues related to immigration experiences.
The world premiere of these films will take place on June 21, 2021 and will be followed by a week-long festival of dialogue and discussion in which our esteemed storytellers will lead interactive, enlightening sessions exploring topics related to mental health in marginalized communities.”
Ideally these resources help you feel like there are ways to improve your quality of life, your mental health literacy, and understanding that these challenges affect everyone differently.
