People in rural and remote areas in the greater Kawarthas region who are experiencing mental health and addictions issues now have access to a full range of supports with the launch of ‘The Road Ahead’, a mobile wellness clinic operating out of two vehicles.

The Canadian Mental Health Association Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (CMHA HKPR) unveiled the new mobile wellness clinic at a media event on Thursday morning (February 16) in Lakefield.

The event was attended by community partners and local politicians including Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith, Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott, Peterborough mayor Jeff Leal, and Peterborough County warden Bonnie Clark.

While one of the clinic’s two vehicles had already been purchased with funding announced by the Ontario government as part of the province’s 2021 budget, CMHA HKPR determined s second vehicle was required to serve the rural communities across the region. Over the past year, the organization raised $300,000 to purchase the second vehicle.

“Thanks to the support of many donors including the Kinsmen Club, Peterborough Police Services, and Bell Canada, we have purchased the second vehicle,” said CMHA HKPR CEO Mark Graham.

The two vehicles offer mental health and addictions services to underserved communities by visiting rural areas across the city and county of Peterborough and County, the City of Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton County, and Northumberland County, where residents may otherwise have difficulty accessing these services because of challenges such as a lack of transportation.

The clinic provides counselling and therapy, support with addictions and substance use, mental health education, medication support, and access to other services such as psychiatry.

According to a media release, the branding design on the vehicles was developed with the support of Peterborough advertising company Outpost 379.

Chosen to be welcoming and positive, the design isn’t specific to mental health or addictions to avoid the stigmas still surrounding mental health and addictions, and the barriers these stigmas may pose for people needing support.

Officials with the City of Peterborough held a ground-breaking ceremony on Thursday (February 16) for the new $10-million fire station to be built at 100 Marina Boulevard.

The site at the former location of Northcrest Arena was approved in April 2021 by Peterborough city council following a detailed site study and public consultation process. Other locations that had previously been on the short list included Inverlea Park and Sunset Park, leading to protests by community groups.

The new facility will be the city’s first building designed, built, and certified as a zero carbon building for both performance and design categories.

“The new fire station will help position and support our fire services workers as they respond to emergency calls in our community,” said Peterborough mayor Jeff Leal. “By building it using zero carbon standards, we’re reducing our environmental footprint in our delivery of this essential service.”

Designed by Lett Architects Inc., the new facility is being built following the Canada Green Building Council’s zero carbon building standard, with building materials selected to address embodied emissions during construction and achieve net zero carbon targets.

The facility is designed to achieve net zero energy performance using onsite renewable energy that will reduce operating and maintenance costs.

The new facility replaces the existing Fire Station 2 on Carnegie Avenue. The needs of fire services have evolved since the existing facility was built in 1967, according to Peterborough Fire Services chief Chris Snetsinger.

“The station has served our community well over the years, but because of its design it has become increasingly challenging to provide the services that are necessary from the existing station,” Snetsinger said. “The new station is designed and strategically located to support our community’s existing neighbourhoods and projected growth.”

The city awarded the construction contract for the project to JCB Construction Canada for $10 million. Construction is expected to be completed in fall 2024.

Six inspiring local women will be leading workshops at INSPIRE’s inaugural International Women’s Day event on Wednesday, March 8th in downtown Peterborough.

Angie Ross, Anne Taylor, Erica Richmond, Rose Terry, Rebecca Turland, and Lindsay Dixon will be leading morning and afternoon workshops at the inaugural event, which runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Peterborough-Waterfront at 150 George Street.

The workshops feature a wide range of topics: financial wellness, Indigenous teachings about women’s connection to the Earth, self-compassion through expressive writing, redefining success, lived experience with mental illness and addiction, and the healing powers of expressive art.

Along with the workshops, the day features two empowering talks by two Indigenous women: Nogojiwanong-Peterborough entrepreneur Ashley Lamothe, who will be the morning speaker, and Inuk musician and activist Susan Aglukark, who will be the keynote speaker in the afternoon.

The event will begin with opening remarks from emcee Megan Murphy and a smudging and blessing ceremony performed by Anne Taylor, followed by Ashley’s talk, a 15-minute break for standing yoga and deep breathing exercises, and the three concurrent morning workshops. After the morning workshops, attendees will have free time to visit an artisans’ fair featuring the work of local makers and to network before lunch.

After lunch, there will be another 15-minute break for standing yoga and deep breathing exercises, followed by the three concurrent afternoon workshops. After a coffee break, when attendees can again visit the artisans’ fair and network, Susan will deliver her keynote speech and the day will wrap up.

Early bird pricing of $60 is only available until Saturday, February 18th (after February 18, the price is $75). Get your tickets now at inspirethewomensportraitproject.com.

Below is a summary of each of the three morning workshops and the three afternoon workshops. When purchasing tickets for the event, attendees can choose from one of the morning workshops and from one of the afternoon workshops.

Morning workshops

“Women and Financial Wellness” with Angie Ross

Angie Ross is a money coach and certified cash flow specialist who has been passionately spreading her expertise as a financial educator for the past 17 years. She advises people on cash flow planning, setting and achieving financial goals, creating and implementing a spending plan, and how to feel more confident and empowered around your money.

In her workshop, Angie will explain how financial wellness is heavily linked with physical health. She will be discussing the facts about women and money, the relationship between money and stress, and specific ways to improve financial health — and therefore overall wellness.

Women’s Connection to the Earth” with Anne Taylor

Anne Taylor is a cultural archivist and the Community Anishinaabemowin Coordinator for Curve Lake First Nation. She works to re-engage her community with Anishinaabemowin (the Ojibwe language), espeically the Michi Saagiig dialect, and works with fluent speakers on translating a wide variety of projects. She also has a strong connection to the land,which she feeds by renewing through ceremony and Bimaadiziwin (balancing physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health).

In her workshop, Anne will investigates women’s connection to the earth and to the cosmos. She will share teachings from Nookomis Josephine Mandamin about our Great Mother the Earth, teachings from Gidigaa Migizi-ban about our reproductive organs, and about our Moon Time and make the connection from reaching puberty on through to old age for Anishinaabe women. The workshop will include some history, Indigenous teachings speaking to our sacredness as spiritual beings, responsibilities that have been passed down to us and how we can feed that connection.

“Compassion: An Exploration through Expressive Writing” with Erica Richmond

Erica Richmond is the owner of Open Sky Stories, where she leads a variety of workshops that focus on connection and healing using expressive writing. She is the author of two self-published books: Pixie and the Bees, a whimsical tale about learning to trust yourself while living with an invisible illness, and The Mail Art Stories Project: Mail Art in the Time of COVID-19, a collection of mail art from around the world that chronicles the pandemic.

In her workshop, Erica will guide participants through a variety of activities designed to explore self-compassion. Although terms such as self-care, self-love, and self-compassion are often associated with self-indulgence and complacency, research shows that people with high levels of self-compassion tend to be more resilient, have higher levels of confidence, are more motivated, are more effective leaders, and make better decisions. The activities in the workshop will include guided visualizations, expressive writing, movement, and art-making.

Afternoon workshops

“Redefining Success” with Rose Terry

Rose Terry, owner of Nectar Co. and philanthropy associate with the Canadian Canoe Museum, is known for her marketing and public relations expertise. She has worked with both large international brands and not-for-profit organizations and spend nearly a decade professionally advising entrepreneurs, founders, and startups. A mother of two young children, Rose is the recipient of the Peterborough-Kawartha Women’s Leadership Award, the Chamber of Commerce’s 4-Under-40 Profile, an INSPIRE: Women’s Portrait Project nominee, and a co-founder of 100 Women Peterborough, a philanthropy group that has donated more than $150,000 to local charities.

In her workshop, Rose will lead you through a framework to define what success means to you at this time in your life, so that you can create actionable steps to achieving your goals. She will share how you can manage your time creatively so that you can find joy in every aspect of your life — whether business, family, or volunteer projects — while still carving out time for yourself. You will leave feeling refreshed, inspired, and with a unique plan to carve a path that empowers you and your definition of success.

“Lived Experience Discussion” with Rebecca Turland

Rebecca Turland is co-chair of the Peterborough Drug Strategy Lived Experience Panel and an overnight worker with One City Peterborough’s Stopgap Drop-in Centre. From a background of generational poverty and first-hand experience with addictions and mental health struggles, she has overcome many obstacles in her life and channelled those experiences to improve herself, most recently branching out into the social services field to support other marginalized individuals.

In her workshop, Rebecca will use the art of storytelling to share her journey through mental illness and addiction from childhood to where she is today. She will share how bipolar disorder, generational poverty, and relying on social assistance contributed to a sense of learned helplessness. She will discuss the social assistance system and the struggles she had navigating the system as a woman, the difference in treatment when being unable to work versus being employed, and the expectation that she needed to be taken care of financially by a partner. Rebecca will also describe how she found her passion, the challenges of working in the social services field, and her challenges preparing for motherhood.

“The Healing Powers of Expressive Art” with Lindsay Dixon

Combining her personal artistic journey with a professional career in the mental health and addictions field, Lindsay Dixon provides expressive arts experiences to people from all walks of life. She is passionate about the power of expressive arts, and envisions a future where they are widely prescribed for health and healing. Her educational background includes a bachelor of science in psychology, a diploma in social services, and a wide variety of post-graduate training in expressive arts therapy.

Lindsay’s experiential workshop is intended to gently awaken your creative spirit through various expressive modalities, including imagery, sound, and poetry. She will discuss the healing powers of art and provide participants with the opportunity to express themselves through creative prompts. No previous artistic experience or preparation is required to participate. “There is no right or wrong in art,” Lindsay says.

For tickets and more details about INSPIRE’s International Women’s Day event, visit inspirethewomensportraitproject.com.

kawarthaNOW is proud to be the exclusive official media sponsor of INSPIRE’s first annual International Women’s Day event.