Personally, my family learned the hard way of the lack of mental health, addictions, and housing support and initiatives in Toronto last year. My dear brother in law, at age 25, came back into our lives after spending 3 years living with a debilitating addiction on the streets of Toronto. We prayed for his safety right as the pandemic was starting, and we were truly blessed as days later - a family member happened to run into him downtown - he broke down, admitted he needed help, and we were on our way. 

The journey we went through to find him support services and to put a roof over his head changed our lives, and the way we view mental health, homelessness, and the system has forever changed. Every day we took shifts, in and out of detox at Maxwell Meighen, jumping from hotel to hotel, meeting with doctors and counselors, and ensuring he had the love and support he needed at all times. 

Through this journey, we met some wonderful social workers who spend most of their days with people like my brother in law. Sweet, intelligent, amazing individuals who lost themselves in the cycle of addiction, and a system build to trap them - ultimately creating more mental health issues and not being able to find a role in our society. 

I'm hoping to help raise awareness and dollars to help CMHA expand their support in our communities. To help more people like our brother.

A few of us are getting together to fundraise in support of the vital services provided by the Canadian Mental Health Association in Toronto. Findings released from StatsCan's Survey on COVID-19 and Mental Health indicate that about one in five (21%) Canadian adults aged 18 and older screened positive for at least one of three mental disorders that were assessed: major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The services provided by CMHA are more important than ever, and we are thrilled to be fundraising on their behalf throughout the months of May and June.