NS Health launches free mental health and wellness Text4HopeNS tool to support those affected by wildfires

Nova Scotia Health’s Mental Health and Addictions program, in collaboration with the QEII Foundation and the Global Psychological eHealth Foundation, is launching a supportive text message tool today for any Nova Scotian affected by the wildfires. It is called Text4HopeNS.

“We know this is a very stressful and uncertain time for many people in the province,” said Dr. Vincent Agyapong, Nova Scotia Health’s Central Zone chief of psychiatry and head of psychiatry at Dalhousie University. “We hope this supportive mental health and wellness tool will help provide comfort to anyone who may be struggling.”

Nova Scotians can text Text4HopeNS to 393939 to subscribe for six months of supportive text messages, free of charge.

Text4HopeNS is an evidence-based tool that helps people identify and adjust the negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviours stressful times might provoke.

Dr. Agyapong himself was displaced by the Fort MacMurray, Alberta wildfires in 2016. A similar Text4Hope service has helped people in that province manage their mental health while dealing with wildfires.

People receive a set of daily messages that offer advice and encouragement helpful in developing healthy personal coping skills and resiliency. Community members subscribe to receive ongoing supportive content. Standard text message rates may apply.

“When our communities are in crisis, QEII Foundation donors often step forward and want to help,” said Susan Mullin, president and CEO of the QEII Foundation. “By providing $15,000 to help rapidly launch Text4HopeNS, donors are supporting mental health care for those in need.

“This daily mental health support is one way we can wrap our arms around our community during this very difficult time,” she said.