New mental wellness space ‘Stay Strong Collective’ opens in St. Catharines

A new mental wellness space opened its doors to the community in St. Catharines last weekend.

Stay Strong Collective is helping people to improve their mental health through activities such as yoga, meditation, art, music and support groups.

An inspiring young lady named Jessica Hendriks was motivated to create this space by her experience with anxiety, mild depression and having a physical disability.

“The goal of Stay Strong Collective is to create a safe space for people to be themselves and to express themselves, for people to have fun and to just kind of forget about their issues for a bit,” Hendriks said in an interview on Sunday.

“While at the same time, if they want, feel comfortable talking about those issues.”

Hendriks said having a space like this is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic as mental illness rates spike.

St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik said Hendriks is a leader who is making a positive difference in the community.

“It’s about empowerment. It’s about addressing issues around mental health, feeling marginalized and the impact it has on the body spiritually, physically and mentally,” Sendzik said in a Morning Live interview on Thursday.

“Jessica’s Stay Strong Collective is another opportunity for people to get together and tackle some of those issues that are associated with isolation and mental health.”

The mental wellness space is located at 50 Niagara St. Unit B-05 in St. Catharines.