Starting this month, major junior hockey teams across the country will each host a community event at one home game to raise awareness about mental health.
Through the end of February, all teams in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Western Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League will host a mental health awareness game as part of each team’s ongoing partnership with its local Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) branch as part of the Talk Today program.
Game day experiences often have several features to promote the importance of mental health, including a CMHA-run kiosk on the concourse where fans can learn more about mental health and local community-based services, a ceremonial puck drop with the local CMHA branch, in-arena announcements and videos promoting mental health awareness and local programs, and more.
Originally launched by CMHA Ontario in partnership with the OHL in 2014, Talk Today provides an important opportunity to address the mental health needs of athletes across Canada. In addition to mental health awareness games, through this program more than 3,300 athletes and over 750 coaches, billets and staff have received mental health and suicide prevention training.
Find out when your local team is hosting its mental health awareness event here. To learn more about Talk Today, visit ontario.cmha.ca/talk-today.