Community Wellness & Peer Support

Community Wellness Programs

Social, recreational and skill building opportunities are offered throughout the year across our region. Each group is an opportunity to meet new people, learn a new skill and enhance skills while connecting with staff who care about your health and wellness. Most of the programs offered by Community Wellness are free. Registration is required.

Our overall wellness – or physical and mental health – requires meaningful activity, and connections with other people as well as community connections. Yet when we’re living with a mental health challenge, finding a sense of belonging maybe difficult. It may seem overwhelming to participate in social or leisure activities.

Groups offered by the Community Wellness Teams fall into one of four categories:

• Social & Leisure: Groups and events to help build social skills and find meaningful activities to promote recovery
• Physical Wellness & Health: Activities, education and support to improve physical health
• Personal Awareness & Growth: Teaching life and living skills to support living with a mental illness
• Creative Self-Expression: Groups and learning opportunities to encourage creativity and self-expression

To request more information about London programs, contact CommunityWellnessProgramsLondon@cmhatv.ca

For more information about Elgin programs, contact the Elgin team at CWP.Elgin@cmhatv.ca

Peer Support

Peer support is a vital link in helping someone navigate the health system, locate and access community resources, and find their personal path to wellness.

Peer Support currently offers one-to-one services to individuals (peers) aged 16+ across our regions on a time-limited basis. Peer Support Workers have lived with similar experiences (lived experience) of mental health and /or addiction challenges, and gone through their own personal wellness journey/recovery process.

Ways a Peer Support Worker can support:

• Inspire hope for the future and model what is possible
• Empower by honouring strengths
• Recognize & develop resiliency
• Explore ways to support well-being (skills, resources, opportunities)
• Encourage a sense of personal responsibility
• Help with voicing needs
• Share & exchange knowledge (services, resources, experiences)
• Assist to identify, plan & work on goals and aspirations
• Promote self-care, self-Awareness & self-esteem

Things A Peer Supporter does not do:

• Diagnose, use clinical terms or complete assessments
• Judge past or current behaviour
• Give advice or tell a peer what to do/not do
• Provide therapy, counselling or sponsorship
• Manage medications or provide any related advice
• Provide transportation or ask/do favours
• Become a personal friend during or after service, or fulfill social needs.

Peer Support endorses the provincial and national principles and standards of practice established by Peer Support Canada.

For more information and to make referrals, contact jodie.boyd@cmhatv.ca (Jodie Boyd, Peer Support Team Lead).