Harrison: Coming together for Mental Health Awareness Month

Mental Health Awareness Month often focuses on education, resources, and reducing stigma — all important conversations.

But this year, I keep coming back to something simpler – community. Recently, at the Carp Fair’s Girls for Pearls event, I met a woman whose story stayed with me long after the evening ended. For years, she has maintained a strict early morning running routine to support her mental health.

Before most people are awake, she’s outside — rain, snow, darkness, and all — running the same quiet roads with only a flashlight to guide her way. Over time, her neighbours began noticing. Not because she asked for attention, nor because she told anyone she was struggling, but because consistency has a way of being seen.

One morning, as she headed out on her run, a neighbour came outside holding a box. Inside was a vest-style headlamp to help keep her safe during those dark morning miles. Such a small gesture and yet, such a powerful one. Neighbours, but essentially strangers, coming together to quietly say, ‘we see you. We care about you. Keep going.’

That moment has stayed with me because it reflects something we don’t talk about enough in mental health care; healing doesn’t only happen in therapy rooms. It also happens in communities, in connection, and in the moments where people choose to notice each other.

Mental health awareness is not just about recognizing a crisis. It’s about creating communities where people feel supported before they reach one. Living in rural communities, we sometimes underestimate the strength of these quiet acts of care. But they matter deeply. They remind us that resilience is often built collectively — not alone. This Mental Health Awareness Month, perhaps the goal isn’t just to ask, ‘how are you?’ Maybe it’s also to ask, ‘how can we show up for each other better?’

Because sometimes, the smallest acts of kindness become the very things that help someone keep moving forward.

Christine Harrison is a registered psychotherapist, founder and clinical director of Focus Forward Therapy Group, and a dedicated community leader with more than 15 years of experience serving West Carleton. She previously held a leadership role in mental health programming at the Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre (WOCRC) and currently serves as a director with Carp Health Access, where she works to bridge clinical care with grassroots support. Through her work, Christine has championed accessible, evidence-based therapy and advocated for holistic wellness across rural communities. A committed volunteer, healthcare innovator, and proud mom of three, Christine is passionate about building stronger, more resilient communities through collaboration, compassion, and forward-thinking care.

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