WEYBURN – The event and the donation were a long time in coming, but a group from the Long Creek Agra Environment Group Plan was able to present a donation of equipment for the use of patients at Tatagwa View’s mental health and addictions inpatient unit in Weyburn on Friday afternoon.
The donation included nine portable DVD players, seven portable radios, an Apple iPad, an exercise bike and a garden shed for storing gardening tools for use by the patients, with the value totaling $3,915. A cash donation of the same amount was also made to the Farm Stress Line.
The funds were raised at a supper and special mental health-themed event held in November of 2022 at the Oungre Memorial Regional Park.
The speakers included former NHLer Theo Fleury, along with local resident Lynn Zackrisson, and a First Responder, all speaking about the importance and challenges of mental health.
The event was originally going to be held in November of 2020, but the COVID pandemic intervened and the event had to be postponed, said one of the organizers, David Pattyson of the Upper Souris Watershed Management organization.
“We were hoping to address mental health before the pandemic, as that was an important topic, and once we were able to go forward with it, it became even more important (after the pandemic),” he explained, noting the timing of the event was in itself good for mental health of area residents, as things began to open up again after the pandemic was over.
Fellow organizer of the supper, Merv Hutt, pointed out that for him, Lynn Zackrisson was the most important speaker as she addressed the impact of suicide on her family.
Unit manager Lisa Hallberg said these items will be of great use by the patients, as they often have to share DVD units and they never have enough charger cords around. To have these new DVD players enables both recreational use, and some of the programming is on DVD and can be used by the patients more extensively.
A nurse on the unit, Kaitlyn Moffatt, also pointed out that the radios help provide access to music, which is good for the patients in providing a more homey atmosphere for them, the exercise bike will also be good for them, and the iPad will enable the patients to access their emails better.
