TOTA, Canadian Mental Health Association Kelowna, and Thoughtfull Offer Mental Health Support to Businesses Through COVID-19 Pandemic
Kelowna, BC (August 20, 2020) – The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) has signed a formal agreement with the Canadian Mental Health Association, Kelowna & District branch (CMHA Kelowna) and Thoughtfull Workplace Wellness Strategies. As an extension to TOTA’s industry resiliency efforts, planned collaborative initiatives aim to mitigate the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental well-being of tourism business operators and workers.
“Mental health is an essential ingredient for resiliency. The COVID-19 Pandemic has been devastating in many ways, greatly affecting the people behind the numbers and figures,” said Glenn Mandziuk, President and CEO of TOTA. “This formal agreement with CMHA Kelowna and Thoughtfull will help bridge gaps by supporting not only the tourism industry, but the communities it so greatly depends on.”
CMHA Kelowna and Thoughtfull, a workplace consulting and training social enterprise run by CMHA Kelowna, represent a valuable resource for TOTA to relay knowledge and expertise in education, human resources, occupational health and safety, as well as crisis intervention to businesses in the tourism industry. Thoughtfull’s workplace advisors will collaborate with TOTA to provide insights for campaigns and resources contributing to physical, mental, and financial resilience.
“Tourism is such an important industry for this region, but we know that many operators and their employees are facing high levels of stress due to significant challenges and a lot of unknowns. Financial resilience is just one piece of the puzzle. We also need to support the mental well-being of everyone in this sector,” said Aaryn Secker, Manager of Learning & Development for CMHA Kelowna and Thoughtfull.
As part of this agreement, industry members of the Thompson Okanagan Resiliency Program will be able to access tailored workplace psychological health and safety training and advising through Thoughtfull at an exclusive reduced and subsidized rate by contacting their dedicated TOTA Program Advisor. In addition, CMHA will deliver programming through our ongoing webinar series with “Return to the Workplace: Considerations for Supporting Staff Mental Health” and “De-escalating Conflict”.
For more information about the Thompson Okanagan Resiliency Program and to register visit TOTABC.org/Tourism-Resiliency.
Or register by phone: 1-877-431-8489 (ext 8).
If you are already part of the Tourism Resiliency Program, please contact your program advisor directly for more information on this program offering.
