Journey to Hope received two donations this month totalling $2,500, which will be used to raise awareness of suicide risk factors and suicide prevention.
“Our purpose is to help educate our community around mental wellness and suicide prevention,” said Della Ferguson, a Journey to Hope board member. “And how to be well ourselves personally, how to be there and be supportive for others.”
Journey to Hope’s website details the focus of their efforts. It says that while suicide is something that happens regularly, it is rarely spoken of because of stigmatization. By raising awareness of suicide, its causes, and its aftermath, Journey to Hope’s goal is to make suicide prevention resources more available to those who need them.
The money raised by and donated to Journey to Hope goes to a number of different awareness and prevention efforts:
- Advertising of resources such as www.suicideinfo.ca and www.crisistextline.ca
- Distribution of business cards and handbooks with crisis information to every doctor’s and counselling office in the Moose Jaw region
- Sponsoring of online training through www.livingworks.net/start, which teaches participants a four-step model for helping someone in crisis. Last year, Journey to Hope sponsored over 100 people through the training
- Sponsoring of mental health screening for grade eight students and some high school students in both local school districts
Ferguson also shared details of other efforts Journey to Hope is making through their youth chapter. Just before Christmas, the high schools each did a project to help out locally.
Peacock students put together snack packs which they donated to John Howard Society’s My Place program. At Central, students made fleece scarves and left them around Moose Jaw for anyone who needed them. Finally, at Riverview students assembled care packages with mittens, hand-warming packs, and “message of hope” care notes. Journey to Hope paid for the supplies for these projects, which were then completed by the students.
The individuals who donated to Journey to Hope this month were contacted by MooseJawToday.com, but prefer to remain anonymous. They expressed that they had not donated for publicity, but because they wanted to help with the work the organization is doing.
“We are so grateful for the generous individuals in our community who help us out with this important cause,” Ferguson expressed.
Virtual Presentation by Hayley Wickenheiser
Ferguson said they have a big event coming up, hopefully on Feb. 1. It is a virtual recording by Hayley Wickenheiser, widely considered the greatest female hockey player of all time. Wickenheiser completed medical school in 2021.
Wickenheiser produced two presentations, one for kindergarten to grade three, the other for grades four through 12. The presentations will be shown to every student in both Prairie South and Holy Trinity Catholic school divisions.
“We asked her to speak to how she grew up in Prairie Saskatchewan, what were the benefits and the challenges of growing up in small-town Saskatchewan,” Ferguson said. “And we asked her how she is resilient, and how she practices resiliency and self-care.”
Ferguson said that Journey to Hope has been working with the National Speaker’s Bureau since late August last year to sponsor the virtual presentations. She added that Wickenheiser’s message is well-crafted and inspiring, and they are excited for the impact it will have.
