Mental Health Community Grant Announcement!

February 10, 2021

In 2020, Adeara applied for the COVID-19 Mental Health and Addiction Community Funding Grant. This new grant funds initiatives that engage community members during the pandemic, aiming to improve coping skills, grow social connection, and implement healing activities that build mental wellness and resilience in the whole population. We are very excited to announce that through this grant, we received funding for three new projects! Read on to learn what we’ll be able to do in 2021 because of this grant.

Community Addiction Prevention Video Project

To prevent growth of addiction rates in future generations, especially amidst crisis inflicted by the pandemic, Adeara will be creating an addiction awareness and education program for youth and adults. The 24-week video series will provide mental health self-help support and addiction prevention skills to viewers. Hosted by an experienced addictions counsellor, this video resource will be made available to those most at risk for free online, on social media, and through local partners in Edmonton and Calgary. Through the series, Adeara will connect viewers to local support groups and mental health resources, encourage group participation online and in person, and provide education on short and long-term psychological coping strategies amidst crises. If successful, the series has the potential to become an ongoing learning resource that grows beyond central Alberta. This virtual resource will become a year-round support for individuals needing to adapt to the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic and will promote psychological wellbeing and resilience.

Enhanced Addiction Aftercare Program

Adeara currently has a limited aftercare program in place for clients who have left the addiction recovery centre. Unfortunately, women who have recovered from addiction are at a disadvantage during a pandemic as potential for relapse is increased. During the pandemic, Adeara has intentionally increased contact with women who have left the program to offer additional support and reduce isolation in crisis. With this grant, Adeara will continue to enhance its aftercare program and offer 12 months of support while the client is living independently.

Child & Family Programming

During the pandemic, Adeara has been directed to the needs of the children who reside with their mothers in recovery. In quarantine, Adeara staff and clients reallocate time normally dedicated to addiction recovery towards daily childcare and homeschooling. Having children at the centre 24/7 during lockdowns, Adeara has recognized a gap and discovered the need to develop programming specifically for the children, who come from homes of addiction (and often associated abuse and violence) and need counselling supports of their own. With this grant, Adeara will create a family-based program providing counselling support for vulnerable children, volunteer training to increase child support capacity, and family supports for mothers. Adeara will be able to better mitigate the additional stresses on existing staff and directly support vulnerable women and children recovery from the effects of addiction amidst the pandemic.

We are so excited to get these projects going for the benefit of the women we serve every day and our larger Alberta community. Watch for updates about our video project – they’ll be coming this summer!