Among the winners for the 2012 "Out of the Blue Awards" were St-Pierre Big Way Foods, Roseau Valley School, Ste. Agathe Community Committee and the SRSS.
The Blue Carpet gala was held on May 29th, 2012, at the Niverville Heritage Centre and was attended by 240 guests dressed in an ocean of blue. Awards were handed out to groups and individuals who have helped raise a New Voice for Mental Health in the South East region.
The South Eastman Regional Suicide Prevention Committee (SESPC) is once again thrilled over the culmination of their regional Out of the Blue campaign. Out of the Blue was developed by the SESPC with funding from Manitoba Health and South Eastman Health.
For the second year in a row guests were treated to a laugh-inducing performance by Big Daddy Tazz, a local comedian living well with mental illness. Big Daddy Tazz sheds light on mental illness, promotes mental health and fights the stigma that over shadows them. The crowd was moved to a standing ovation and the sense that all the mental health champions in the room were not about to end their efforts.
SRSS and Roseau Valley School were among the stars of the evening, taking home many awards in categories like Blue Day, Blue Lunch, Blue Expressions and many others. Individuals from the community were also awarded prizes for their Blue Awareness Activities. Businesses and community groups including St.Pierre Big Way Foods, and the Ste. Agathe Community Committee were winning participants.
“South Eastman Health is very proud to have joined all of our Gala guests, sponsors and honored guests in delivering such extraordinary support for the “Out of the Blue” campaign and its crucial work in accelerating a new voice for mental health to support those living with mental illness and opening dialogue about suicide,” said Debbie Enns, Acting Regional Mental Health Program Manager with South Eastman Health: “knowing some of the serious impacts of mental illness and seeing the tremendous positive impact that mental health programs can have on people’s lives, it’s so encouraging for me to see such immense support from everyone at the Out of the Blue Gala and for the SESPC team.Community support and involvement is a fundamental pillar to South Eastman Health’s mental health program and we are confident that we have and will continue to make progress within our region” said Enns.
Enns reminds us that suicide is an ongoing issue and that the SESPC will continue their efforts. They are all looking forward to reviewing this year’s campaign and hope to re-launch an even bigger project next year.
