Chris Mercanti (left) of Bruce Power presents a cheque for $90,000 to Kendra Fisher to help launch the #MentallyFit mental health initiative in Kincardine. (Photo by Ryan Drury)Chris Mercanti (left) of Bruce Power presents a cheque for $90,000 to Kendra Fisher to help launch the #MentallyFit mental health initiative in Kincardine. (Photo by Ryan Drury)
Midwestern

New #MentallyFit Initiative Gets Backing From Local Company

A new mental health initiative is looking to solve a major problem.

Local suicide rates have been climbing, particularly among youth, and professional speaker and former Team Canada goalie Kendra Fisher wants to put a stop to it. She unveiled her new Mentally Fit initiative in Kincardine last week, and says to get a show of support from Bruce Power to help launch the program is a big deal.

“Obviously being able to have that support and initial buy-in just reinforced to me that this is the right thing, this is the right place," says Fisher. "This community is hurting right now, and we need to start making those changes and making that difference.”

Bruce Power is putting $90,000 toward the launch of Mentally Fit, which Fisher says has three main components, which are school, corporate and community. Fisher herself battled depression and anxiety in her life and shares her experiences at many events, and wants to develop a local program to help others who are struggling. She notes there’s no age restriction on mental health.

“Ultimately, when you consider it, I mean good mental health looks the same for a child as it does for an adult," she says. "Sometimes, the older we get, the harder it is to face it because when you’ve been silent about something for so long, it’s a lot harder to challenge that environment you’re in.”

Bruce Power’s Manager of Community and Indigenous Affairs Christopher Mercanti, says it was a no-brainer for the company to back Kendra’s initiative.

“So a couple years ago, we had the opportunity to bring Kendra to the site and speak with our staff about her journey of recovery and we were just touched as an organization," he says. "We’ve kept the conversation up with Kendra, we’ve heard her story, we love what she’s doing, and we just wanted to be a part of it. It aligns with our core value of safety first.”

The initiative will start in Grey, Bruce, Huron and Perth. You can follow on Facebook and Instagram with the hashtag #MentallyFit.

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