Supporting a Mentally Healthy Kelowna
It’s a momentous sign that Kelowna is coming together as a mentally healthy community, one rider at a time. Approximately 500 people came out to ride and $130,000 has been raised, with more coming in, for the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Ride Don’t Hide, which took place in Kelowna June 24th – record numbers for the event.
Locally called The Payton & Dillon Budd Memorial Ride, in memory of two brothers who lost their lives, the ride was billed as a rallying point for people to come together and get loud about mental health and suicide prevention. It’s a sentiment that resonated with the community. “All of us, CMHA Kelowna staff and volunteers, we are all overwhelmed by the response to this event,” says Shelagh Turner, CMHA Kelowna’s Executive Director. “It sends an important message that says to anyone who is having mental health issues or thoughts of suicide – you do not have to hide, you do not have to stay silent. As a community, you are not alone and we are there for you.”
On June 24, 2018 CMHA Kelowna is bringing their fundraising cycling event Ride Don’t Hide back to the community, to be known locally as The Payton and Dillon Budd Memorial Ride.
“At CMHA Kelowna, we want to let anyone struggling in silence to know they are not alone,” explains Shelagh Turner, CMHA Kelowna Executive Director. “That’s why we’re dedicating our Ride Don’t Hide event to the memory of two brothers in our community. The Payton and Dillon Budd Memorial Ride serves as a rallying point for us all and a reminder that we are not alone.” Turner says there has been a significant shift in the community in recent years, “Kelowna has become more focussed and more purposeful in coming together to talk about the meaning and importance of one’s mental health, and building of community so people do not feel so isolated and alone.”
