When you hear the phrase, ‘Go big or go home’, you usually don’t think of a flag raising, but that is exactly what CMHA did for their Mental Health Week flag raising on Friday, May 5, 2023.
The first indications that this flag raising was going to be different were the music playing and people gathered on picnic tables outside CPS headquarters on Pitt Street. The Optimist Club of Cornwall sponsored a BBQ which they were setting up before the event started at 10:30.
Mayor Justin Towndale presented the City of Cornwall’s proclamation of Mental Health Week 2023 to Angele D’Alessio just before the CMHA flag was raised – that’s when the fun began.
Marilyn Parisien, founder of SDG Fitness, was invited to the stage and led the crowd through a couple of exercise numbers along with some enthusiastic volunteers from St. Joes and CCVS.
Spirits were high as several speakers, community partners, and performers were called up to share how everyone’s mental health story is important, share local resources, and highlight methods of self-care that can help us stay resilient.
