Flagstaff County, as nominated by Flagstaff Family & Community Services (FFCS) was chosen as one of 15 communities in Alberta to take part in a Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) pilot project that focuses on mental health, mental illness and community well-being in Rural Alberta.

The Goal is to support 150 rural communities over the next 3 years, to develop community road-maps and actions plans through the Rural Mental Health Project (RMHN)

The Vision for this project is to support mental wellness in rural communities. CMHA believes mentally healthy communities think broadly about mental health and mental illness. This includes, but goes beyond access to treatment centres… think: Agricultural & Community Societies; service organizations and programs and committees (such as AHS – Building Blocks program, Flagstaff Beaver Early Childhood Coalition, Battle River Spray Park at Sedgewick Lake Park…)

To facilitate this project, Holly Bovencamp has been trained and is preparing to form a coalition of interested persons to set direction, generate solutions and implement a road-map/Action Plan dedicated to supporting a mentally healthy region.

Road-maps will identify existing services, community strengths, opportunities, promising practices and a set of key strategic activities to consider over the next three years and beyond.

The Coalition will also maintain ties with the Rural Mental Health Project to collaborate with other rural/remote communities across the province and will also maintain connection for additional training, resources and funding.

The proposed schedule is to hold two meetings before Ms. Bovencamp reports back to the RMHN in June 2020. The Organizational Meeting is scheduled for October 16, 2019.

Ideally, a Flagstaff Coalition would include people from all over the county, from all walks of life. If you are interested, she would love to talk further.

For more information Contact Holly at (780) 385-1446 or (780) 385-3976 (FFCS Office)

For more information, check the RMHN website.