There are a lot of people in Norfolk County right who are struggling either with mental health issues or addiction.
Today (Monday), South Coast Wellness is having an Open House at their new Simcoe location, hoping to reintroduce themselves to the community.
That was CEO Bill Helmeczi.
South Coast Wellness serves both Haldimand and Norfolk, making sure to reach people where they live and provide the help they need.
Last year, South Coast Wellness helped around 2900 individuals, but Helmeczi knows there are more people out there who could use their support.
Sometimes people are afraid of possible costs associated with reaching out for help, or not meeting a certain criteria to get it.
While the open house today is at their Simcoe location, they understand that Haldimand Norfolk is a large rural landscape and want to meet people where they are as much as possible.
Helmeczi says it’s no secret that mental health issues and addiction concerns went up during the pandemic, as did the amount of people reaching out.
Despite this, he says there are still some individuals who walk through their doors after suffering for years simply because the stigma around these issues is hard to shake off.
The open house today runs from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at their office located at 76 Victoria Street.
Helmeczi says one of the big reasons for the move had to do with them having two main offices, one in Haldimand and one in Norfolk, and wanting to bring as many of their employees as possible together under one roof.
You can read more about South Coast Wellness here.