As Alberta students prepare to return to school classrooms for the final month of the school year after learning from home for the past few weeks due to the pandemic, Alberta Blue Cross® is reminding parents to keep their children’s mental health top-of-mind.
“COVID-19 has taken a toll on our collective mental health with the increased stress and anxiety that have accompanied the pandemic,” says Brian Geislinger, Alberta Blue Cross® Corporate Relations, vice-president. “And it has had a real impact on our kids who often lack the coping mechanisms to understand what they are feeling and why.”
To support youth through COVID-19, Alberta Blue Cross® has just partnered with the Mental Health Foundation and Kickstand—the Alberta Integrated Youth Services Initiative—to launch MoreGoodDays, a program that provides daily text messages delivering advice, support and inspiration to young people’s phones. An adaption of the Text4Hope program, MoreGoodDays is tailored especially for youth with message content and tone designed to be youth-friendly. Messages were vetted by 26 young Albertans and are designed to connect, encourage and empower.
“Young people have been significantly impacted during the pandemic by the loss of socialization, routine and extracurricular activities, but reaching out for support can be challenging,” says Geislinger. “Even if your child doesn’t appear to be struggling because of the pandemic, if they have a cell phone you may want to consider connecting them with MoreGoodDays.”
The Alberta Blue Cross® sponsorship of MoreGoodDays is funded through its community foundation. Since the pandemic began, Alberta Blue Cross® has directed more than $500,000 in funding from its community foundation to address priority community needs across the province—particularly among vulnerable and at-risk populations—through COVID-19.
To participate in the free program, simply text ‘MoreGoodDays‘ to 393939 to start receiving daily text messages. Learn more at mykickstand.ca.
For more information please contact
Sharmin Hislop, Corporate Communications director, Alberta Blue Cross®
