New mental health support for Francophones in northeastern Ontario

For Francophones in northeastern Ontario who need to talk before experiencing a crisis, a new partnership in the mental health field will provide them with much-needed access to French language services.

Warm Line, the bilingual peer support helpline operated by the Northern Initiative for Social Action in Sudbury, is teaming up with Tel-Aide in the Ottawa-Gatineau Region.

The Tel-Aide support line will help reinforce the services that are already available from NISA's Regional Warm Line and will offer more choices for Franco-Ontarians.

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The increase in service will further reduce the isolation and distress of callers, said Martin Boucher, the Regional Warm Line co-ordinator.

"In an ongoing support situation, that's when language is very important," Boucher said, "telling your story, telling people how you feel, exploring possibilities, fostering hope. All those things work a lot better in your native tongue."

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The partnership came together with the help of many agencies, Boucher said, including the North East Local Health Integration Network.

"The LHIN is very much committed to improving its French services," Boucher said, "French individuals or Francophones in Ontario are very dispersed in certain communities."

"There are some very strong French communities, but there's also a lot of people living as minority language in their area," Boucher said.

"Phone service is a very good way to reach those people."

Both services are open 7 days a week, 365 days a year.