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CMHA WW and Kitchener Rangers to host Talk Today Mental Health Awareness Game

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The Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington and The Kitchener Rangers have partnered for a mental health awareness game on Tuesday February 11th at 7pm, presented by Teachers Life, when they take on the Erie Otters at The Aud.

This mental health awareness game is part of the Kitchener Ranger’s ongoing partnership with CMHA Waterloo Wellington and its Talk Today program, presented by Teachers Life. Originally launched by CMHA Ontario in partnership with the Ontario Hockey League in 2014, Talk Today provides an important opportunity to address the mental health needs of athletes across Canada.

Through this program, over 1,100 OHL players and over 400 coaches, billets and staff have received mental health and suicide prevention training across the league.

The key piece of the Talk Today program has been to educate players about mental health and suicide prevention. Each team is also linked to a CMHA mental health coach, who provides support and mental health resources to individuals in need. Additionally, CMHA experts work with players from the Kitchener Rangers to deliver a basic in-class presentation about mental wellness to elementary school students.

“Many local OHL players are admired by children and youth in our community, so when they hear about mental health challenges in the classroom presentations directly from their hockey heroes, it has a profound impact,” said Helen Fishburn, executive director of CMHA Waterloo Wellington.

“We are very proud and grateful for the partnership we have with the Kitchener Rangers. We support the players to manage their own stress and stay mentally well, and they in turn, support our community by raising awareness and modelling positive mental health to all.”

“This is exactly what we need to continue to reduce stigma associated with mental health, and reach out to people of all ages to build their awareness and resilience.”

Kitchener Rangers general manager and interim head coach Mike McKenzie noted that “there are so many important things being done for mental health and the Talk Today game is just another example of a great initiative that will help raise awareness.”

“We are excited and proud to be hosting the game and partner with CMHA Waterloo Wellington to continue to raise awareness of the importance of mental health,” he said.

“So many strides have been made in the past years but we still have a long way to go and hopefully the Talk Today game can play a role in that.”

Tickets for the game are still available. For ticket information, visit kitchenerrangers.com/individual-tickets

Read more about Talk Today.

About Teachers Life:

Teachers Life is a not-for-profit federally regulated life-insurance company and North America’s largest educator-owned fraternal insurer. Founded in 1939, Teachers Life offers a full suite of personal insurance products to address the unique needs of the whole education community including educators, administrators, support staff and their families. Teachers Life is the first insurance provider in Canada to underwrite life insurance products online, in as little as 15 minutes. As a not-for-profit fraternal insurer, community commitment is a core value for Teachers Life. For more information, please visit www.teacherslife.com.

About Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario:

Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Ontario is a not-for-profit, charitable organization funded by the provincial Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. We work to improve the lives of all Ontarians through leadership, collaboration and continual pursuit of excellence in community-based mental health and addictions services. Our vision is a society that embraces and invests in the mental health of all people. We are a trusted advisor to government, contributing to health systems development through policy formulation and recommendations that promote positive mental health. Our 30 local CMHA branches, together with community-based mental health and addictions service providers across the province, serve approximately 500,000 Ontarians each year.

About the Ontario Hockey League:

The Ontario Hockey League is a proud member of the Canadian Hockey League which is the world’s largest development hockey league with 60 teams in nine Canadian provinces and four American states. In addition to the OHL, the CHL is made up of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League. Last season, more than nine million fans attended CHL games in the regular season, playoffs and at the Mastercard Memorial Cup. The CHL supplies more players to the National Hockey League and U Sports than any other league.  For more information, visit www.ontariohockeyleague.com.

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