COCHRANE— The results from Cochrane's Social Recovery Task Force indicate positive mental health is becoming a growing concern in the community.
Cochrane Family and Community Support Services executive director Kim Krawec and Task Force member Sandra Gateman were on hand to share the results of the survey with Cochrane Council at the Monday (March 22) meeting.
The data gained from the surveys will play a critical role in informing the Task Force's response to COVID-19 and the steps the community can take to help people in need.
"The Task Force has focussed on ensuring Cochrane residents have the support, resources and information to support their well-being, safety and resilience," Gateman said.
The Task Force will continue to focus on mental health and wellness in the community— A major part of this work will be centred on increasing awareness of resources and services available in Cochrane and encouraging community members to connect safely.
The Task Force has launched two public engagement surveys to understand the impact of COVID-19 on Cochranites, Krawec said. The first survey was released in June 2020 and saw 552 respondents, the second survey was open from Nov. 12 to Dec. 17, 2020, and saw 340 participants.
The surveys have proven to be successful, Gateman said, and the document has been requested by seven other communities in Alberta.
"I like to think that is a pretty big kudos for our efforts in writing a comprehensive survey if other communities in the province also want to use it," Gateman said.
Krawec said concerns over mental health have been increasing in the community with 80 per cent of participants indicating they are extremely concerned, very concerned or somewhat concerned for their mental health and personal well-being.
Krawec noted isolation, loss of activities, personal finances, mental health, physical health and the inability to see family and friends became worse for survey participants as the pandemic has rolled on.
The experience of helplessness about COVID-19 has increased with 52 per cent of participants indicating they have had these feelings. This is an increase of nine per cent in comparison to June's survey.
The anxiety of participants increased with 42 per cent of participants reporting moments of great anxiety.
Of those who participated in the survey 92 per cent said the news appearing in the media harmed their state of mind and 78 per cent of respondents said guidelines or instructions from the authorities negatively impacted their state of mind.
A silver lining of the survey results, Krawec said, is 82 per cent of participants had the mental health support they needed and 73 per cent were aware of health resources in the community.
The survey indicated 26 per cent of respondents had a household member who had lost a job, while 25 per cent indicated they are concerned they may experience a future job loss.
Of the respondents, 40 per cent worry their financial situation will worsen if the reality of the pandemic does not change in the next few months and 46 per cent of respondents have applied for financial relief during the pandemic.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Task Force has recognized local non-profits and the important role they will play in helping residents, Krawec said. The Town is dedicated to supporting these critical resources and non-profits have provided up-to-date data from the surveys to help inform the creation of programs.
The Task Force received $20,000 from United Way to aid in the Town's COVID-19 response— The funds were used to enhanced the Cochrane CARES app, provide cell phone service plans for clients at Big Hill Haven and purchase a virtual platform for confidential meetings with clients and upgraded technology in the Cochrane Family and Community Support Services meeting rooms.
The Social Recovery Task Force is continuing to build momentum, Gateman said, and will be recognizing mental health awareness week from May 3 to 9 to honour mental health community-wide.
The Task Force continues to assess and monitor the needs of the community and will conduct another public engagement survey in May or June.
Councillor Marni Fedeyko said the majority of respondents to participate in the survey did not seem to come from families. She noted 39 per cent were two-person households, followed by single households at 22 per cent and 40 per cent of households reported having three or more people. 40 per cent of respondents reported having children in the home.
She proposed the Task Force approach Rocky View Schools to see if a partnership could encourage more families to participate in future surveys.
"I feel like we're kind of missing a big portion of the population which are those families," Fedeyko said. "I would be curious to see if some of those needs or the numbers don't change when you're talking to a family with multiple kids and stresses."
Coun. Alex Reed noted the survey had a limited sample size and cautioned drawing major conclusions as the data may not represent the entire population of Cochrane.
He praised the work of Family and Community Support Services and the organizations' ability to champion the needs of Cochrane citizens. He added this support may have contributed to the lower response numbers for the second survey.
"Three hundred and forty of our total population doesn't seem like a really good sample size," Reed said.
