Mental-health program helps members build confidence through weekly news broadcasts

"Good afternoon and welcome to Hope Centre News," announces April Rafuse as she shuffles her papers beforereading the events of the week.

Rafuse is one of the anchorsof theweekly newscast broadcast out of theHope Centre Clubhouse in Alberton.

The clubhouse is a psychosocial rehabilitation programof the Canadian Mental Health Association.

It helps adults living with mental illness by providing them with employment, education and transportation resources and for the last five years has given members a creative outletthrough the weekly newscasts.

'Feel like they're not being judged'

Rafuseand her co-anchor Jared MacNeill have been the facesof the newscasts since they first launched.

Rafuse said she was nervous at first, but thought she'dtry something new.

"I find it's helped me come out of my shell to not be as nervous oranxious," she said.

Hope Centre News hasover 200 episodes,each of which is filmed, edited and uploadedby Jordan Churchill, a member at the centre.

The episodes consist of updates at the clubhouse, a science experiment conducted by Churchill and a few skits or songs.

It's given me a sense of purpose, it's given me a sense of I belong. Jesse Greenan, clubhouse member

Julia Ramsay, the program director at the clubhouse, credits the newscasts with contributing to its members personal improvement.

"Just seeing theway they've grown over the past few years has been pretty cool to witness."

She said when the episodes first started, there were only twoorthreepeople working on them.

Now, she said, they have a green screen and an iPad to film each segment on.

Rafuse lives with depression and anxiety and said being on camera, as well as being part of the centre, hashelped her become more confident.

"This is a place of mental health," she said."So, it's good for people with the problems that, like, we have with mental health.It's a place for them to come and feel like they're not being judged."

Jesse Greenanhas been coming to the clubhouse for the last fouryears anddoes YouTubeand movie reviews.

He said the centre has helped himbecome more social and go back to school things he said he wouldn't have done without becoming a member.

"They helped me push myself to talk to more people, be more open," he said.

"It's given me a sense of purpose, it's given me a sense of I belong."

Ramsay said that's why the clubhouse was created.

"Seeing people grow and especially seeing people succeed in something that they never believed they could do in the first place," she said.

"I always say that it's a members' clubhouse and the staff are just here to open the doors in the morning."

Rafuse said the group plans to continue the newscasts and hopes to do more interviews within the community in Alberton.

More P.E.I. news