Banners in N.B. communities encourage residents to access mental health services

A father who lost his teenaged daughter to suicide is hoping the mental health banners flying in some New Brunswick communities will encourage people struggling with mental health to reach out for help.

Last year, 16-year-old Lexi Daken died by suicide after going to the hospital for help. Her death triggered a review of the province’s mental health system.

"To me it's not even so much about the picture of Lexi, to me it's about the phone numbers that are on the banners," said Chris Daken, Lexi’s father.

"It seems to be a positive response. People like the idea of them, they think we should have them in all communities across the province."

The banners contain contact information for provincial mental health services. Daken says they were first displayed in New Brunswick’s Charlotte County.

“My aunt, who purchased the two in Lexi's memory, is friends with the gentleman in the St. George area that does them. So she had ordered two for me,” said Daken.

February will mark one year since the Daken family lost Lexi. Her father says the province still needs to do more to improve the mental health system.

"I get emails and messages from people saying we got service when we went into the hospital,” said Daken.

“Then, you know, the next day you'll get a message from somebody saying it was the same old thing, that they had to wait for several hours and never got the service and basically got kind of pushed aside."

Meanwhile, Daken says his family is doing their best to cope with the loss of their loved one.

"It's a day-to-day thing. There's not a day that don't go by that I don't think about her. We just celebrated her birthday last week, so it’s, it don't seem like a year.”