Community Corner:
Mental Illness Awareness Week: “Putting Ourselves in the Picture”
It is estimated that 1 in 5 Canadians will have mental illness at some point in their lives. Many others count people with mental illness among their family, friends, neighbours, and co-workers.
Each October, we observe Mental Illness Awareness Week to spread the word about the true faces of mental illness and the people it affects.
The Sioux Lookout Office of Canadian Mental Health Association – Fort Frances Branch is inviting you to check out our display at Sioux Lookout Public Library from October 6th – 12th.
Our display, “Putting Ourselves in the Picture,” will invite you to reflect on what mental illness means to you, others in your life, and society as a whole.
There are many negative stereotypes about people with mental illness. Many of these stereotypes are kept alive with misleading representations of people with mental illness in the media and in entertainment. This stereotyping, or “stigma,” puts an extra layer of burden on real people who are already struggling with the burden of illness.
Please drop by the Library at 21 Fifth Avenue, Sioux Lookout, between October 5th and 13th to check out information and resources to recognize, respond, and support one another.
Submitted by Alyson Martin, Claudia Jung, and Cameron Airlie, Canadian Mental Health Association - Fort Frances Branch