The Healing Centred Cooperative Raises $96,000 for Music-Based Mental Health Program for Immigrants

Calgary, AB: The Healing Centred Cooperative (THCC) is a group of healthcare professionals, therapists, psychologists, counsellors, and researchers focused on creating wellness and resilience through accessible, holistic, integrated mental-health solutions for community systems. 

As of July 1, 2021, THCC has been granted $96,000 in funding from the City of Calgary’s Change Can’t Wait initiative for a music-based intervention targeting  newcomer communities suffering from mental health challenges or chronic residual effects of the COVID pandemic. Building on the success of the ENO’s Breathe program, they will pilot a version that focuses on the strengths of Calgary’s Ethnocultural communities.

The pilot program will provide culturally-competent and trauma-informed virtual music and breathwork-based mental health care from professionals trained in working with ethnocultural communities, while addressing isolation (exacerbated by COVID-through accessible and flexible online meeting spaces that are socially innovative and user-experience informed. The impact evaluation framework and data collected will be used to iterate upon further programming for similar populations, as well as test hypotheses that will build the foundation of future AI-based holistic programming and products. 

For more information:
Dr. Stacy Lee Lockerbie
sllocker@ucalgary.ca