Military mental health expo supports members of the Canadian Armed Forces

Military mental health expo in North Bay seeks to support members of the Canadian Armed Forces.

There was a mental health expo on 22 Wing/Canadian Forces Base on Wednesday afternoon for the men and women who are tasked with keeping their eyes on the skies.

Held once a year, the expo challenges Canadian Armed Forces members to talk and learn about mental health, understand the resources available and eliminate the stigma.

Constantly monitoring Canadian air space can take a toll. It’s a busy and critical job with tremendous pressure and demanding circumstances, said 22 Wing commander Col. Joe Oldford.

“Mental health awareness is health awareness,” Oldford said.

“It’s incumbent on commanders at all levels to empower the people that we ask to do these with the tools to manage that.”

The mental health expo featured 45 booths and exhibitors, each full of information for both the public and the military when it comes to mental health service providers and the programs they run in the community.

About a quarter of the base population (about 100 military personnel) and their families move to different postings each year, with new faces coming on board looking for support.

“The challenges that come with that are substantial,” Oldford said.

“Particularly with our families getting medical care, dental care and education for our children.”

Lt. David Cozzi was recently stationed at the base. As a younger CAF member, he understands mental health challenges from a different perspective.

For Cozzi, moving to North Bay, far from his family in Italy and Ottawa, was a hard thing to do. He likens the Royal Canadian Air Force as his family far from home, which is helping him grow more.

“For me at a young age, moving away from family is big, especially having family far away,” Cozzi said.

“It’s nice to have a family around me with the air force, that will help me.”

Guest speaker

Guest speaker Arthur Henry, a 36-year veteran of the Royal Canadian Air Force and a registered psychotherapist, spoke to the crew about bouncing back from adversity.

“We measure psychological resilience the same way,” Henry said.

“How quickly can we bounce back from something that’s adverse that happens.”

Recently, the CAF announced it is no longer automatically disqualifying applicants with certain medical conditions such as allergies, anxiety and ADHD, as it works to improve its numbers and grow the size of Canada’s military.

‘Everything that we can do to get people in the door to help us the most important mission defending Canada and Canadians home and abroad is value-added," Oldford said.

In its eighth year, the event was an opportunity to talk about mental health and learn about resources as well as eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness in military life.