Niagara Falls Public Library Celebrates Canadian Mental Health Week
Column written by Greg Janssen, Community Development & Programming Librarian, originally published in Niagara this Week on Thursday, April 28.
May 2 - 8, 2022 is the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Canadian Mental Health Week. According to the CMHA, one in five Canadians will experience a mental health episode in any given year, and Niagara is no exception. With that in mind, the Niagara Falls Public Library is always looking for ways to connect people in our community with information and resources that can help them with their mental health struggles. In the past this has included a number of workshops and courses on mental health and wellness topics.
Building on these, we’re launching a Mental Health & Wellbeing page on our website at my.nflibrary.ca/mentalhealth, featuring links to a number of book lists arranged into categories ranging from Anxiety and Body Image to Social Relationships and Trauma. Each list features direct links to a number of psychologist-recommended books and workbooks in our catalogue, covering evidence-based skills and techniques that can help you manage and cope with many kinds of mental health challenges.
The goal is to make finding these books easy and discreet, since we understand that the stigma around mental health challenges, while improving, is still very real for the many people struggling with them. The listed books are free for Niagara Falls residents to borrow with a free Niagara Falls Public Library card. At our Victoria Avenue and Community Centre branches, you can even check them out yourself with one of our easy-to-use self-checkout machines.
We hope they help, but please keep in mind that these books are not a substitute for proper mental health care, more a supplement to the care you already have in place. If you are in crisis, please reach out to the Crisis Outreach And Support Team (COAST) Niagara at 1-866-550-5205 immediately. If you are not in crisis but are looking for mental healthcare in Niagara, the library’s Mental Health & Wellbeing page lists some resources you might consider using. A good place to start is a conversation with your family doctor or a call to the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Niagara Branch at 905-641-5222.
Further to the launch of our Mental Health & Wellbeing resource page, the library is celebrating Canadian Mental Health Week with another mental health-themed episode of the Let’s Go to the Library! podcast. This month we’re speaking with Niagara author, mental health advocate and peer support worker Darcy Patrick about his new book Managing Wellness, which is currently available for purchase at his website, darcypatrick.com. We have a wide-ranging, in-depth conversation about his story, his body of work and not least of all his new book. The podcast is available to stream or download for free on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music/Audible, or at nfpl.info/podcast.