Sept. 30 to Oct. 6 is Mental Health Awareness Week, a time to focus our attention on an issue that affects us all. The week is also an opportunity to appreciate what is being done in our own community to lend a hand both to those folks living with a mental health issue and to those who love and care for them.
The Arrowhead Clubhouse, in Sechelt, opened in 2010 to provide support and opportunity to adults in the community living with severe/persistent mental illness.
The clubhouse operates on what is called the “work ordered day,” which means that, as they are able, members commit to tasks that keep their clubhouse running in an effective and imaginative way. Once committed to a team (kitchen, garden, administration, for example), members are encouraged to treat their work as a job and to learn as many skills as possible. The focus is on readiness for the job market.
Another clubhouse priority is peer support, which is based on the assumption that members of our own peer group often have the best understanding of what we are experiencing.
Next week will present an opportunity for the community at large to help support the invaluable work accomplished at Arrowhead.
A Comedy Club with Charles Demers, hosted by Toby Hargrave, will be performed Oct. 6 at the Heritage Playhouse. Partial proceeds will go to Arrowhead; there will also be a 50-50 draw. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $20 and can be bought at the door, at Laedeli Gifts and Cards in the Sunnycrest Mall, at the Sechelt Visitor Centre, and online at www.Share-there.com.
Note that the show is 18+.
– Submitted by Hugh Macaulay
