By Trevor Greenway
Local Journalism Initiative

Hilary Jocelyn wants to help you calm your breathing while you’re helping someone calm their breathing. 

The Wakefield social worker, who has worked in the field of mental health and suicide prevention for over two decades, is hosting a mental health first-aid training course, which she said she hopes will give participants the confidence to help someone who is struggling with their thoughts. 

“I’ve personally known a few people who’ve gone through, well, deaths by suicide,” said Jocelyn. “There have been overdoses, and I know parents are worried. People are struggling.”

This newspaper has reported on three suicides in the past two years, with locals Patrick Thompson, Steve Young and Declan Thomas all taking their own lives. Their deaths devastated friends and family who knew them. 

Jocelyn’s mental health first-aid course aims to empower people to recognize signs of depression, anxiety and other mental health issues before they become unmanageable. Jocelyn admitted that it’s much harder to spot someone struggling with mental problems than it is a physical ailment. 

“If you meet with your friends, they quite often talk about their physical things, you know, ‘Oh, I’ve got a sore back,’ or, ‘I’ve got this or that.’ And…we very rarely talk publicly about what we’re going through, you know, our mental well-being,” said Jocelyn. “So I think one of the things that the course aims to do is to sort of bring that conversation out from behind the shadows and talk more meaningfully about mental health.”

Jocelyn said her course is based on regular first-aid training methods – the ABCs – airways, breathing and circulation. However, she explained that mental health training is based on approach, listen and hope – encouraging and empowering the person struggling to push themselves to reach out for help. 

“It’s about bringing people together in the community to talk about mental health and learn,” said Jocelyn. “We talk about practical things – we talk about how to help someone who has overdosed; we also talk about suicide; we talk about postpartum depression. I’m not teaching people to diagnose, but they can get an idea of what the signs are and what someone might be going through. 

The four-session workshop began Nov. 4. However, Jocelyn said there is still room, and she will consider adding a make-up session at the end for those who missed the first week. The course is certified, and those who graduate will receive a Mental Health First Aid Training Certificate. 

For more information, visit the Wakefield community centre’s website or email Jocelyn at hilaryjocelynmail@gmail.com. The course is $120, however Jocelyn said it’s a sliding scale, and nobody will be turned away for financial reasons.