The Chatham-Kent Ontario Health Team has launched the ‘Greater Than’ campaign, which is aimed at ending the stigma associated with those living with mental health and addictions.
“Mental health and addictions affects anyone regardless of gender, age, income, ethnicity, sexual orientation, education, where they live, etc.,” CKOHT officials said in a media release.
“Stigma is any attitude, belief or behaviour that discriminates against people and often emerges in the form of derogatory language that shames and/or belittles people. Stigmatizing language is inaccurate, hurtful, disempowering and one of the biggest barriers to accessing treatment and care.”
The CKOHT’s Mental Health and Addictions Anti-Stigma Task Team has created the ‘Greater Than’ campaign which emphasizes the importance of seeing individuals as Greater Than their mental health and addictions.
“It was created to provide awareness, start conversations, remove stereotypes, participate in activities to make people think differently, and ultimately work towards reducing stigma associated with mental health and addictions,” CKOHT officials say.
“The ‘Greater Than’ campaign (ran last week) across Chatham-Kent with training for health care workers, social media activities to promote awareness, presentations to staff to learn about stigma, as well as activities to encourage an openness to talking about mental health and addictions.”
A video was created in support of the campaign. Check it out, below:
The CKOHT are asking everyone across Chatham-Kent to join them in ‘Taking the Pledge’ to see individuals for Greater Than their mental health and addictions by:
– Submitting your name online: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WVHVJ3Q
– Download, print and sign the Pledge Form
“This is an important campaign that I hope challenges our perceptions about mental health and addictions within the health care sector as well as the general public,” said Alan Stevenson, the CKOHT’s Mental Health and Addictions Anti-Stigma Task Team Chair, CEO of Canadian Mental Health Association Lambton Kent (CMHA Lambton Kent) and Vice President, Mental Health & Addictions, Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA), in a media release.
“We encourage people to have a conversation about our language we use and stereotypes as we all have a role to play in ending the stigma.”
For more information, see www.ckoht.ca/stigma or follow CKOHT’s social media pages, here and here.
