This World Mental Health Day, Winnipeg has been hit with an explosion of love notes.
Veronica Ternopolski, the chief “love elf” of the Love Notes Campaign, explains they are posters with a positive message on them. She leads a team of about half a dozen other “love elves” who are charged with posting and handing out over 150 signs.
“These are examples: ‘Your story is important’, ‘I take care of myself’, ‘Drink your water’. Just simple love notes and simple reminders on how you can take care of yourself today,” she said.
The posting and handing out of the love notes is a continuation of Ralph Bryant’s journey, the campaign’s director.
“I’m someone who has struggled with my mental health. It was just with a small interaction of kindness from someone that got me the help that I needed. That was the inspiration for me,” he said.
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“I hope someone sees this and thinks about that friend that haven’t talked to in a while… I hope it makes someone feel good about themselves.”
Ternopolski hopes that when people walk by, they’ll think, “‘Oh yeah, I need to take care of myself,’ or even praising yourself of like, ‘I do take care of myself. I am hydrating myself,’ which is so simple, but (are) reminders and ways that we can connect with other people.”
A community mental health fair also marked World Mental Health Day, and was set up in Winnipeg’s St. Vital Centre.
Dozens of booths with different community organizations filled the mall’s centre area, and buzzed with people stopping in to learn about what they offered.
Cayly Askin, a community outreach worker with Klinic, said in a time where it can be hard to access mental health care, it’s good to raise awareness.
“I’m hoping in the future there will be mental health resources available for free for everyone all across the city, not just in specific areas. Or not having to have people travel to access those resources, and not having to have people wait on waitlists,” Askin said.
Bryant and Ternopolski hope that change can be made possible through, what they call, a “love bomb.”
“Some people don’t get to hear the words ‘I love you,’ and so I hope the message that they see is the message that they need in this moment,” Bryant said.