Mental health group marks 25th year

BY MARC LALONDE

marc.lalonde@transcontinental.ca

A local community group dedicated to helping families with mental-health issues find help will celebrate a quarter-century of working in the community with an anniversary gala and conference next week downtown.

Friends for Mental Health will celebrate its 25th anniversary — a significant milestone, its director said yesterday.

“It’s a huge milestone,� said director Lucie Discepola. “We’re very proud of the work we’ve done in terms of working with families with members who have a mental illness. We’ve come a very long way,� she said.

Friends for Mental Health was created in 1982, when a group of West Island families came together to provide help and support for one another. It is the only community group offering direct support to families and family members with a mental illness.

Their purpose is to provide practical information, education, supportive individual or family counselling, group support and respite to help families better cope with their situation. The 25th-anniversary celebration, slated for the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, will begin next Wednesday with a conference called ‘Healing through Creativity,’ presented by Louise Lacroix and will continue, first with a 5:30 p.m. vernissage of creative-workshop works and a light buffet at 6 p.m.

“We’re very proud,� Discepola said. “Our services have come a long way over the years, but one obstacle we still face is the stigma of mental illness. You can have diabetes and go get it taken care of, but a mental illness is still perceived differently. There’s still a lot of work that needs to be done. We have to keep the focus on the family,� she said.