2009/10 ANNUAL REPORT - Canadian Mental Health Association

Volunteer Services
With more volunteers than we have staff the Volunteer Program stays very busy! We are fortunate at our agency to have over 198 active
volunteers, all with big hearts and make a difference for us in various ways. Over the last year, volunteers have supported us in a variety of ways
including, the Board of Directors, Consumer Council, event committees, fundraising and education.
This winter we created a new online system to enhance our communication with volunteers and our efficiency in the program. This new area on
our website offers online orientation, access to volunteer contact information, a calendar of volunteer events and opportunities and an area for
volunteers to log their hours. The new online volunteer section of the website has allowed our program to provide orientation to 155 volunteers
since September 2009. The capacity for us to receive volunteers has increased and the intake process has improved. Over the last seven months
5,000 volunteer hours have been reported and we are pleased that volunteers are taking the initiative to report their hours. We anticipate a rise
in the number of hours reported and an increase in the accuracy of our reporting.
We have also supported various student placements over the past year. We have had students from a variety of academic disciplines; Nursing,
Social Work, Psychology, Medical Office Support. These placements provide great opportunities for the student and our agency. Volunteers and
students add value to our agency and we are thankful for the many hours generously given to us to promote and enhance the mental health of
all people.
Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.
Workplace Health & Counselling
Services
– Elizabeth Andrew
Workplace Health Services (WHS) is our Employee Assistance
Program (EAP) We contract with companies to provide services to
their employees and the employee’s dependents. Short term solution
focused counseling, crisis supports, assessment and referral services
were provided.
We continue to see an increase in the usage of these services:
2006 - 319 clients
2007 - 371 clients
2008- 509 clients
2009- 564 clients
Over 90% of presenting problems fall into 3 broad categories,
psychological issues, family issues and relationship issues.
This year there has been a noticeable increase in employee’s seeking
support for work related stress.
In 2009, WHS-EAP had 19 active contracts with companies in Windsor
Essex-County and beyond. Although we lost two contracts this year
we have obtained a contract with the Corporation of the Town of
Lakeshore.
Fee for service counseling is available to individuals and families
seeking services. Although this services is available we have had
limited utilization of this service. The current economic situation has
impacted this program.
The demand for crisis response has also increased. Companies
have requested our service to support their employees who have
experienced the loss of a co-worker or a, client.
Workplace Health Promotion workshops and seminars continue to
be requested by businesses. These are seen as an effective, low cost
way to educate employees about stress, health, and other topics
requested by the employers.
This year we presented 43 workshops with over 500 participants
The Manager of Workplace Health Services is a member of the
National Workplace Training Program working group. The focus of
this group is to assist n the development of a national program to
provide a variety of workplace interventions for organizations seeking
assistance to address mental health issues in the workplace
Coping with Job Loss
Job loss continues to be a reality for many of our community members.
We have partnered with the Unemployed Help Centre to provide
required supports. In the summer of 2009 we held a food drive for
their food bank. We collected over 3000 canned goods.
We have been holding weekly group sessions at the UHC. Clients
are involved in a six week session to address the emotional impact
of unemployment. For individuals experiencing distress over their
employment status, short term individual counseling sessions are
available.
Educational sessions are available for businesses and workers facing
unemployment or are underemployed. Services have been requested
by companies to support the workers they are laying off.
Over the past year 53 individuals received short term counseling. We
held 53 group sessions with 547 participants
We have recently partnered with the Labor Adjustment Committees.
Stating April 2010 we will be providing weekly group sessions to their
members.
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