On Jan. 15 the Rotary Club of Bracebridge and the Canadian Mental Health Association Muskoka Parry Sound announced a partnership in support of people with mental health challenges.
The Rotary Club of Bracebridge has recently initiated a committee to focus on mental health in our community, which is chaired by Jon Denbok on behalf of the Club.
According to the World Health Organization, 450 million people are currently struggling with mental health. In Canada, that equates to 6.7 million – one in two Canadians have or have had, a mental health illness by the time they are 40 years of age.
Locally:
- The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit recently related data indicating that 9.5% of Muskoka residents rate their mental health as “fair” or “poor”, below the provincial average of 8.2%
- We provided 23000+ visits from our Bracebridge office in 2023
- 2849 received service in Bracebridge in 2023
- 5036 separate program admissions in 2023 (Bracebridge Office)
“These statistics are staggering and there is still a strong stigma attached to mental illness that we would like to help the Canadian Mental Health Association – Muskoka Parry Sound break down. Although this partnership is in its infancy, we have lofty goals to help support people in our community, ” said Jon Denbok.
The kickoff to the campaign was at the Rotary Centre for Youth on Jan 12, 2024, where Rotarians and CMHA staff came to pack 100 comfort kits which are small backpacks filled with essential items that homeless people may need.
Rotarians will also be volunteering with CMHA to help people who need transportation, and support. This support is as simple as having a coffee with someone who would otherwise keep themselves shut in – it may seem small, but it isn’t for someone who is in need.
As the relationship develops, they will be sharing further joint ventures with the community.
“We welcome any community member or business who would like to get involved in this initiative to contact us. It is going to take all of us working together to support our community through this crisis and ensure everyone has the proper supports,” said Don Smith, 2023-2024 President of the Rotary Club of Bracebridge.
“CMHA MPS is thrilled to be part of this important partnership. A caring and compassionate community is a large part of supporting everyone’s mental health and the Rotary Club of Bracebridge is to be congratulated for making this a priority for their organization. We look forward to seeing the positive impact we can have,” said Diane Brown-Demarco, Executive Director CMHA Muskoka Parry Sound.
For more information or to get involved please contact Jon Denbok at 705-261-0556 or Diane Brown -Demarco at 705-645-2262
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Jack Lord says
Worries about unaffordable rents, high house prices, higher property taxes, homelessness, food insecurity coupled with low wages in part because of competition from temporary foreign workers creates the perfect storm for Muskoka families. These challenges do affect our mental health.
Meanwhile bureaucrats and politicians focus on the new unneeded Bracebridge arena and a new library when we already have a wonderful library. All at a cost of $3,000,000 a year in debt service and another $25 million up front. Money that could be spent on mental health services.
Maybe they make too much to appreciate what ordinary residents have to deal with.
Maybe they cater to special interests rather than our interests.