WINDSOR, ON., March 18, 2021 – WEtech Alliance, in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association, Windsor-Essex County Branch (CMHA-WECB), released a toolkit today that offers entrepreneurs and business owners across the region guidance on preventative strategies to optimize mental health and well-being.
The toolkit, part of the Entrepreneurs on the Front Lines community collaboration project, is designed to help entrepreneurs and business owners identify mental health strengths, investigate areas of improvement, cultivate new ways of coping, and preventing and managing mental health crises.
Given the extraordinary impact entrepreneurs have on our economy and post COVID-19 recovery, it’s critically important they operate in a state of optimum health. This toolkit will help entrepreneurial support organizations like WEtech Alliance as well as businesses themselves take steps and provide tangible resources to support entrepreneurs’ and employees’ mental health.
Preventing the onset of mental health problems before they occur, and supporting people to stay well, is an important approach to improving mental health in our communities and contributing to economic prosperity. As a mental health service provider, CMHA-WECB is ready to counsel and support business owners across the region as they know a healthy economy requires a healthy population.
The toolkit is made possible by the Digital Main Street – Future Proof, Community Collaboration Program, as part of WEtech Alliance’s Ignition program.
To view or download the Toolkit, click here.
Quotes
Canadian Mental Health Association, Windsor-Essex County Branch
“This collaboration is a powerful part of a start to 2021. When people start to recognize that asking for help is part of a healthy lifestyle then we can really make change. Our theme this year is Move the Dial. We are grateful to WEtech Alliance for initiating this with their partners and as we continue to Move the Dial in our Million Dollar Fund-raising campaign this toolkit can be adapted for others as well.” – Kim Willis, Director of Communications and Mental Health Education at CMHA-WECB
WEtech Alliance
“While many view entrepreneurship as a dream career full of excitement, it can also be full of burnout, loneliness & stress. This toolkit provides us with yet another tangible tool to help support the close to 300 founders and companies we engage with every year.” – Yvonne Pilon, President and CEO at WEtech Alliance
Entrepreneur
“A toolkit like this makes life so much easier. Having a safety plan is so important. Many of the steps and tips referenced in the toolkit are the exact steps that I take to get myself out of that hole before it gets too far.” – Nichole Howson, Owner at AIM Social and entrepreneur diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder 7 years ago
Facts
- 2 in 5 business owners report feeling depressed at least once a week (Source)
- 2 in 3 entrepreneurs feel tired or have low energy (Source)
- Though the Ignition Program, powered by Libro Credit Union, WEtech Alliance interviewed over 100 businesses with mental health concerns among the top 3 pain paints facing business owners and entrepreneurs (Source)
- Entrepreneurs on the Front Lines is 1 of 3 WEtech Alliance supported Community Collaboration Projects (Source)
- Pre-pandemic, research indicated mental health conditions among working-aged Canadians cost employers an estimated $20.7 billion annually from claims, absences, and lost productivity – and that this cost is forecasted to approach $30 billion by 2030 (Source)
About WEtech Alliance:
WEtech Alliance is one of seventeen Regional Innovation Centres, funded by the Province of Ontario, serving the Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent regions. They provide entrepreneurs with business services, training, mentorship and strategic connections to help bring new ideas to market, scale to the next level and build a dynamic culture and a community of innovation. WEtech Alliance has served as the catalyst for technology and innovation in the Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent regions since 2011. www.wetech-alliance.com
About Digital Main Street:
Digital Main Street is a program that helps main street businesses achieve digital transformation. The program is built around an online learning platform, structured training programs, and our Digital Service Squad, a team of street-level team members who help main street businesses grow and manage their operations through technology. Digital Main Street was created by the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) with direct support from the City of Toronto. DMS is also supported by a group of strategic business partners, including Google, Mastercard, Shopify, Microsoft, Facebook, Intuit QuickBooks, Square and Yellow Pages.
A $42.5-million investment from FedDev Ontario and an additional $7.45 million from the Government of Ontario brought together the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas, Communitech, Invest Ottawa, and the Ontario Business Improvement Area Association to expand the Digital Main Street Platform in order to support more businesses to go digital as a response to the impacts of COVID-19. www.digitalmainstreet.ca
About CMHA WECB:
The Canadian Mental Health Association, Windsor-Essex County Branch (CMHA-WECB) is the lead provider and advocate of specialized community mental health and addiction services integrated with comprehensive primary health care services. windsoressex.cmha.ca
For more information or media inquiries, please contact:
Yvonne Pilon
President & CEO, WEtech Alliance
E: ypilon@wetech-alliance.com
P: 519 819.8251
Kim Willis
Director, Communications & Mental Health Promotion
E: kwillis@cmha-wecb.on.ca
C: 226 787.2245
P: 519 255.9940 x161