Steering Success: Mental Health Education for Newcomers & Employers
Case Study: Steering Success — Scaling Empathy Through Video
Client: Canadian Mental Health Association, Newfoundland and Labrador (CMHA NL)
Project: Steering Success: Mental Health Education for Newcomers & Employers
Deliverables: A comprehensive, 15-part video education series
Production Partner: Gale Force Wins
The Challenge: A Critical Gap in Support
Moving to a new country brings immense challenges. Newcomers in Newfoundland and Labrador frequently face financial instability, immigration delays, housing barriers, and language difficulties—all of which significantly impact their mental health and workplace success.
Simultaneously, local employers want to support their new hires but often lack the necessary tools, training, and understanding to create truly inclusive, psychologically safe workplaces.
CMHA NL launched the “Steering Success” program to bridge this gap, backed by the NL Provincial Government Department of Immigration, Population Growth and Skills. However, to make a real impact, they needed a way to communicate complex psychological concepts, cultural nuances, and practical advice to two distinct audiences at scale. A single promotional video wouldn’t be enough; they needed a robust, accessible, and highly engaging educational campaign.
The Gale Force Wins Solution: High-Volume, High-Impact Storytelling
Gale Force Wins partnered with CMHA NL to architect and produce a multi-faceted digital campaign. Understanding that non-profits and community organizations need to maximize their resources, we deployed an agile production strategy to efficiently capture, edit, and distribute a massive amount of value-driven content.
Instead of producing just one high-level overview, we sat down with Program Coordinator Nevra Sener and built an entire library of 15 distinct, platform-ready videos.
The Strategy & Execution
We structured the video series into highly digestible, thematic pillars to ensure the content was actionable for both audiences:
- For Newcomers (Empowerment & Education): We produced targeted videos normalizing the struggles of cultural adjustment. Topics included recognizing the physical and emotional signs of stress, the four stages of cultural adjustment (Honeymoon, Culture Shock, Adjustment, Integration), and a 7-part “Pro Tip” series on coping mechanisms—ranging from setting boundaries and seeking support to daily self-care routines.
- For Employers & The Community (Action & Inclusion): We crafted messaging that challenged the community to step up. Videos like “How Can We Help?” provided actionable steps for active listening, creating respectful spaces, and understanding how different cultures view mental health.
By filming the core educational material strategically, our editing team was able to rapidly produce these 15 assets, complete with optimized social media copywriting, formatting, and engaging visuals tailored for daily digital distribution.
The Results: Measurable Community Impact
The “Steering Success” video series transformed CMHA NL’s initiative from a static program into an active, engaging digital presence. By breaking down complex mental health topics into bite-sized, culturally aware videos, the campaign successfully reached those who needed it most.
The program’s impact speaks for itself:
- 📈 70% of newcomers reported increased mental health awareness.
- 📉 50% reduction in newcomer job turnover when provided with better workplace support.
- 🏢 80% of participating employers implemented new mental health initiatives as a result of the program.
Why It Matters
At Gale Force Wins, we believe that efficiency should never compromise empathy. For the CMHA NL “Steering Success” project, we didn’t just deliver a video file; we delivered a comprehensive communication strategy that helped build resilience in newcomers and foster stronger, more inclusive workplaces across Newfoundland and Labrador.
*** Looking to scale your organization’s message and create measurable impact?
Let’s talk about how Gale Force Wins can turn your expertise into a multi-channel video campaign.