Imagine Supports Pink Shirt Day

Bullying is a major problem in our schools, workplaces, homes, and over the Internet. Today,February 27, 2013 we encourage all of you to wear something pink to symbolize that we as a society will not tolerate bullying anywhere. We wish we could take credit for this idea but it comes from two incredible Nova Scotia high school students. Here is a snippet of the Globe & Mail article which inspired it:

“David Shepherd, Travis Price and their teenage friends organized a high-school protest to wear pink in sympathy with a Grade 9 boy who was being bullied [for wearing a pink shirt]…[They] took a stand against bullying when they protested against the harassment of a new Grade 9 student by distributing pink T-shirts to all the boys in their school.

‘I learned that two people can come up with an idea, run with it, and it can do wonders,’ says Mr. Price, 17, who organized the pink protest. ‘Finally, someone stood up for a weaker kid.’

So Mr. Shepherd and some other headed off to a discount store and bought 50 pink tank tops. They sent out message to schoolmates that night, and the next morning they hauled the shirts to school in a plastic bag.

As they stood in the foyer handing out the shirts, the bullied boy walked in. His face spoke volumes. ‘It looked like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders,’ Mr. Price recalled.

The bullies were never heard from again.”

Do you have a story about being bullied, how you stopped a bully or about how bullying has affected a loved one? Share your experiences here by leaving a comment.

If you are a student, print off this web page and give to your Principal / Headmaster / etc. so that your school can get involved. Also, drop us an email to let us know who you are and which school you attend.

More information and details about this project will be posted on this website soon. Until then, be sure to click on the links / menu items at the top of the page to learn how you, your school, business or organization can get involved.

Also, join the Facebook Event by clicking HERE. Last year over 160,000 people committed on Facebook to wear pink and help stop bullying.

MCC Thrift Store Supports Local Organizations

Please take a moment to read this amazing story from the Eden Foundation.

MCC Thrift Store board chair Gord Kornelson, presented five charitable agencies with cheques. Each of the agencies received a portion of funds available from the proceeds of sales at the Steinbach MCC Thrift Store. Mr. Kornelson pointed out that not only does MCC support efforts overseas but also supports efforts locally.

Recipients of that generosity were South-east Helping Hands, Soup’s On, Anna’s House, Today House and our own Debra Stockwell on behalf of Segue Career Options and Eden Foundation. Ms. Stockwell was most pleased not only to receive support from neighbours across the street from MCC but equally as important has been the fact that the Segue Career Options program was recognized by MCC Steinbach as a service of significance to the community of Steinbach along with other local helping organizations.

On hand to receive cheques were Hank Klassen representing South-east Helping Hands, Joy Barkman representing Soup’s On, Vicki Olatundun representing Anna’s House, Simone Penner representing Today House and Debra Stockwell representing Segue Career Options.

Beating The Bullys

One in 12 youngsters are bullied so badly that it affects their education, relationships and even their job prospects in later life.

And in 10 to 15 cases every year the bullying reaches such a dreadful level that it drives its young victims to suicide. (Daily Mirror's Beat the Bullies campaign) 

Here are 3 ways you can teach your children to beat off bullies.

1. Find out your school's anti-bullying policy and make sure your child knows it's okay to talk to a teacher. As soon as you encounter behaviour which is not acceptable to you let them know to talk to someone.

2. A bully thrives off the fact that you are too scared to confront them. Teach your child to ignore negative comments and the power of the word "No!" It is difficult to pick on someone who won't stand still to listen to threats.

3. Be Cautious. Change your route to school, avoid certain parts of the playground. Safety is the most important thing.

Don't ever let your child feel like a victim. If you have been bullied for a long time, you might start to believe what the bully says. Sit down with your child and have them make a list of all the good things they can think of about themselves. 

We Can Take Action: Imagine 2012 (Photos)

Thank you to everyone who came out and supported the 2012 Imagine Mental Health Matters cause and for walking/running aganst the stigma of mental illness. Your support is greatly appericated.

On behalf of our team we would like to thank all of our sponsors and those involved in the amazing event we had in Niverville. So many people have helped us get to where we are and we deeply appreciate it.

Again we have all proved that we can fight the stigma. We can take action. Everything you need is right inside you. All you need is to believe in you and the others around you. You were someone's champion on Saturday, September 22nd. Thank you again.

Click here to view photos from our 2012 Imagine Walk/Run
Pictures were taken by Soul Pix Photography

 

Lace Up: Why We Run.

Though one of the top priorities of our walk/run is to fundraise for Eden Mental Health, another important goal is to help fight the stigma often associated with mental illness.

The stigma associated with mental health prompts many people to avoid working, and socializing with people who have a mental disorder. To move forward as a community, improve care and encourage knowledge the stigma must be stopped. 

Bipolar Disorder, ADHD, Depression, and  Anxiety are conditions that some people deal with on a daily basis. It is these same people that most would not recognize in a crowd full of the mentally stable.  These people are mothers, sisters, athletes, businessmen, doctors, and husbands living lives full of much more than just their mental disorder.


To get ourselves ready for this Saturday's Imagine run we wanted to bring you back to why we do what we do. You are the most powerful proof of the belief in our cause.

We want to prove that mental illness is just as worthy of attention as heart disease and cancer. Knowledge is  half the battle when fighting stigma. Eden Mental Health provides resources to better educate people on the presence and definition of mental illness, along with ways to eliminate the stigmas often associated with it. 

Whether you're a runner or a walker, lace up this weekend and show that you are not ashamed to say that you care for your own mental health. 


More on Eden Mental Health Centre's services:

• Psychiatric assessment and treatment for persons dealing with acute mental health issues.
• In-patient treatment for persons requiring hospitalization.
• Out-patient psychiatric services

Eden's psychiatric specialists team provides recovery based treatment utilizing best practices.

Welcoming Eden To Our Team

We at Imagine are proud to announce that we have teamed up with Eden Health Care Services, a cause that is just as devoted to being a resource for people we mental illness. 
Eden Health Care Services, is Winkler-based organization that encompasses an acute care mental health treatment facility, residential care services and supported housing, counselling services, as well as vocational assessment and training for individuals with employment barriers.

The programs of Eden Health Care Services provide a wide range of services and resources that support individuals and families in recovery from mental illness, primarily in South Central Manitoba, South Eastman and Winnipeg.

This year all proceeds from our 10k run and 5k walk will be donated to  Eden Health Care Services to further assist them to do what they do best!

And here at Imagine, we will continue to do what we have promised: raising public awareness & erasing the stigma surrounding mental health issues.

Imagine a world where we could personally talk about schizophrenia, depression, addictions, suicide or phobias in an atmosphere as relaxed as talking about hip-replacements or tennis elbow.

To donate today visit our website and consider running in this September's 5k walk / 10k run (see more information below)

IMAGINE PRESENTS

THE 2012 HALF MARATHON & 5K/10K Run/Walk
Welcome all Runners & Walkers to the 2012 Imagine Run.
Location: Hespler Park - Niverville
Date: Saturday, September 22,2012, 9:00am.

To register visit: http://www.events.runningroom.com/site/?raceId=7746

Workplace Bullies

In most cases, the purpose of bullying is to hide inadequacy and to reduce fear of being seen as “weak.” The unwelcome behavior of a bully isn’t something that is restricted to the playground. The truth is, Bullies come in all shapes, sizes, ages, genders and races. Understanding how and why bullies bully is key to effective action. Whether you are a victim or you can see bullying going on around you it’s important to be able to identify it.

“Bullying is obsessive and compulsive; the serial bully has to have someone to bully and appears to be unable to survive without a current target.” –bullyonline.org

BullyOnline.org has given the following names to workplace bullies…

Pressure bullying - where the stress of the moment causes behavior to deteriorate; the person becomes short-tempered, irritable and may shout or swear at others.

Corporate bullying - where the employer abuses employees with impunity knowing that the law is weak and jobs are scarce. This type does things like…

•    Introduces "absence management" to deny employees annual or sick leave to which they are genuinely entitled

•    Regularly snoops and spies on employees. For example, by listening in on telephone conversations, using the mystery shopper, contacting customers behind employees backs and asking leading questions, conducting covert video, calling/messaging employee's home to interrogate the employees whilst on sick leave, or threatening employees with interrogation the moment they return from sick leave, etc.

•    Deems any employee suffering from stress as weak and inadequate whilst aggressively ignoring and denying the cause of stress (bad management and bullying)

•    "Encourages" employees to fabricate complaints about their colleagues

Client bullying - where employees are bullied by those they serve. For example: teachers by pupils and their parents, nurses by patients and their relatives, social workers by their clients, and office societies by customers. Often the client is claiming their perceived right in an abusive, derogatory and violent manner.

In environments where bullying is the norm, most people will either become bullies or become targets. What will you do? Stand up against bullying. Recognize the signs and talk to someone in your HR department.

Nova Scotia's New Mental Health Initiatives

New initiatives in Eastern Canada mean that more support is coming for individuals, especially young people, who suffer from mental illness. A article released yesterday by the Free Press outlined Nova Scotia's new plan to help reach people, who are exhibiting signs of mental illness, earlier in life.

With over 60 recommendations for improving the current provincial mental health strategy in Nova Scotia, and over $5 million dollars to kick start the initiatives, it is very encouraging to see government providing more resources to helping people in need. Imagine - Mental Health Matters is very pleased and wishes the best for this new program.

See part of the article below:

Nova Scotia unveils mental health plan to identify and address issues early. By Allison Auld, The Canadian Press, Posted 05/16/2012

HALIFAX - The Nova Scotia government will place more clinicians in schools and assess children as young as 18 months old as part of a broad mental health strategy aimed at intervening early and reducing wait times for care.

Health Minister Maureen MacDonald laid out the province's first mental health strategy Wednesday, saying it will provide $5.2 million for various initiatives in the first year.

MacDonald said the focus of the five-year plan will be on identifying potential mental health conditions early and trying to deliver care to people outside of hospital settings, if possible.

"We need a system that's more community based, we need faster access sooner and we need to intervene earlier," she told reporters. "These are all things that will provide us with much different results so that people don't end up in crisis."

The province plans to increase the number of schools with psychologists, nurses or social workers to about 80 as part of an ongoing program to detect mental health concerns, start treatment or refer young people to specialists.

MacDonald said early detection is critical since 70 per cent of mental illnesses begin before the age of 25.

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See the full Free Press article here: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/health/nova-scotia-unveils-mental-health-plan-to-identify-and-address-issues-early-151716245.html