Unlimited WORTH Wellness Society is looking at bringing the Canadian Red Cross psychological first aid training to northwest B.C.
It said over one in four people in rural, remote, and farming communities experience significant mental health challenges compared to those in urban centres.
“Psychological first aid is really about taking care of yourself, thoughts, feeling, emotions when you’ve experienced stress, crisis, or trauma, then taking that skill of self care and applying it to be there for others,” said Society Founder Mike Skrypnek.
He wanted to bring the course to northern B.C. after speaking at several events in communities and learning about some of the biggest challenges around mental health.
“You gain a real respect for people who live in what would be technically challenging environments because there is a heartiness, resilience, and personal individualism that are really great,” Skrypnek said.
“When we have mental health challenges, those great beneficial characteristics can be very harmful to us.”
Another challenge he said was a lack of government funding and resources for upstream resources which could be put in place ahead of going to a clinical environment.
The goal is to run a session in Smithers, Terrace, Prince Rupert, and Kitimat, with 20 to 30 people attending each.
Currently, the society is reaching out to communities to find funding, donations, and sponsorships to offset the about $5,000 cost per course to run.
“The effort we’re in right now is connecting those two areas: the people who need the training, along with those who will fund it, support it, and want to see it happen in their community.,” said Skrypnek.
Other communities in northern B.C. and Alberta are also being looked at to run the program, including Prince George and Fort St. John.
He is hosting a virtual town hall information session on April 8 for those interested to learn more about and how to support the project.
More information can be found on the society’s website.
With files from Logan Flint, Vista Radio staff
