By Liam Verster

Mental Health and community outreach

GPRC Cares campaign offers mental health support and community outreach opportunities

Apr 8, 2020 | 4:00 PM

Grande Prairie Regional College has launched the new ‘GPRC Cares’ initiative, to offer mental health supports and services, build a connection with the public, and support to organizations and groups helping the community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

‘GPRC Cares’ has two main branches, the first being a mental health strategy for staff, students, and the community. College President and CEO Dr. Robert Murray, says mental health is always top of mind, and as soon as they went into the learning/working-from-home model in March due to the COVID-19 shutdowns, the college wanted to make sure that supports and services would still be available. Those services include their regular Mental Health Tip, along with live weekly video seminars via video conference.

Along with providing access to their regular supports and services, this initiative has online content to view on the college’s social media sites and YouTube channel.

Murray says this will open up a connection between the public, who can tune in during their personal lockdowns or isolation, and the college.

“Whether it’s our choir practicing online, whether it’s our athletes performing their training rituals and sharing that online, or some of our instructors providing the content that they’re giving in their lectures.”

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He adds that one of the first challenges that came out of the shut-down was for student-athletes who needed to maintain their training. However, once it became clear they could share their training sessions online, it opened up a new opportunity to share home workouts with the general public.

“Especially with top-level collegiate athletes, and what it is that they’re going to be able to share with the community, and possibly provide some ideas for other people’s fitness in the community.”

The second branch of ‘GPRC Cares’ is community outreach, which Murray says they are already working on.

“I think that we’ve been reaching out to a number of different organizations like Meals on Wheels, like Suicide Prevention Centre, etcetera, and making sure that we have the opportunities to let others know that we have resources available, and we are ready and willing to help, for those groups that maybe we haven’t had that connectivity to thus far.”

He says their biggest resource is people, who want to be put to use and help provide supports to those in need in the community, whether it be through delivering groceries and medications or corresponding to those in isolation through letters and phone calls.

Murray says any other community groups or organizations that want to be involved with or work with the college reach out and become part of the “GPRC Cares’ initiative.

“Our hope right now is that, through this campaign, we’re able to identify the areas where we’re able to help, and our hope as well is that the community reaches out to us about where there might be opportunities that we haven’t been able to see and to keep up this momentum through this period. I think that, right now, this will be our focus in the short term, and hopefully that we’re able to actually assist those in need throughout this campaign.”

Meanwhile, GPRC is continuing it’s work with students, providing them with online learning and supports, but Murray adds that he’s been impressed by the staff and students, and how they’ve been able to respond to the shutdown and transition into the work-from-home model, and continue to work hard through the pandemic.