The 2025 Champions of Mental Health (File photo/battlefordsNOW).

By Austin Mattes

Battlefords Mental Health Week

CMHA celebrates Champions of Mental Health in the Battlefords

May 6, 2025 | 3:25 PM

With this week, May 5 to 11, being proclaimed as Mental Health week in the Battlefords, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) of the Battlefords proudly recognized local individuals and organizations for making outstanding contributions to mental health with its Champion of Mental Health awards.

This event celebrated those who have made a commitment to advocacy, awareness, and community support in the field of mental health. CMHA Battlefords Executive Director, Michele Winterholt said she hopes the event helped inspire people in the community.

“For this event, I hope it shows that that we all have the opportunity to play a role in bettering mental health for those around us, individuals, groups or as a whole community as well as just remembering to continue to work to reduce that stigma and advocate for those that are living with mental illness and mental health challenges, we can all help give them a voice,” she said.

Champion of Mental Health Event
This award represents an organization or group who has made a positive impact on mental health by hosting a special event that supports CMHA Battlefords.

This year’s recipient included the Meota 5km Walk/Run, an annual event that has brought the community together and raised thousands of dollars to support mental health initiatives. One of the organizers of the event, Charles Baillargeon said that they were grateful to receive the award.

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“It’s a sign of humility that we would be recognized, but it’s also a joyful thing as well because the work we put in, we thought nobody noticed and mental health has become more aware and an event like this helps brings it forward. People are not afraid to speak anymore and the stigmatism of that is kind of evaporating,” he said.

Champion of Mental Health Community Award

This category recognizes businesses, groups, or individuals who have brought awareness and made an impact on mental health through advocacy and stigma reduction.

Lisa Hornung was honoured for her dedication to youth mental health by helping create a safe, inviting space for kids with the Community Youth Choir. With approximately 55 children from the ages of five to 18, the choir welcomes everyone who has a desire to sing while bringing a respectful and encouraging environment to the younger generation.

Champion of Mental Health Employee Award
This category represents individuals who foster mental wellness within their workplaces, creating impacts that extend to the community and others.

Jose Pruden and Linda Shynkaruk were both celebrated for their leadership in promoting mental health in professional settings.

Pruden’s commitment to the wellbeing of her staff as the Director of the Battle River Treaty 6 Health Centre embodies the essence of a Mental Health Champion. She empowers employees to provide culturally appropriate mental health and addictions services that not only enhance their personal well-being but also amplify the collective impact on the community.

Shynkaruk impact as a nurse and Director of Saskatchewan Hospital has made her a true advocate for mental health. Through her leadership and vision, she helped bring a new hospital to the community, upholding the highest standards of care and always putting patients first. She gave patients a voice and created an environment where they are treated with dignity and respect, ensuring compassionate, patient-centered care.

Champion of Mental Health Legacy Award
This award was presented to those who have made long-term important contributions to the mental health landscape in the Battlefords and surroundings areas.

Judy Lavoie received this honour for her ongoing impact and dedication. Lavoie has worked in the mental health field her entire career and continues to demonstrate a lifelong commitment to creating a difference and making meaningful contributions within the community.

Lavoie was thankful to be honoured but said the real champions were the people suffering every day.

“To receive the award today, I was very honoured and it was very touching and I appreciate it, but the real champions of mental health are the ones who suffer from it every single day. They’re so courageous and you just want to fix it for them, and you can’t. All you can do is walk with them, support them and care for them,” she said.

The Registered Psychiatric Nurses of the Battlefords Committee were also acknowledged for their work supporting mental health and advocating for quality care in the community. This group of nurses created the Champions of Mental Health event, and over the years elevated the discussion around mental health and brought it to the wider community.

Even though good work is being done in the Battlefords and across Saskatchewan to help bring awareness to mental health, Winterholt said there is still lots of work to be done.

“It’d be great if we could have more opportunities to bring educational awareness to our youth, including the parents aspect of it. There’s lots of focus on the youth themselves but also inviting and bringing in the parents so they can also learn and understand to have conversations. I think we have seen more come to the surface but there is still lots of room to create education and awareness around it,” Winterholt said.

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Austin.mattes@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @AustinMattes