Mental health support available for Farsi-speaking Calgarians

A new training program aims to equip members of Calgary’s Farsi-speaking community with the tools to help peers struggling with mental health.

Statistics show that people struggling with mental health often confide in a peer before seeking professional help.

And the Centre for Mental Health Equity (CMHE) is launching a training program to better equip supporters in the Farsi-speaking and Afghan communities.

Executive director for the CMHE Asra Milani says the support will lead to better outcomes.

“They’re more likely to turn to the helpers in the community. It could be friends, family members, or it could be community leaders,” Milani said.

“Our goal is to identify those natural helpers and to educate them on initial supportive responses and crisis intervention when it comes to mental health issues.”

According to Milani, they are seeing a high demand within the community of adults and youth struggling with mental health and post-migration stress.

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CMHE received funding from the City of Calgary to the tune of $146,000 to train informal supporters and properly equip them with the right tools to offer support.

“The way they’re responding that the person really impacts their motivation to seek out help next time, right so if they have this basic skills of helping, that would be really valuable,” Milani said.

Registration is now open for both adults and adolescents interested in taking part in the community helpers training program kicking off in April.

The program covers a wide range of topics, from mental health, physical and sexual abuse, bullying and family dynamics.