As part of last week’s Mental Health Week activities, a large selection of local mental health professionals set up tables in the Mingling Area on Thursday, January 19th. Among the Brandon University resources were the Healthy Living Centre as well as the BU counselling services, which each had a table. Other resources present were SERC, the Friendship Centre, Women’s Resource Centre, Prairie Mountain Health, Westwind Counselling, and Klinic.

SERC, or the Sexual Education Resource Centre, is a centre that provides supportive, non-judgemental information about sexuality, because all people have the right to be educated about their identities and choices. In addition to sex-based educational presentations, SERC also provides low-cost birth control items so that people can participate in safe sex without worrying as much about cost. SERC is located at Unit C, 1700 Pacific Ave, and can be contacted at (204) 727-0417 for more information. The Brandon Friendship Centre exists to aid in the wellness of Brandon’s Aboriginal residents. Their goal is to help people in both urban and rural communities coexist, and strive to bridge the gap to help integrate Aboriginal people who are perhaps unaccustomed with city life into the Brandon community. The Friendship Centre is located at 836 Lorne Ave., and can be contacted at (204) 727-1407 or through their website, http://www.brandonfriendshipcentre.com/contact-us.php.

The Women’s Resource Centre (WRC), located at 731 Princess Ave., is designed to help women and children who are in need get the assistance they require. Services that the WRC help with are Victim Services, Child and Family Services, Dakota Ojibway Child and Family Services, Income Social Assistance, and Community Mental Health. Find out more by calling (204) 726-8632.

Westwind Counselling and Eating Disorder Recovery Centre (WCEDRC) specializes in assisting with the mental health specifically of women and girls who deal with mental illness and eating disorders including anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. They are located at 1605 Victoria Ave, and can be contacted at info@westwind.mb.ca.

Klinic is based in Winnipeg, but has a branch in Brandon. It strives to provide health related services, from medical care to counselling and education, regardless of the seeker’s gender, race, age, identity, or socio-economic background. Brandon’s location is known as the Manitoba Farm, Rural, and Northern Support Services branch. They are located at Unit 1, 217 10th St., and can be contacted through their website http://www.ruralsupport.ca/ or by phone at (204) 571-4182.

Republished from The Quill print edition, Volume 107, Issue 19, January 24, 2017.