Supporting a Mentally Healthy Kelowna
Primaris’ Orchard Park Shopping Centre drives home the importance of mental health, for the third year in a row. The company’s recent golf tournament, in partnership with Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Kelowna, raised an astounding $85,250.
Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), in partnership with London Drugs, is urging British Columbians to “ask about suicide” and become more suicide aware by going to www.askaboutsuicide.ca.
Research shows that in many cases suicide can be prevented and that it is not just health care professionals who are qualified to reach out and help someone in crisis – we all have the ability to help save a life.
The focus of CMHA’s Ask About Suicide online awareness campaign, is to empower people from all walks of life with the confidence, knowledge and skills to be able to reach out to those most at risk which, statistically, is men in their 40s and 50s. This age group year after year experiences the highest number of suicides nationally (Statistics Canada, 2014) and while there are far more attempts made by females, males take their own lives four times more often. In fact, the latest statistics reveal that in Canada, 75% of those who died by suicide were male.
“It is with extraordinary pride and gratitude that we announce the completion of our ‘Not Alone’ campaign to raise $2 million to support the opening of Foundry Kelowna.” – Doug Rankmore, CEO of the KGH Foundation and Shelagh Turner, Executive Director of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Kelowna.
A first-of-its-kind fundraising partnership between two local, non-profit organizations has been a remarkable success.
In just seven months, the KGH Foundation and CMHA Kelowna have succeeded in their goal to raise the funds necessary to open Foundry Kelowna, a new integrated care centre aimed at supporting youth and families struggling with mental health and substance issues.
“Every aspect of this project has demonstrated collaboration and innovation. We are so inspired by how our community has caught the vision of Foundry Kelowna. Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for youth and families to take charge of their health by providing a variety of services through an integrated and personal approach,” says Shelagh Turner, Executive Director of CMHA Kelowna.
Indeed, the partnership set the tone for what was to become a massive collaborative effort by the community to fundraise for the cause.