CMHA-ER: Welcoming Prosper Place into the CMHA family
Author: Catie Whyte
It’s officially been two months since Canadian Mental Health Association-Edmonton Region and Prosper Place joined forces as one organization, to continue under the Canadian Mental Health Association – Edmonton Region (CMHA-ER) banner.
Prosper Place is a peer-led organization serving people living with the effects of mental illness. It offers opportunities for purposeful work and empowerment through its regular activities and projects, peer-to-peer coaching, Recovery College programs,courses and its social enterprise initiatives. Peer leadership and peer-to-peer support are important elements of its daily routine, including a peer board that contributes to the governance of the organization.
Sinceintegration on April 1st, the staff and boards of both organizations have worked together to ensure a smooth transition of programs and services for community members, with all peer programs taking place at Prosper Place to make them more accessible. Staff members have mentioned that with Prosper Place becoming part of the CMHA-ER family, it will give the opportunity to reach more individuals in the community. Jessica Meilleur, Manager of Community Engagement, shared that “Prosper Place has been Edmonton's best kept secret for years; integrating with CMHA-ER will give this hidden-gem a larger voice and presence in our community. Prosper Place is HOME to so many people living with severe mental illness - the peer-to-peer programming is unique and extremely valuable to everyone’s road to recovery. It's a place of inclusion, acceptance, and growth - an incredible program now within CMHA-ER!”
Most importantly, the integration of Prosper Place, its programs, and its peer community, will mean that as an organization CMHA-ER can better serve and support people with lived experience. This means not just as program participants, but by involving peer members in the design, planning, and delivery of programs across CMHA-ER – a key pillar of our Strategic Plan.