PROJECT HOPE SUPPORTS HEALTH PROMOTION IN REGINA QU'APPELLE

The Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region will soon have new staff focusing on promoting mental health and preventing substance abuse thanks to new funding from Project Hope and Saskatchewan Health.

"People, especially our young people, need environments that support them to make informed, healthy choices," Health Minister John Nilson said. "By working with the health regions, we will ensure that prevention and health promotion activities are based on each community's unique needs."

The Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region will receive $40,000 for the balance of this fiscal year and will receive $80,000 in annualized funding in subsequent years.

"We appreciate the government's commitment to addressing mental, health and addictions issues through health promotion," Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region Mental Health and Addictions Services Executive Director Dave Hedlund said. "Mental illness and substance abuse, and their serious consequences, have such a profound impact on individuals, families and communities. When we find ways to help people with their problems, before they become serious, our communities become much stronger and healthier. Everyone benefits."

Health promotion and prevention are cornerstones of The Premier's Project Hope and the government's Population Health Promotion Strategy.

Healthier Places to Live, Work and Play…A Population Health Promotion Strategy for Saskatchewan challenges communities to move beyond traditional approaches to health promotion in order to create environments where people find it easier to take positive actions for their health.

Project Hope is a three-year plan to prevent and treat substance abuse. The government has committed $10 million of new annual funding for the project, in addition to the $4.7 million announced in the 2005-06 budget. This new funding is based on the 15 recommendations contained in the report Healthy Choices in a Healthy Community by Legislative Secretary to the Premier on Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Graham Addley.

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For More Information, Contact:

Jocelyn Argue Health Regina Phone: (306) 787-4083

Mark Torjusen Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region Regina Phone: (306) 766-5332