• Home
  • Mental Health & Addictions
  • Mental Health Promotion and Addictions Prevention

Mental Health Promotion and Addictions Prevention

Mental health promotion and addictions prevention involves actions to create living conditions and environments that support positive mental health and allow people to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles. Mental health is more than the absence of mental illness. A person can have a mental illness but still experience mental well-being. On the other hand, a person can be free of a diagnosed mental illness, but still experience mental distress.

Positive mental health is achieved when individuals realize their abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and contribute to their communities.

Health promotion staff in your Regional Health Authority are pleased to provide educational activities, presentations, displays and consultations for individuals, groups, schools, workplaces, communities, etc. They offer a wide range of topics about mental wellbeing, illness and addiction.

Western Health:
Click on: http://www.westernhealth.nl.ca/home/health-topics-main/addictions-prevention-and-mental-health-promotion-2/
Email: mha@westernhealth.nl.ca
Call: 709-634-4171

Labrador Grenfell Health:
Click on: http://www.lghealth.ca/index.php?pageid=323
Call: 709-454-0521

Central Health:
Call: 709-489-8841

Eastern Health:
For Addiction information:
· In St. John’s – Email: wayne.bishop@easternhealth.ca, or Call 752-4030
· Other areas in Eastern Health – Email: tracey.sharpe@easternhealth.ca or Call 709-786-5230

For Mental Health information:
· All areas in Eastern Health – Email: michele.pike@easternhealth.ca, or Call 709-752-4359

You can also visit Bridge the gApp (www.bridgethegapp.ca) for more information and tools to support your mental health.

Other Mental Health Promotion Initiatives

A number of government departments support mental health promotion activities. Some examples of provincial mental health promotion activities include:

• Violence prevention initiative: https://www.gov.nl.ca/vpi/
• Early childhood interventions: http://www.ed.gov.nl.ca/edu/earlychildhood/index.html
• Wellness coalitions: http://www.cssd.gov.nl.ca/healthyliving/wellnesscoalitions.html
• Wellness strategy (2006): http://www.cssd.gov.nl.ca/publications/pdf/provincial_strategies/nlprovincialwellnessplan.pdf
• Poverty reduction strategy (2006): http://www.cssd.gov.nl.ca/poverty/index.html
• Active, Healthy Newfoundland and Labrador: A Recreation and Sport Strategy for Newfoundland and Labrador (2007): http://www.cssd.gov.nl.ca/recreation/pdf/active_healthyNL.pdf
• The Community Addictions Prevention and Mental Health Promotion Fund: http://www.health.gov.nl.ca/health/grantsfunding/CAPMHP_grant.html

Resources:

• Canadian Community Health Survey:
• Measuring positive mental health in Canada: Myths and Facts:
  https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/measuring-positive-mental-health-myths-facts.html?_ga=2.11510964.1808309624.1519908301-312194263.1519908301
• Community Partners Link http://www.health.gov.nl.ca/health/mentalhealth/community_partners.html
• The Community Addictions Prevention and Mental Health Promotion Fund is a provincial project fund for individuals and not-for-profit community groups with an interest in these issues.