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London Police Service’s ‘Stronger than you know’ campaign wins national award

The London Police Service’s ‘Stronger than you Know’ mental health awareness campaign has received a national Silver Leaf Award of Excellence from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).

The campaign is an internal mental health anti-stigma initiative designed to increase awareness and understanding about mental wellness, and to reduce stigma associated with seeking help when experiencing a mental wellness struggle. It was led by Roxanne Beaubien, the service’s manager of corporate communications and media relations.

“Raising awareness and having conversations about the mental health of our members and the importance of de-stigmatization is crucial – we have no greater resource than our members,” Chief Steve Williams said. “We are proud of Ms. Beaubien for her leadership and commitment in raising the profile of these issues throughout our service through the ‘Stronger than you Know’ campaign.

“This is another example of the great work that our members do every day.”

The month-long campaign, comprised of video testimonials, an intranet microsite and posters, was directed at all employees and featured three central components:

1) I am stronger than you know – an officer and a communications operator who survived mental health struggles encouraged others to seek help and support in video testimonials.

2) Show your strength – hundreds of members pledged to end the stigma associated with post-traumatic stress injury or mental illness.

3) Asking for help is a sign of strength – Respected members encouraged others to seek help if needed.

“Without the strength of those willing to tell their stories to help others, this campaign would not have had such a positive impact,” Beaubien said. “It is such an honour to receive this recognition, particularly for this campaign which is very near and dear to the hearts of the team who worked on it.”

The IABC is a global network of communication professionals committed to improving organizational effectiveness through strategic communication. In Canada, it represents more than 4,500 members across the country. The Silver Leaf is Canada’s premiere professional awards program celebrating excellence in business communication.