A request has been made by the Canadian Mental Health Association for board members from the Pembina Valley to join the organization.

Most of the association is based in Portage la Prairie, with information and education services offered to the region from there. The new board members would help extend the reach of the CMHA.

"We want to grow the services that we have available," said Jordan Friesen, executive director of the CMHA--central region. "We would like to be able to do more in specifically the area of Winkler and Morden."

The central region of the CMHA stretches from Portage in the northwest corner, down to Morris and Altona in the southeast corner. In the past, most of the board was made of Portage residents, where most of the CMHA services are provided. New board members from the Pembina Valley would help voice important issues present in the region.

"We're looking for individuals with professional experience in education, public relations, or finance," Friesen said. "We also value people with their own lived experience of a mental health issue or mental illness, or perhaps someone who has supported a family member through a mental illness. We feel there's a lot innate knowledge and wisdom in those experiences, and they provide a perspective that we're also looking for."

Once on the board, members work to ensure the organization follows all the laws which govern what a charity like the CMHA can and cannot do. It's also the board's responsibility to create a good relationship with the mental health community.

"The community is our ultimate stakeholder," said Friesen.

"The job of the board is to interact with the community to determine what [their] needs are and how those needs can be met."

Friesen explained that the mental health field is full of gaps, specifically regarding funding.

"It's one of the most under-funded areas of service provision in healthcare that we know of."

The deadline for applications for new board members is Jan. 31, 2017.

Call 1 (204) 239-6590 or email info@cmhacentral.ca for more information.