NorMan Blizzard, CMHA partnership brings mental health education, support and awareness to athletes

The Pas, MB – The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is pleased to re-establish its partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Associations in communities across the league for another season of the Talk Today program.

Through close collaboration between teams and the CMHA, and with generous co-funding from the Fifth Line Foundation and NHL Foundation, the Talk Today program consists of three components that support athlete and community mental health:

• Education: all athletes participate in a mental health awareness and suicide prevention workshop that uses hockey-specific language and examples.

• Support: each team has access to a CMHA mental health coach who acts as a wayfinder to help anyone in need of support to find appropriate community resources, and each team appoints a mental health champion within their organization who players know they can go to as a first step for help.

• Awareness: teams and CMHAs collaborate on community awareness initiatives where possible, such as a dedicated awareness game each season, and promote their partnership on social media during ‘Talk Today month’ in February.

Talk Today is one of the most comprehensive mental health programs for amateur sports in Canada. It promotes the mental health of young athletes and spreads awareness about the benefits of positive mental health throughout communities across the country. Since 2019, more than 4,200 athletes, staff and billets across the Canadian Junior Hockey League have participated in training through Talk Today.

Learn more about Talk Today at talktoday.ca.