fbpx
24/7 Crisis Line:
Text size
Posted 05.28.20 in NewsBack

May 27, 2020 – The winning photos in the Family in Harmony photo contest have been selected.

Erin Graham-Mitchell earned first place and a $500 gift card at a local business for her photo depicting her family band, taking the Family in Harmony theme to heart

Second place, and a $300 gift card at a local business went to Lisa Johnston for her photo of her family enjoying some outside adventure at the lake.

Third place, and a $200 gift card at a local business, went to Jillian Dupuis for her photo showing her family “rocking it” in a natural playground.

Fourth place to seventh place winners include Gerry Therrian, Lisa Gonneau, Paige Cascanette-Boucher, and Brenan O’Connor.  Each will receive a $25 Amazon gift card.

Rounding out the top ten are photos from Pamela Simpson, Jacynth Perron, and Christopher R. Bird.

The contest was organized by Hands the FamilyHelpNetwork to celebrate Mental Health Week in Canada, May 3-10.  Each of the top 10 photos will be featured on Hands Facebook Page.

“Thank you to everyone who submitted a photo, it was wonderful to engage with families in this way and see so many beautiful pictures of families enjoying time together during this pandemic, and photos that also showed how hard it can be to be apart,” said Nathalie Ouellette, Senior Manager Child and Youth Mental Health Services at Hands. “Thankfully Hands has been able to successfully maintain our services to a large degree by utilizing online or telephone sessions during the pandemic. Of course, we haven’t been able to have much of a community presence and the photo contest was an excellent way for us to connect with our communities.”

With the COVID-19 pandemic creating stressful times for children and families, the importance of mental health is widely recognized.  To promote positive mental health Hands organized the contest, sharing how families are taking care of their mental health.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic Hands has changed the way it currently serves clients, moving the majority of its services to online and telephone support. Given the success Hands has achieved in continuing to care for clients, the agency is carefully planning a staged approach to return to offices and face-to-face client visits, keeping the health and safety of clients, families and employees as the top priority.