HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-05-09, Page 33THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 9, 2019. PAGE 33.
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to, are struggling with your
mental health or addiction, or
need to be connected to
mental health services please
call the Huron Perth Helpline
and Crisis Response Team
at 1-888-829-7484
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Supporting our communities and beyond
CMHA
Mental Health Week
May 6 - 12
Continued from page 32
landscape here, including
local school boards,
emergency services pro-
fessionals and the Huron
County Health Unit.
In its first year, not only
did the Tanner Steffler
Foundation work to make
itself a more visible name in
the community, but it also
hosted a number of events,
like bringing mental health
advocate Michael Landsberg
first to Exeter and Blyth and
then to Mitchell for a series
of lectures, as well as the Six
String Music Festival, held
for the first time in Seaforth
last year, which is set to
return this year with even
higher ambitions.
In an interview with The
Citizen, John said that while
there are mental health
services available in Huron
County, they are not well-
connected, which can affect
how effective they are for
residents who are in crisis.
He also said that many of
the services are very specific,
which can be detrimental
when it comes to mental
health and its sprawling
nature.
John says that Heather has
described the family’s
journey as walking alone
through a snowstorm. The
goal of the foundation is to
reach out and offer a helping
hand and solutions through
the whiteout.
Later this year, the
foundation plans to officially
launch its capital campaign,
which will focus on the
creation of the resource
centre, a big step in the
foundation’s journey to help
children who struggle with
mental health issues in
Huron County.
As of right now, the
foundation is working out of
an office with some board
room space at the Huron
community Family Health
Team building in Seaforth,
but is looking ahead to the
move once the new centre is
built, all with the mandate set
out by John and Heather in
those early days after their
son’s death: “Tanner Steffler
Foundation will create a
culture of change in mental
health, addiction and
wellness services for youth
and their families in Huron
County.”
For more information on
the Tanner Steffler
Foundation, visit its website
tannerstefflerfoundation.com
Coming together
The Tanner Steffler Foundation, named for the Seaforth youth who passed away in 2017, aims to
improve the mental health landscape in Huron County after Tanner and his parents, John and
Heather, right, at a charity hockey game to raise money for the foundation, encountered a number
of roadblocks and dead ends in their journey to find treatment for Tanner. The foundation has
raised over $200,000 since forming in late 2017. (File photo)