With the announcement of a $200,000 investment from the Saskatchewan Health Authority last week, the long-awaited new building for the Swift Current branch of the Canadian Mental Health Authority (CMHA) took one more big step forward.

Announced on Friday as part of a larger $340,000 dollar investment into three CMHA branches across the province, the replacement of the old CMHA location on Chaplin Street took the lion's share of the funding.

Jacqui Williams is the Executive Director of the Swift Current CMHA. She and her team have been fundraising for a number of years towards the goal of a new building, and she is pleased that there seems to be a renewed focus on mental health with the rise of COVID-19.

"Mental health has definitely been on the forefront for the past number of years. But certainly, with the pandemic, there is an even bigger light shone on the issue because most of us are feeling the strain on our own personal mental health."

Everett Hindley, the local Swift Current MLA and Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Seniors and Rural and Remote Health, saw first-hand the weaknesses of the ageing building in his time with his newly created portfolio.

"We know that they're limited in terms of what they are able to provide in terms of programs and services out of their existing location. And this is something that has been a priority for them for a long time. I'm proud as the local MLA that our government is able to support this very worthwhile project."

The current location pre-dates Williams' time with the agency, but to her recollection, she believes the CMHA has been in the ageing building for 20 to 25 years. Lacking much-needed space and other amenities like wheelchair accessibility, organizers have been actively working towards the goal of a new location for more than four years.

While not yet ready to discuss exactly how close this money puts them towards that end goal, Williams nonetheless conceded that it has progressed to the tendering process; with Requests for Proposals (RFPs) sent out to various construction firms.

The timeline now, she said, is finding a bid that they can afford and then seeing what the timeline is for that winning company. So while no "official" date is being given, the process, she said, has certainly started.

Hindley added that he felt that the boots-on-the-ground work that the CMHA had already done in fundraising shone through.

"They put a lot of groundwork into this already, and frankly they've already got some skin in the game as well. They've been fundraising and they've got money set aside for this project as well."

The other two projects funded were Weyburn and Prince Albert for kitchen upgrades in their facilities.